Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Sep 12, 2008 5:50 pm So I mentioned earlier that we had our meeting last night with our builder.
All did not go to plan.......the meeting was actually to get our preliminary costs back. So here is our situation, we have a small awkward corner block and felt that using an architect and a boutique builder we would be able to utilise the block alot better than a design from a project builder that we would end up modifying too much. We asked this builder form the get go if he thought he could achieve for our budget a house that included the things we asked for. His reply was Yep I am pretty sure I can. We took this as shouldn't be a problem and there may be some hidden costs. We kept some dollars up our sleeve for "just in case" it ends up being a bit pricier. Well the meeting last night came back to us with $140,000 pricier.........we kept some dollars up our sleeve like I said but only enough to fit up our sleeves literally ... So the meeting ended with, doesn't look like we can build the house that you have drawn up for us to our budget Why did we give him a budget if it meant nothing. We specificlly told him our budget for a reason and through the drawing process we kept asking are you sure we can do this????? Price wise. Don't get me wrong we are realistic in what we thought it would come back with maybe $50,000 but the over and above is now unrealistic and we have wasted 3 months of everyones time. We were honest in our sums to him, saying we can come up with a bit extra if we need. But he must of thought we were going to find alot extra because we have now fallen in love with the design.. So we are now waiting to here back from the architect to see what he thinks he can do with the design. Our options now are 1.Sell the block and buy established 2.Wait and see what there new design is like$$$$$ wise 3. Put a cheaper project home on the block and trick it up so we enjoy it more 4.Build a cheaper project home to a nice spec and sell it. All the while stay renting (in this busted arse house thats falling apart and costs an arm and both my legs ) and take our time making a very informed decision. All I can say is our worst case senario is actually not that bad and we do have options. I know other people are having far worse issues with building at the moment but thats my rant for today...So hence my living through everyone esles build because I am still a long way off and I miss not sinking my teeth into something to do with building and being creative. Thanks for letting me vent I feel better now......... Re: Back to the drawing board 2Sep 12, 2008 6:01 pm Oh how frustrating for you guys!!!
I think the builder really needs to have a look at himself, like you said why give them your budget if they don't stick to it. I'm not familiar with custom builders - does the price include everything (flooring etc) $140k over budget seems alot... I think if you love the design maybe you could discuss options for minimising costs if you proceed - reduce the size, less expensive finishes etc Good luck with it all My karma ran over your dogma Re: Back to the drawing board 3Sep 12, 2008 6:57 pm Oh you poor thing .
I think this is a common thing with custom builds and architects. Did the architect provide you with a cost estimate when he presented the drawings to you? Surely he knew your budget too. The Dynamic Duo have also had problems with this sort of thing. Our design was costed by the designer above our budget too, but we are still hoping it will all work out, but for us it is only the difference of having no loan at all after we build or having a smallish loan (we hope). Still haven't got quotes from builders yet though Sorry that doesn't help you does it. Goodluck, hope the architect can sort something out for you. BTW, we will probably only have beanbags in our formal lounge for a few years and no big screen TV or that sort of thing , but we figure as long as we can get the house built now, we can worry about that sort of thing later. We are only planning on doing this once. 'chelle We have a hand-over date...15/10...but I won't hold my breath! http://people-in-glass-houses.blogspot.com/ Re: Back to the drawing board 4Sep 12, 2008 7:29 pm gweluphome,
I have one word for you - competition. You will never get a fair price unless there is competion. If you were going to get someone in to do your kitchen or whatever, you would get three quotes. And you would let them know that you are getting three quote. So get three builders to quote to build your house. You'll be surprised how much of a discount you will get. Cheers, Casa Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: Back to the drawing board 5Sep 12, 2008 8:59 pm Oh I feel your pain. We too are in exactly the same boat. We have just got our tender this afternoon which includes probably 95% of everything we have included / discarded. Well it has come in $95k over budget!! Of course they did forget to reduce the costs by the $15k we had already busted them down - and since DH owns a caryard they can expect a hell of a lot more busting at our meeting on Monday I will be making myself scarce at that part of the meeting (here's hoping someone comes in with a car payment LOL!).
Am now going through the tender to see what can be pruned back - ie 9ft ceilings along with tiling to the ceilings in all four bathrooms will be going - am working on DH to just go with the standard ranges of bricks and tiles (of which they have some gorgeous types) - however do not like my chances. Re: Back to the drawing board 6Sep 12, 2008 9:14 pm sorry to hear this gweluphome. I have fallen in love with your design too
I was remembering someone else having issues with architects not designing within budget, maybe it was Dynamic Duo as 'chelle said, might be worth doing a search to see how others have handled it? Good idea of Casa's to get another couple of quotes. If that doesn't work hopefully your architect can pare down some things o make it more achievable for you ... well, do the job you paid them to do really I hope it works out for you - I REALLY want to see that pool!!!! Re: Back to the drawing board 7Sep 12, 2008 9:58 pm oh no.... fingers crossed you can get something worked out. You have really been working at getting the design into something you love. Hope the designer can come up with a solution for you or that you find another builder who can do something with the block. Re: Back to the drawing board 8Sep 12, 2008 10:18 pm Hi all,
We found ourselves in a very similar situation to Gweluphome as we spent just over 12 months working with an architect designing our home. Our land is at the end of a court and lent itself to more of a custom design rather than a project home. After getting the kitchen and wet areas fully documented we tendered out the plans to a series of builders and their quotes ranged from $450k to $600k which was well over our budget of $350k. Similarly our architect was aware of our budget and throughout the process when we were adding to the design we did check with him that it could be built within the budget. When I told him how much the builders were quoting he was surprised that it would cost that much. We went through a similar set of scenarios to Gweluphome and even though the architect has made some suggestions which might reduce the cost of the home. I have managed to find a very similar home design with Dennis Family Homes which we can modify slightly and add our fittings / finishes to which we intended to use in the house we were designing. I should to build this house within our budget with some change. I have also had a discussion with one of the builders who has offered to make some suggestions to reduce the cost of the construction. Whilst it is frustrating to think of the time and money which I have spent during the architect process our architect has passed on a lot of his knowledge which has increased my knowledge of the building process. I think that architects should have a greater responsibility to be up to date with what the builders are currently charging for construction. LIke Gweluphome I am rather frustrated and really cannot wait for the construction part of our house to start and one thing with the project builders this process will not be too long. So in the end we will achieve a similarly designed house with the inclusions and finishes which we want within our budget. As mentioned by another member competiion has a big part to play in this the bigger project builders will always be able to buy inclusions at a cheaper price than a smaller custom builder it is ultimately whether you are comfortable with their quality. Regards, NoviceBuilder Re: Back to the drawing board 9Sep 12, 2008 10:47 pm gosh gweluphome, you poor thing!...I hope it all works out! your plan was gorgeous...fingers crossed that you can keep it (and within budget!) Re: Back to the drawing board 10Sep 13, 2008 9:09 am Thanks guys for all your comments and support......unfortunately we can not shop our plan around as it is still owned by them and it will cost us $5000 to buy it off them at this stage we are not sure this is going to solve the $140k over.
There are not to many builders in Perth that need the business as it is still "booming". Anyway we are waiting to see what they come back with and in the mean time we are off to a couple of display homes today to see whats available and what we could do with this option. I will let you know any developments. Luckily we are not deterred by this and we know there is still light at the end of the tunnel. We will soldier on............ Re: Back to the drawing board 12Sep 13, 2008 5:35 pm Sorry to hear. We did the same, gave them a limit and of course the architect just keeps drawing and drawing, more and more space. We cut it down considerably in area to keep to our budget. I don't know why they do it either, you get all excited when they show you the plans only to get kicked in the guts. Re: Back to the drawing board 13Sep 13, 2008 5:46 pm Not a good way to start off a relationship with your builder. I know you must want to just get on with it, but there must be other builders around?
Amazing that they could tell you that your budget was so far out, as you say a waste of everyone's time. regards sean Re: Back to the drawing board 14Sep 13, 2008 6:01 pm SuH I don't know why they do it either, you get all excited when they show you the plans only to get kicked in the guts. Call me cynical, but I think it's deliberate. They hope you'll fall in love with the design, and come up with the extra money...like we are . We didn't feel we could cut the size down as we are already going relatively small (27.5 sq. + garage and decks) for a 5 bedroom house (family of 6). So we will be cutting down in other areas, which we can upgrade later if we wish, like the bathrooms and furniture and fittings (but not the kitchen ). We are also trying to find a builder who will let us sorce some of the materials ourselves and so skip the builders markup. Well that's the plan at this stage 'chelle We have a hand-over date...15/10...but I won't hold my breath! http://people-in-glass-houses.blogspot.com/ Re: Back to the drawing board 15Sep 13, 2008 7:12 pm What a PITA.
APG built our house from our own design if that helps you any. Might be worth a consideration. The process was very simple and they were very consious about out budget and expectations, the sales guy was very aware of our council regs too which expedited the initial drawings a lot. Re: Back to the drawing board 16Sep 13, 2008 7:16 pm Thanks everyone, we went to a couple of display homes today and we have now even more to think about....by the end of the day we are a little shattered and we are not sure which direction to take so hopefully we can wake up tomorrow with some fresh thoughts about it all and come to some more conclusions.......... I really need to learn to take a breath........
Anyway we are off to them movies to see Tropic Thunder and to get our minds off things. Thanks again. Re: Back to the drawing board 17Sep 13, 2008 7:20 pm Oh gweluphome I can feel your frustration and annoyance. It just doesn't seem right, when you are honest and open from the outset with your budget and they do this.
Fingers crossed they come back with a great design in budget. Quote: All the while stay renting (in this busted arse house thats falling apart and costs an arm and both my legs Laughing ) Oh I hear you here!!! Quote: All I can say is our worst case scenario is actually not that bad and we do have options. Good on you for being positive and look at it level headed (I'll take a leaf out of your book!) Still not in. Don't ask!? Re: Back to the drawing board 18Sep 13, 2008 8:28 pm 'chelle SuH I don't know why they do it either, you get all excited when they show you the plans only to get kicked in the guts. Call me cynical, but I think it's deliberate. They hope you'll fall in love with the design, and come up with the extra money...like we are . We didn't feel we could cut the size down as we are already going relatively small (27.5 sq. + garage and decks) for a 5 bedroom house (family of 6). So we will be cutting down in other areas, which we can upgrade later if we wish, like the bathrooms and furniture and fittings (but not the kitchen ). We are also trying to find a builder who will let us sorce some of the materials ourselves and so skip the builders markup. Well that's the plan at this stage I think you are absolutely right, it is more or less a typical sales pitch and they must know we are vulnerable. Re: Back to the drawing board 19Sep 14, 2008 9:55 am Well we have had the night to sleep on it and we have decided to find out wheather the builder really does want our business.
If he does, then I feel he will do what he can to get the cost of the house to come into budget or he will get a new plan that will come into budget. We are still perplexed over the fact that we asked from the outset "Can you build a house with our minimum requirements for $X amount per sqm" We were told exactly this the other day when the quote came back so high....."you know $X amount per sqm is a bit unrealistic" This is why I am thinking they will not come back within our price range again. I do want to ggive them the benefit of the doubt though......... So do we wait and see what they can do or do we terminate now and get the ball rolling else where. I just don't want to waste any more time but I also don't want to do the wrong thing by anyone and after all we have paid them $3500. I would hope they would consider giving us back some of that deposit if we had to walk as they are not able to deliver what we agreed in the onset. We never put the $X per sqm in writing though....... Fingers crossed they may still be able to help us. Thanks for clarifying. Sorry I misunderstood your point 7 6976 My land is 260m2 (10m x 26m) located in claymore NSW. Under campbelltown council. I know in general the following setbacks would apply ground floor side setback =… 0 6920 Good luck with it. I don't know what the cost of a nice bidet seat with a 25mm air gap will be but you are obviously deducting the cost of a RPZ valve and its… 9 6983 |