Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 22, 2011 12:01 pm Hey guys! Just waiting to get our final pricing on our home. The next step is to sign obviously but before doing it I want to see what Extras I can get the builder to throw in! Im not a great negotiater haha! But I know it's common that people push for extras. Just wanna find out what sorta things to push for being reasonable. Any advice or experiences would be much appreciated! Thanks Re: Pushing for freebies :) 2May 22, 2011 12:05 pm Push them its possible. Bluff your way. Say that builder x is offering you this and this for free what can you do ?? I was successful EDIT: They will give you the whole story how they are always upfront and give best price first time. Just keep poking them for freebies and they will come to the party. Re: Pushing for freebies :) 3May 22, 2011 12:10 pm Yeh! I intend on doing a fair bit of bluffing haha, but also builders are offering heaps anyway since the industry is a little quiet! I was just wondering what sort of things are achievable? Are we talking minor fittings an things or has anyone ever received anything massive!! Re: Pushing for freebies :) 6May 22, 2011 2:39 pm Are you going through a large builder or small? We are going through a small builder but got a few quotes, our builder threw in a few freebies without us really asking such as additional insulation but we pushed for some free upgrades by saying "***** have quoted on this panel lift door....." etc etc. We ended up getting a quite a few upgrades for free Building our custom design "Dream Home" Follow my Build - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=46820 Contract Signed - 28/04/11 Siteworks Commenced - 20/06/11 Re: Pushing for freebies :) 7May 22, 2011 11:41 pm Ummm not to burst everyone's bubble, but you do realise that there is no such thing as "freebies" don't you? All builders will say that they are throwing in this, or giving away that, but you can guarantee they will be making up for it every single time. The best examples lately - "we're throwing in free aircon for this month only" and "free appliance upgrade". Builders might "give away" $5000 when you sign up for contracts, but they keep track of that giveaway, and you will find that any changes you make after contracts (ie. at prestart or during construction) will have a much higher markup than normal on it - you just don't know about it. It sounds *******, but most industries do the same thing - they have to make that money back somewhere. When the industry is as tough as it is right now, builders have to make sure they don't lose out on even more money. Absolutely try to get what you can thrown in as you may still save some money, but just be aware that you aren't getting the great deal you to think you are... Re: Pushing for freebies :) 8May 23, 2011 9:21 am Yes.. and that $5000 worth of extras means that all of a sudden "we've found rock on your land and thats gonna cost extra to remove" .. The only extras i got with the house where the ones i ordered and paid for.. - Juz Re: Pushing for freebies :) 9May 23, 2011 9:24 am Watch for the "free" bifold door... then they do your energy rating again... and what do you know, it's an extra $3000 for the insulation. Ed "ECOECO" At 'EcoEco', we design windows, we design the best windows, we do it for you, so that when you’re happy we are happy. Tel. 1800 326 326 Re: Pushing for freebies :) 10May 24, 2011 10:33 pm I also agree with a few of the above posts. If builders are so quick to throw in 'free' items then imagine the margin there would be in the job to start with. No such thing as things for free, someone has to pay and it's usually the consumer. My advice is to ensure you have everything you want included in your home before you sign anything. Quotes for extra items at pre start interviews always sting more. |