BuildOut

31 This agreement and many others published by the American Institute of Architects is available from the general administrative offices of the AlA at 1735 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006 for a moderate price. There are many other offices and sources of AIA documents throughout the country. A list of AIA's other publications and their prices is found as Exhibit F, and AIA's full service distributors list as Exhibit G. By using an AIA contract as the basic document to define the various parts of your agreement, you can be relatively sure you're covering most critical points such as the parties, the description of the work, beginning and finishing dates, the contract sum, the schedule of payments, pertinent documents and the general conditions.

A quick reading will reveal that it may contain provisions, which might not apply to you. These can be deleted by striking out the word, phrase or paragraph or article neatly and having both parties initial the modifications.

Where special or additional points have been agreed to or you want to have them included, you need only add a contract amendment form similar to Exhibit C. If there is no architect on the job and you will use the AIA Contract, you should include in the amendment form (Exhibit C) or in paragraph 21 of the AIA contract, ("Other Conditions or Provisions") a paragraph saying: "It is understood by Owner and Contractor that (there will not be an architect administering the project); (that the drawings and specifications were not prepared by an architect) and provisions 10.1 through 10.7, 14.2 and 14.3 do not apply. Further, that owner is responsible for the plans and specifications."

If a combination of AIA documents and non-AIA documents is to be used, particular care must be taken to achieve consistency of language and intent. You may use other contract forms, or amendments to the AIA contract which you prepare. Such forms should be carefully compared to the standard AIA forms for which they are being substituted before execution of an agreement. If there are any significant omissions, additions or variances from the terms of the related standard AIA forms, both legal and insurance counsel should be consulted.

You will note that the AIA document appears to be between the owner and the contractor. If you are not the owner, and are a tenant, occupant, or option holder, you may want to describe your right to occupancy in the amendment form by including a statement such as, "the owner in this agreement is (your name) who holds an interest in the facility by virtue of his/her (lease) (agreement) (option) or with (the true owner's name or management company who is leasing the property)."

You will notice that this AIA document states in bold print on the first page "THIS DOCUMENT HAS IMPORTANT LEGAL CONSEQUENCES; CONSULTATION WITH AN ATTORNEY IS ENCOURAGED WITH RESPECT TO ITS COMPLETION OR MODIFICATION." This word of caution should be followed in all cases.

To accomplish this step of the process more effectively and economically, you may put the contract together yourself for the most part, and bring it to the attorney © DrFernandez.com 2008