importing raw materials -- viable?

hi,

was speaking to someone yesterday and he told me he was building 6 4x2 villas. asked him how much would cost him turn key and he said its about $1100 per sqm. its mid-high spec in mandurah.

told me kept costs low by importing some materials from china.

has anyone else done this? how hard is it to do? roughly how much savings did you achieve?
 
hi,

was speaking to someone yesterday and he told me he was building 6 4x2 villas. asked him how much would cost him turn key and he said its about $1100 per sqm. its mid-high spec in mandurah.

told me kept costs low by importing some materials from china.

has anyone else done this? how hard is it to do? roughly how much savings did you achieve?

This has been mentioned in other posts, the short answer is, yes you can save heaps, easily 30/40% in material cost, but, the key is in knowing what you are buying
 
Can be done, but watch out you dont buy something inferior and not up to Australian Standards - then you're forking out again.


pinkboy
 
hi,

was speaking to someone yesterday and he told me he was building 6 4x2 villas. asked him how much would cost him turn key and he said its about $1100 per sqm. its mid-high spec in mandurah.

told me kept costs low by importing some materials from china.

has anyone else done this? how hard is it to do? roughly how much savings did you achieve?

Why would anyone build high spec in Mandurah? There are very few classy parts of Mandurah.

Perhaps his idea of mid-high is different to my idea of mid to high. For me the end value needs to be 600-900k to warrant mid to high spec.
 
Oshawot, be very careful. I built a house and made lots of enquiries. You can get lucky, but you can also be very unlucky. I looked at importing from China all my double-glazed UPVC windows. After making enquiries, I decided to buy them locally and I'm so happy I did. I spoke to one person who had even gone to the Chinese factory to first check out the factory before ordering his windows. When they arrived they were still not what he had ordered and were not to Aus standards. They promised him one thing but sent another.

On the other hand, I have a friend who went with her husband and their architect to China. Her architect took them over and they bought everything--and I mean everything--two kitchens, stairwell, tiles, windows, curtains, vanities, basins, lighting, showers, toilets. They did save money, but they also had problems with the installation of some of these things.
 
hi,

was speaking to someone yesterday and he told me he was building 6 4x2 villas. asked him how much would cost him turn key and he said its about $1100 per sqm. its mid-high spec in mandurah.

told me kept costs low by importing some materials from china.

has anyone else done this? how hard is it to do? roughly how much savings did you achieve?

My g/friends partner does this, apparently its only cost effective if you can fill a container, due to costs etc. involved.

MTR:)
 
My g/friends partner does this, apparently its only cost effective if you can fill a container, due to costs etc. involved.

MTR:)

The cost is but one aspect imo.

It is also about the time/energy. I think people get carried away with what their business actually is. Are you in business as an importer or a developer?

If you are an importer, then get to it and do your thing. If not, stick to your core business and let those who are importers...import.

As a developer a significant consideration is risk. Developers spend a lot of time and effort reducing and managing risks, I dont understand the purpose of expending a lot of time and effort in a project which (potentially) adds to your risk for mimimal savings.

Not worth the time imo.

Blacky
 
I agree with you, but then again I have not actually looked closely at the numbers, I just cant be bothered at the moment.

My g/friend's partner has two business', one is a building company so it works for their business, lots of trips each year to China sourcing the right suppliers etc.

I think for me as s small time developer I probably would not bother. If I had huge volume perhaps a different story.
 
I agree with you, but then again I have not actually looked closely at the numbers, I just cant be bothered at the moment.

My g/friend's partner has two business', one is a building company so it works for their business, lots of trips each year to China sourcing the right suppliers etc.

I think for me as s small time developer I probably would not bother. If I had huge volume perhaps a different story.

As someone that imports other products from China (not building related) I would not advise buying material from China unless you really know what you are talking about, go over and see the finished product and watch it be loaded into a container. You have to remember Chinese way of thinking is not even remotely similar to ours, Even for someone that has been doing this for the best part of 20 years, I still go over and check the finished item twice a year. It is not as easy as jumping on the internet and ordering what you need
 
Besides China there are other options though.

I have 2 examples but not personal ones.

1. A friend was owner builder and wanted double glazing to reduce noise. These are exorbitant here so she bought them all from Germany and shipped a two storey house worth over. Top quality, better choices than here and cheaper.

2. A friend bought a container of high end whitegoods (oven, dishwasher etc) in from Europe. Miele and such have fixed pricing here but not in other countries.

In both instances they had to pay import, customs and GST duties but it was still worth it for them.

However both cases were a couple of years ago when Aussie dollar was high and most of Europe suffering worse than it is now.
 
With all the risks involved I cant see why you would even bother when you can buy beautifully designed ultra modern toilets for eg. here for under $200.
 
With all the risks involved I cant see why you would even bother when you can buy beautifully designed ultra modern toilets for eg. here for under $200.
There's a good supply of inexpensive fittings and fixtures in Australia via resellers, but I assume that this thread is referring to structural elements, cladding, roofing, etc., which are sold via a very limited number of distributors in Australia, and for which prices are kept high.
 
Yes you can get unbranded colorbond materials however they are often of a lighter gauge or made of inferior product eg 0.38 BMT steel vs AS of 0.42 mm bmt for roof sheeting.

Glass which doesn't conform to the AS or basix.

If you have to replace them for certification, it hasn't saved you anything.

If you buy enough from your unscrupulous supplier they will stamp it however you like, still not compliant.
 
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