What is a New
Jersey Construction Contract?
A New Jersey construction contract is a written document that complies with New
Jersey construction contract law. For example, every home repair, home improvement
and home remodeling project must meet the requirements of New Jersey Administrative
Code § 13:45A-16.1 to 16.2.
Residential contracts for repair, alteration, remodeling, landscaping, pools, painting,
laying carpet, fencing, installing alarms or solar heating must comply with New
Jersey Administrative Code § 13:45A-17.1 to 17.14. Even a minor technical violation
is punishable under New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act. Penalties can include a refund
of all money collected (New Jersey Statutes § 56:8-2.11) or treble damages plus
reimbursement of the property owner's legal fees (New Jersey Statutes § 56:8-19).
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What can I do
with New Jersey Construction Contract Writer?
- Draft exactly the right contract by answering interview questions
- Make a legal contract that will protect the builder in court if there's a disagreement.
- Create subcontracts based on the prime contract.
- Take control of the contract drafting process.
- Keep up-to-date with changes in NJ construction contract law.
- Include only the warranty protection required for the job.
- Disclaim any warranty, as allowed by New Jersey law.
- Create a simple construction contract or a contract as detailed as the job requires.
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How is New Jersey
Construction Contract Writer different?
Printed construction contract forms and construction contract templates are available
from several trade and professional associations. For example, AIA construction
contracts and AIA construction subcontracts are available from the AIA. Sample construction
contracts by the EJCDC and sample construction contracts by the AGC are also available
as printed forms. These standard contracts are legal construction agreements in
some states and for some purposes. But none are intended to comply with the New
Jersey law. New Jersey Construction Contract Writer drafts residential, commercial
and industrial construction contracts and construction subcontracts and public works
subcontracts that comply with New Jersey law. Using a standard contractor agreement
that doesn't comply with New Jersey law can result in heavy fines. Even if you avoid
fines, a contract that doesn't comply with New Jersey law puts you at a disadvantage
if there's a dispute. An attorney for the other side will be quick to point out
every flaw in your agreement.
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What information
will I need to make my contract?
Start drafting a New Jersey construction contract by gathering the essential information:
- Decide how you want to set the bias – fair and balanced or tilted in your
favor.
- Address of the work site, names of the contracting parties and the contract price.
- Name and address of any representative, architect or bank to be mentioned in the
contract.
- Scope of the work: What's included in the job? What's excluded? How you want to
handle errors in the plans or specs? What if there are unexpected site conditions?
- Who is responsible for job safety, hazardous materials, temporary utilities, job
cleanup, inspections and testing?
- Payments: When are payments due: Initial payment, progress payments and final payment?
Is this a fixed price contract or is payment based on the cost of labor and materials
(a time and material contract)? Will payment terms include contract allowances,
cost per unit of work or alternate prices for work to be done at the owner's option?
What's the interest rate on unpaid balances? Do you want to specify grounds for
withholding payment? Will waivers of liens be required before a payment is due?
Will there be a bonus for early completion or liquidated damages for delayed completion?
- Changes in the Work: How do you handle “extra work” not included in
the contract? Will extra work be done on a time and material basis? Or will the
charge for extra work be based on the contractor's usual selling price?
- What insurance will the contractor and subcontractor be required to carry: Liability
insurance, worker’s compensation insurance, course of construction insurance?
Will a performance bond or a payment bond be required?
- The construction schedule: When will work start? When should work be completed?
What grounds are legitimate reasons for an extension of time? Will the owner or
contractor be permitted to suspend work or terminate the contract? What constitutes
substantial completion? Will the contractor be permitted to collect the final payment
if discrepancies remain on the punch list?
- Warranty: What's the duration of the warranty, if any? What constitutes a construction
defect? What repairs are required when a construction defect is found? Can the contractor
or subcontractor disclaim the implied warranties of habitability and workmanlike
construction?
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What's the difference
between an agreement and a contract?
A legal contractor contract is an enforceable contractor agreement. Enforceable
contractor contracts are usually created from a contractor contract form or a contractor
contract template. To be enforceable in New Jersey, NJ contractor contracts and
NJ subcontractor contracts must comply with New Jersey contract law. A legal building
contract between either the owner and a general contractor or a general contractor
and a subcontractor can be enforced either by legal action in a court of law or
by arbitration.
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How long will
it take to draft my first contract?
About a half hour for simple construction agreements. A commercial general contractor's
contract for a shopping center might require an hour or more.
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Is there a free
trial?
Yes - Get a feature-limited trial of New Jersey Construction Contract Writer at no charge. Draft a construction contract agreement to
see if NJ CCW is right for you. Printing, exporting and the ability to copy and
paste are disabled in the trial edition. Use the trial program as long as you want.
When you’re ready, get the production version of New Jersey Construction Contract Writer. Successful download
and installation are guaranteed. Then write and print as many contracts as you want
or create PDF (Postscript) or RTF (MS Word) versions for delivery as email attachments.
You can even send a Verizon New Jersey construction contract. If you switch computers
or need another download, no problem. During the first year you can get another
download as often as needed. After the first year, updates are only $25 per year or $40 for two years.
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What if I have
questions?
New Jersey Construction Contract Writer includes extensive legal and practical information
to help you every step along the way. On the right side of every screen in the interview
you'll see information about the choices available.
Licensed users of New Jersey CCW can get answers to contract drafting questions.
We can’t draft the contract for you. But if you need advice on assembling
a construction contract that meets requirements for your job, our legal staff is
on call. If you get stuck, go to the Help menu and click the “Get Help from
an Attorney” option. You'll have an answer in 24 hours, usually sooner.
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What will my
completed contract look like?
Click here
and scroll down to view a good selection of example New Jersey construction contracts
prepared with CCW. You'll see:
- A sample residential construction contract,
- A sample new home construction contract,
- A sample pool construction contract,
- A sample home remodeling contract,
- A sample commercial construction contract,
- A sample home repair contract,
- A sample home building contract,
- A sample time and material construction contract,
- A sample home improvement contract.
In addition to general contractor contracts, you'll see several sample subcontractor
agreements.
Some of these home building contracts are biased in favor of the homeowner. Others
favor the general contractor or subcontractor. All of these example construction
contracts and legal contractor forms comply with New Jersey law. You can download
any construction contract form on the site as either a PDF or RTF (MS Word) or CCF
(Construction Contract Writer) document.
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Is it safe to
make a contract without a lawyer?
If you’re accustomed to getting legal advice on most business deals, we won’t
suggest anything different. If your style is doing jobs on notes scribbled on a
business card or on a form you found on the Web, we suggest that CCW can substantially
reduce your risk, either with or without review by legal counsel.
New Jersey CCW is very comprehensive, offering options far broader than needed for
nearly any job. But nothing happens in New Jersey CCW until you answer the appropriate
interview question. If you don’t have the time to consider and understand
the options available, maybe you need an attorney more than you need New Jersey
CCW.
Of course, there is a middle ground. Attorneys are accustomed to reviewing contracts.
Produce a contract with New Jersey CCW and get an opinion from legal counsel before
offering the document for signature. If your attorney suggests changes, and if New
Jersey CCW can’t accommodate those recommendations, maybe New Jersey CCW is
not the best choice for your work. If a New Jersey CCW contract is approved by your
legal counsel, use that contract as a model for all similar jobs. New Jersey CCW
makes it easy to clone any contract on file.
Please review
the disclaimer by clicking the PDF icon.
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Where can I
get a short, simple, standard New Jersey construction contract form that's valid
for all types of work?
There's no such thing as a short, simple construction contract for residential work
in New Jersey. The notices and disclosures required by New Jersey law and Federal
law make even the shortest residential NJ construction contractor form at least
8 pages long. Drafting a legal New Jersey construction contract is as complex as
preparing a tax return. If you use one of the popular income tax return preparation
programs (like TaxCut® or Turbo Tax®), New Jersey Construction Contract Writer will
become one of your favorites.
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Is an Internet
connection Required?
An internet connection is required for program updates and during installation.
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What computers
can use New Jersey CCW?
Construction Contract Writer is guaranteed to run on Windows XP and Windows Vista.
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 is required and will be installed automatically, if
needed.
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