How many builders quotes do you get?

Hey All,
I was just curious as to how many builders quotes people get when developing a new property? I have just received my completed drawings and council approved planning permit and am ready to begin shopping around the plans.

I want to ensure i do thorough due diligence and not just choose the first person I meet. As this is my first ever development (Double story dwelling at the rear my PPOR) I have not yet used a builder.

I would also appreciate any advice for choosing a builder, key questions to ask.etc.

Also I am based in Melbourne's North West if anyone has some recommendations.

Thanks in advance
 
At least 4 is what I do for most things.

I'd be shopping around quite a bit for something of that price though and making sure I'm comparing like for like and locking down any variation items to a fixed cost.
 
I have a pretty good handle on what it costs to build something so I keep getting quotes until I get one that is close to what I have in mind.

If it's too low they have usually missed something which is going to lead to a fight later so I pick them up on it. If they are too high I know they are trying to take me for a ride.

I suggest you get someone who has a good idea on what it costs to build who isn't someone you are getting a quote from to look at your plans to give you an idea of what you should be paying and go from there.
 
If it's too low they have usually missed something which is going to lead to a fight later so I pick them up on it. If they are too high I know they are trying to take me for a ride.

I'm always weary of a 'bargain' quote. I have gotten a few recently and made sure EVERYTHING was in writing and agreed on before I chose it.

They have to make their money somewhere, if the market says one thing and they are doing it much less than that, something's not right.
 
They have to make their money somewhere, if the market says one thing and they are doing it much less than that, something's not right.

Not always, for example I am getting quotes for a granny flat at the moment. So far I have 6x. 5x are between 20-30k more than what I think it should be but the lowest one is almost bang on what I had in mind and that is from the biggest builder of all the ones I got quotes from.

So the market is saying it should be more than what it is if you go off the rest of them but as I said I know what it costs to build are and I have done it before.

You are right though, you have to be wary of the bargain quote. At the end of the day it should fall on their shoulders as they misquoted the job but in my experience (see others go through it not myself) this always leads to a **** fight later. Better to just get everything right from the start even if it means correcting someone which will end up costing you more but save the fighting.
 
Not always, for example I am getting quotes for a granny flat at the moment. So far I have 6x. 5x are between 20-30k more than what I think it should be but the lowest one is almost bang on what I had in mind and that is from the biggest builder of all the ones I got quotes from.

So the market is saying it should be more than what it is if you go off the rest of them but as I said I know what it costs to build are and I have done it before.

You are right though, you have to be wary of the bargain quote. At the end of the day it should fall on their shoulders as they misquoted the job but in my experience (see others go through it not myself) this always leads to a **** fight later. Better to just get everything right from the start even if it means correcting someone which will end up costing you more but save the fighting.

I KNOW, granny flats are overpriced on the market. I was able to offer them $20k under what others were asking for (not going down this route with the business though). However I would always ensure whatever it was, every possible thing that may come up as a variation was put down in writing at a fixed cost where possible.

It's saved my neck numerous times. I picked up the habit working for private construction companies, variation fights got nasty.
 
Thanks for all the great replies!
Can I ask how you go about ensuring everything is included in a quote? Do you have a detailed checklist you work through?

I know it sounds easy enough to say walk through your home and note every single thing a house needs but not being in any sort of trade I am sure there are a heap of things I would miss out on and could potentially get screwed on later.
 
normally if you going with the smaller builders, it is worthwhile getting a solicitor to check the contract etc and to make sure that everything you agreed upon is written and signed off.

I would be most concerns on the delays being the issue, whether connection costs are included, driveways, landscaping etc as they can be all excluded eventhough it is a turn key project.

Best is to ensure upon permit, a start date has to be established and the work completed according to schedule.
 
normally if you going with the smaller builders, it is worthwhile getting a solicitor to check the contract etc and to make sure that everything you agreed upon is written and signed off.
.

I reckon solicitors are a waste of time. No one is going to go through a building contract in detail like you will. That goes for any contract actually.

It's really not all that hard. Main things to check are they are giving you what you were quoted, make sure anything that can be a fixed cost is marked as one, the payment terms (which will often be dictated by the bank if it is financed) and liquidator damages.

LD's are the biggest thing most people don't go hard enough on. For instance if it is a house you are building make sure the LD's are at least what it costs to rent a similar property per week. Builders are sneaky on that and will often try to put something in there like $1 per day over the completion date. If they are confident in their ability they should have no problem putting at least the cost of rent down as LD.
 
to be honest, i hate builders - they are all shifty and try to trick you into paying things extra. All of them are the same, delays etc would cost x amounts in rent etc.

for me, it was worthwhile having the solicitor on board to make the threats when required.
 
to be honest, i hate builders - they are all shifty and try to trick you into paying things extra. All of them are the same, delays etc would cost x amounts in rent etc.

for me, it was worthwhile having the solicitor on board to make the threats when required.


They are not all like that.....

I am a builder and when I do client jobs I will always try and include everything so there are no surprises and I tell them that. I only just recently quoted a job and got told I was double the price of the other quote..... What do you know, 2 months later I get a call saying the other quote didn't include half the items that I did and now I am doing the job and lots of other work as they realise I'm not trying to hide anything and trying to do the right thing.....
 
In regards to the original post...

3 quotes is enough, if someone wants me to quote a job and they already have 3 quotes or they are planning on more than 3, I don't waste my time (especially if I don't know them or they were not referred). Quoting jobs is very time consuming....

Generally if you get 3 prices and they are very similar or 2 out of 3 are then that's ok. But if you get 3 prices that are majorly different then definitely get more quotes.....

Tim
 
On this topic does anyone have a spec they have written up for a house build such as this they would be willing to share? How detailed does it need to be? I understand for absolutely every bit of building material (usually on the finishes side) there is a product that is in every spectrum of budget, i.e a toilet can be $100 or $1000 so how do you spec it?
 
How long should you wait to hear back from a builder with a quote once you email them plans? Been waiting nearly 3 weeks to receive a quote back from one company.
 
They are not all like that.....

I am a builder and when I do client jobs I will always try and include everything so there are no surprises and I tell them that. I only just recently quoted a job and got told I was double the price of the other quote..... What do you know, 2 months later I get a call saying the other quote didn't include half the items that I did and now I am doing the job and lots of other work as they realise I'm not trying to hide anything and trying to do the right thing.....

maybe there are some that aren't but majority i have dealt with have that same approach.
 
On this topic does anyone have a spec they have written up for a house build such as this they would be willing to share? How detailed does it need to be? I understand for absolutely every bit of building material (usually on the finishes side) there is a product that is in every spectrum of budget, i.e a toilet can be $100 or $1000 so how do you spec it?

they should giving you a specification docs. and if you feel you want to change it, you let them know like i want x toilet or i want stone benchtops.

volume builders won't do this and will charge a bomb. Smaller to medium size builders would do it but depends if it is not too much of a hassle.
 
they should giving you a specification docs. and if you feel you want to change it, you let them know like i want x toilet or i want stone benchtops.

volume builders won't do this and will charge a bomb. Smaller to medium size builders would do it but depends if it is not too much of a hassle.

Hmm, interesting, so the builder will price it just based on their standard materials/supplies they used and your drawings? Seems to be a lot of room for ambiguity here and hard to compare the various quotes you get from each builder?
 
Back
Top