How many builders quotes do you get?

[Melbournian]

depends how much customization you wish to do. the more obviously the more cost. however if you want to put your specs/customizations prior to getting the quote, then that would be easier

they are ppl who do plans drawings etc and then couldn't be bothered to do any choices of fixtures or colours (mainly investment purposes) or they are too buzy

or

there are ppl looking to customize everything to their lifestyle as they are going to be living in the place. so it really depends.

and there is half of both approaches (which is the one i took)

 

[albanga]

Thanks for all the great feedback.
In order to ensure I am correctly prepared, what do people recommend i should bring to the builders?

So far all I really have is my plans and engineering which I understand is enough to get a rough quote from but my concern was with as people have said the detail of inclusions and finishes.
Do people recommend doing a lot more research and perhaps bringing in photos of what I was hoping for?

Also a big concern with the pricing is things such as utility connections, storm water, sub-division.etc. Is that something that builders also manage? Or is this something I would need to do because I need to have these figured in my costings when I go to loan the money for the build.

Thanks in advance

 

[Melbournian]

you need to get a draftsman or architect on board so in the event the building surveyor questions x,y,z it can be dealt with quickly.

i put in a clause into my contract that the builder is responsible for all connection charges (left it as that, so it covers telephone, gas, electrical), they all add up to be around 2K. Also put in they cover all the electrical, water, gas during construction period till certificate of occupancy is done.

All that stormwater etc should was standard as part of my bill.

the mistake i made was to use their building surveyor which was costed at around 1.5K but in hindsight i should use one that is separate as they tried to cover everything up by using him to say that was not compliant etc.

 

[brazen]

.... 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.....

Yea I totally sympathise Timmy. I see this A LOT in my own industry and, despite my warnings, people sign right up with the 'too good to be true' quote. What breaks my heart is when they call me back months later whining to me about it all. Not much I can do now

Hearts will be broken!

Serge.

 

[oc1]

Yea I totally sympathise Timmy. I see this A LOT in my own industry and, despite my warnings, people sign right up with the 'too good to be true' quote. What breaks my heart is when they call me back months later whining to me about it all. Not much I can do now

Hearts will be broken!

Serge.

Can't blame them for doing this. Everyone loves a (perceived) cheap price, many don't understand what is needed/necessary for a build and generally builders don't a have a great reputation. It is what it is I guess.

Oscar

 

[Dimsh]

If you want to make sure that you get the best possible price and everything is included in the quote I would suggest you do the following:

- Get quantity surveyor or another builder to do a BOQ (Bill of Quantities). This will give you every single item in your build, price for it, price for labour etc. The only thing that won't be included is builder's profit margin. BOQ should cost you around $600-$1000
- Make sure you fully understand BOQ and agree with it
- Before requesting a quote talk to the builder mention that you have done BOQ and make sure they agree with it. Then your discussion mainly will be around profit margin that the builder wants for project-managing the whole work (usually 15-30%)

You can do a quick price check based on the sqm of your property. For a simple build (flat block brick-veneer, cheap fittings) the cost is around $800-$1000 sqm inclusive of everything but builder's profit.