House building contract..help needed?

I have a builder and we are in the process of reviewing the contract. We have worked on this for some time, I know what items are going in the house and we settled on a price. Now the contract is with us.





1. What are things I need to note before I sign the contract ??





2. Is it prudent to hire an attorney for this purpose ?? How much do they cost ??





3. Any other advise before we sign on the dotted line ??





Please advice and share your insight, thanksHouse building contract..help needed?
Yes, get an attorney.





Don't pay the contractor any $$ up front. Pay them at predetermined intervals with that last payments to be made after the building inspectors have made sure the work is up to code for your area.





Make sure that you have enough liability insurance in case your contractor or their employees are injured or killed while working on your property. You don't want to have to sell the house to finance the lawsuit. If you are Canadian, you'll need to look into paying into WCB (Worker's Compensation).





If any of these issues are a suprise to you i.e. Liability insurance and a final building inspection, please do more research before you allow someone to work on your home. A discount contractor could cost you more that can you imagine.





If none of this is new to you, good on you for covering all the bases. :)House building contract..help needed?
Ask the builder for a list of homes that he has built. Then go check them out. Knock on doors and ask questions. Not just of the owners but the neighbors as well (they saw the house being built). What the builder has done in the past, he will do again. Just do a little leg work. Try the inspection departments of the houses that he built. You can learn a lot by looking at the permits, the file, that will be on the house.





But be aware that some owners just can't be pleased. I have one buyer who is a NIGHTMARE in every sense of the word. If you talked to him only, you would think I did a poor job. If you talk with the building inspector, he will say this owner is a fruitcake. I mean, who tapes up all the doors and windows and the eave vents and all but one cold air return? This nut I sold to, that's who.
Hire a lawyer or other legal person to review your contract. There can be things in there that you don;t understand. It should only cost a couple hundred and be well worth it.