We added extra in for footings but we got back the portion that we over estimated. They gave us a copy of the footings quote so all above board. Turned out what our sales guy initially quoted us was pretty accurate. I don't think I have heard any complaints with Fairmont with regards to footings, pretty much just the build time. I am not sure if you will have any costs with regards to where you live during actual build time but if you do I would add up at least 8 month of costs and consider this when choosing f as a builder. Have you looked at dechellis? Build time is similar to F but another good builder for custom homes.
Oh and we also found Fairmont significantly cheaper which is why we chose to build with them