The developer requires a down payment to start drawing

We want to build turnkey, so we approached property developers.

But now you have understood the post by , right? No property developer -> general contractor I would first filter whether the GC is even an option if you are already going into such depth. The choice should go to whoever, besides price, gives you a good gut feeling about becoming the right contracting partner. The construction specification also plays a role. What use is a construction partner who does not build according to your ideas.

GU is fully booked and doesn't need the contract. If there is a choice, request other GUs.

I agree. Or he is particularly good and knows his worth. The OP can find that out through references.

Are you also so easygoing with your money?

Of course I am so "easygoing" with money and do not see it as a decision criterion for when I pay for which service. However, I am very careful in choosing my business partners, and there money does not play a predominant role either. In this way, there have been hardly any bad experiences and many good ones. My quality of life is far too important to deal with the cheapest. I'd rather buy something smaller or not at all.

Do you like the general contractor? Is he interested in your project or only in your money? Does he identify with his work? Does he understand your needs? Does he really help you make good decisions? Can he plausibly justify his price level? If any of these questions is answered with "no": stay away – payment terms don't matter. If all these questions can be answered with "yes," the payment terms are no longer so important.

Were you asked? :p

Basically, I would like to have at least 2 offers available in order to compare prices.

Then you are still more miles away than the Marlboro Man walks in a whole week from needing drawings.

Or rather, we already have a good idea of how it should look. We saw a great house on the www with some changes.

Land available, desired house known: then you first have to check whether the development plan is your friend and allows the desired house and whether it fits into the building envelope and the floor area ratio/site coverage ratio framework. After that, you ask the bank how much credit you are good for. How much you need can also be calculated on the unchanged brochure house – you don’t need to redraw the bathtub for that yet. For someone who is still in the full bloom of innocent ignorance and confuses basic terms, you are still very well served with just four grand that they are already trying to squeeze out of you :-)

Were you asked? :p

He wasn't, but I probably couldn't have put it more aptly.