Understanding A Swimming Pool Contract

The overwhelming task of interviewing builders and picking through proposals has come to an end. It is time to sign a contract. Oh boy, here we go. The contract typically appears to be straightforward. That is, until you turn it over. There it is, the lawyer speak.

Should you have a lawyer review it? I would recommend it. Of course, every attorney I know would tell you that you should always have a contract reviewed. It's up to you, but keep in mind that the builder's attorney wrote all that and it may take an attorney to decipher it. It's your call.

The salesman will tell you that the back of the contract is there to protect you...yeah, right! Everything on it is there to protect the builder. As a matter of fact, a lot of what you will find on there comes from bad experiences they have had. In other words, they were sued because of one of those items.

Before getting into the front of the contract (all of the goodies you are paying for and supposed to get), you need to go through the fine print (usually on the back). Surprises later will only complicate your mission towards surviving building a swimming pool.

One of the clauses you will see, is that the contract is subject to management's approval. That means that signing the contract, handing them a deposit means nothing until the manager signs it. This is to protect the company from their salesmen. As smart as salesmen think they are, they do make mistakes. For example, he is selling you the pool for the lowest amount the company will allow and forgets to add the cost of a heater in. Management can review it and say no way are we going to sell it for that. Once the manager signs it, you are sort of locked in to what you signed. By law, you normally have a three day rescission period. That means you can back out of the contract for any reason with a full refund of any money you have given them. After that, they may let you out of your contract but keep your deposit (or any other money you have given them). The rescission also protects you if that overpowering salesman made you sign something and now you aren't feeling comfortable about it. The last day to get out of it, is supposed to be clearly written somewhere on the contract, normally off to the side or at the bottom.

to be continued...