Ever dealt with one of the big name builders? I have always had a lot of respect for the big builders. As a small niche builder you look to them for industry best practice…..that was until today.
I had an eye opening meeting with a new client. They had become disillusioned with the big builder they were dealing with.
Their complaint was a simple one.
No one was getting back to them, they felt like their job had stalled (before it had even started). They felt like a low priority to this builder.
None of that was a surprise, I have worked in those environments and there is a lot of pressure on sales people to secure a sale and move onto securing the next one.
What shocked me was the sales process they had been through to date. I will dot point it below;
- Talked into signing a contract on a “Standard Package” House. This means they had entered into a formal contract to build with the builder, prior to the builder ascertaining all build costs and requirements. The price they signed for was roughly half of what I have built similar size homes for.
- The builder exclusions indicated their price excluded a landscaping plan, then in brackets it indicated that the local Council required that plan to approve their home!
- They also had a price for a home which didn’t include any floor coverings!
- The plans for their home then went to Council, which threw up a number of additional requirements…variations
- The client made some changes, not unusual, what was unusual was the price gouging on the value of the variations
- The plans went to be engineered, more variations
Their job was now approaching 2.5 times the value of the original contract sum! I couldnt believe it. This is a reputable builder with a good record, but its not the only time I have heard these stories.
There is a serious issue here where prospective home owners are going to large builders to “ensure” they get good service. Instead there seems to be some degree of misleading sales tactics occurring.
You can avoid this, by working with Enduro Builders.
All building jobs have their challenges, and sometimes out of everyones control variations.
As a builder I strive to identify and quantify all the costs to build in the original price.
This means I never offer a fixed price quote (not the contract) on a job until we have;
- Full Working Drawings
- Engineers Report
- Energy Assessment
- Waste Water Application (if applicable)
- Specification/ Finished Schedule
We are always happy to provide budget estimate during the design phase to ensure that what is being designed is within your budget, however the final costing is always dealt with as a formal estimate, carried out by an estimator, which is a service I charge for.
The reason for this is that on large projects particularly, it makes sure that all the things you expect to be included, are.
When your job is in this stage we provide you with access to our online construction management software. This puts you in the drivers seat and means you are up to date with pre-start progress, site progress, budget progress and you can make comments and view site photos all in the one system. It covers your project from pre-start to warranty.
You can check out a video introduction to our software below. You can also check out our Enduro Process page for a more indepth Client Introduction video.
Would you like to find outmore about our online system?
