ᐅ Are the windows in the offer non-negotiable?

Hello everyone,

We are currently about to sign a contract for a prefabricated house. So far, everything has gone very well with the sales representative at the model home park. We have a custom design that has been implemented quite well.

There is one issue that makes me a bit cautious, and I’m not sure if it’s really no problem or if it might be some kind of loophole for the company. We would like to change the type of windows in the offer. In some places, doors leading outside are still planned, but these don’t make sense to us at all and wouldn’t work because there is a drop of about 1 meter (3 feet) right behind them (we are building on a slope). Specifically, on two spots on the ground floor, we would like to simply replace those doors with large fixed-glass windows. Now, the sales staff says that the offer always includes the same type of window/door here, and that this can be adjusted later during the planning process. This doesn’t make much sense to me, and I don’t understand why they can’t just prepare the offer exactly as we want it. Can you share your thoughts on this? Is this nothing to worry about, or should we be cautious?

Best regards!

grieflo19 schrieb:

We are currently about to sign a contract for a prefabricated house.

Then stop right there and don’t go any further. Because:

grieflo19 schrieb:

We have a custom design that has been implemented quite well. [...] However, there are still doors planned in some places leading outside that don’t make any sense to us at all or wouldn’t work, as there is a drop of one meter (3 feet) right behind (we are building on a slope).

That sounds to me like a clear contradiction. In a true custom design, there naturally should be no spots where anything “just somehow” is planned. More likely than not, this is just the usual sales spiel you hear everywhere — the “no problem, we can do it differently at no extra cost” cliché, and not much more. Apparently, you are being offered a standard house model that is also marketed to customers with flat plots.
Windows that require fall protection would need barriers not only in front of (or behind, meaning on the outside of) the operable sashes but also safety glass at an additional cost for fixed elements.

grieflo19 schrieb:

Now the sales representative says that the same type of window/door is always planned in the offer here, and that this can be adjusted later in the design process. This makes little sense to me.

It’s not meant to make sense to you, but to the sales rep. The only thing happening after signing are empty promises. Once the cancellation deadline has passed, all you will see are their taillights, and they will change your contact name in their phone to something like “Reject.” Such contracts should actually be signed with “LMAO” or “FCK.U” and the comment “this can be changed later.” You realize yourself that getting out now is the best option, right?

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

grieflo19 schrieb:

So far, everything has gone very well with the representative at the model home park.

P.S., this should actually be pinned at the top here:
Home sales agents in model homes are usually independent sales representatives with absolutely no authority to make binding commitments on behalf of the company being represented there. It is often stated in the fine print that "no side agreements exist."
Basically, it should be considered deceptive—and potentially punishable—that these individuals in model homes are allowed to appear as if they belong there and have decision-making power. It should be mandatory that "Sales Representative" is displayed on both the shirt collar and business card, in larger letters than the company logo.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

I don’t understand the fuss. It’s completely normal that after signing the contract, the sales interest in the customer ends—at least when we’re talking about products that are usually only bought once in a lifetime.
And it’s also normal that only what is stated in the contract applies, with no side agreements. It’s also normal that changes after signing the contract incur additional costs.
This is no different in industry, except that customers there often aren’t one-time buyers and they know it.

In this respect, the salesperson has done nothing illegal or questionable. He is right—you can still make changes. He never promised that these would come at no extra cost.
It would hardly be any different with a salesperson working for the home builder themselves.

If anything, I would forbid naïveté or consider dismissing anyone who doesn’t properly shake up prospective buyers before and after visits… nothing is free. Once the customer is hooked, changes become expensive for them, and you only get what is written down. No more, no less.
This is how we handle it, and this is how every profit-oriented company operates.

MachsSelbst schrieb:

Isn’t it completely normal that the sales interest in a customer ends after the contract is signed?

Unfortunately, yes, that is the standard case nowadays. Yet many buyers of prefabricated houses still fall for the cheesy "I’m here for you" talk. The sales agent implies (as a skilled deceiver, of course without ever explicitly stating it) that because changes will be possible later, they will remain by the customer's side and honorably guarantee the fulfillment of their promises. No, house sellers are even more untrustworthy than car dealers.

MachsSelbst schrieb:

At least when we talk about products that people usually buy only once in their lives...

A house is a product whose very nature means that the real process only begins after signing. For the worst commission-driven agents, the gap between the promised level of support and what they actually stand behind after the sale is the largest.

MachsSelbst schrieb:

And it is also normal that changes after contract signing cost extra.

Normal in terms of market reality is that customers are brushed over with a “as friends, your satisfaction is our highest priority” atmosphere, and then coaxed into signing without realizing this.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

Actually, I agree with @11ant; if they are clearly trying to trick you from the start, why sign at all?

If the offer is really that good and you still decide to sign, make sure to include everything you want in the contract, because the general contractors can dictate the price later on, and it will get expensive....
GD