How to get the real, full, and final price for your custom home, so you don’t get smacked with any nasty 5-figure surprises
The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth
“Is this the full price for my house?” you inquire. “Yes,” replies your builder. “Including all internal and external lighting?” “Of course,” reassures your builder. “Nothing extra to pay?” you triple check. “That is the full price for your house,” repeats your builder with hand on heart.
“Then what’s this invoice for?” you ask with a feeling of confusion. “That’s earthworks,” says your builder without hesitation. “But I thought you said this was the full price,” you follow up. “Yes,” he repeated. “That is the full price for the house. This invoice is for earthworks.”
“And what about this bill?” you continue. “That’s for work on the slab,” retorts your builder. “But I thought you said this was the full price,” you say again with frustration. “Yes. This is separate – it’s for the slab. And by the way, here’s another bill for lighting.” “But I thought you just said lighting was included,” you ask in disbelief. “Yes, standard lights are included, not the security lights you want.”
If you think that’s outrageous, you’ve never built a house before. Because sadly, this sort of confusion (a.k.a. deception) is more common than you’d like to think. And it can add tens of thousands to the price of your home.
The Advertised Price And The Real Price
A lot of builders think it’s better to lure you in with a low price and only reveal the true cost once you’re invested in the process. And it’s hard not to become invested. Looking at display homes and sample photos — with their oversized rooms, high-end finishes, and lavish landscaping – is exciting. But excitement can quickly turn to disappointment when you discover none of those things are included in the low price that got your attention in the first place.
“Yes, of course carpet is included,” continues your builder. “Great. I love this carpet,” you respond enthusiastically. “Oh, I didn’t mean this carpet. This brand is an upgrade,” explains your builder. “How much extra?” you ask. “Only $75/sq metre.” You do the maths and summarise, “So that’s another $9,500… on top of the earthworks and the slab.”
Questions Are Key
Don’t assume anything. And clarify everything. You can never have enough detail about what you’re paying for and exactly what you’re getting for your money.
Get used to asking, “Exactly what is included in that price?” And follow up with specific questions:
- Does it include driveway?
- Does it include demolition of the old house?
- Does it include flooring (and what is the allowance per square metre)?
And make sure you get EVERYTHING in writing.
This doesn’t mean you need a line by line breakdown. Just an overall price for the cost drivers and a detailed outline of selections.
If you’d like to see an example of this, you can
The Politicians Trick To Avoid Pricing
Don’t be surprised if many builders can’t (or won’t) answer those questions. They may say something like, “Well, you haven’t finalised a plan yet, so it’s impossible to give you an accurate price.”
That may be true. But they could easily show you some past homes they’ve built. And they could take you through the floorplan, the features, and the finishes, and explain the precise costings.
And if you are still finding it hard to get a full and accurate price, ask:
- What’s the usual difference between the price you’ve just given me and the full price most of your clients end up paying?
The Price For The House You Want
When you call Enduro, we take time to get to know you and what you want in your home. We use our own projects to demonstrate real prices. And rather than get you excited with an unrealistic low price, we give you a real estimate for the actual house you want – to an accuracy of 5% (naturally, your contract price will be 100% accurate – firm, fixed, and guaranteed).
If it’s more than you want to spend, we’ll work with you to adjust the design and selections. There’s always more than one way to get the result you want. But what we will never do is deceive you with a price that won’t give you the house you want. In other words, we won’t lie.
For more information on what it will cost to build the home you want, we invite you to where we will answer your questions and show you the most efficient and affordable way to get a custom home you’ll love forever.
