Hi Everyone,
I guess the title says it all, I am thinking of building a new house, my question is, can you bargain with the builders?
when you go into the display villages, they all “appear” to have set prices, prices for taps, driveways, kitchen upgrades etc.How flexible are they? – I know when buying a block of land you can bargain, and often save money! does the same apply with builders? or are they litteraly “fixed” on the price?
thanks.
G'day Elemental.
EVERYTHING is negotiable. If the builder wants your business then tell him that he needs to 'sharpen his pencil' or you will simply go to another builder who will! Ever payed the full price on a new or secondhand car? There is always padding build into the price that allows a builder to drop his price without eating too much into his profits. Oh the joys of a free market system!!!!I hope this has been of benefit to you.
Kind regards,I am a builder
yes everything is negotiable, as the person above said. Large building companies with display villages have a lot of employees to keep happy, so it also pays to keep an eye on how busy they are – the busier they are, the less they care about you (because theres always someone else that will buy) but if you can find them in a position where they are less busy than usual you can sometimes get some very good deals because they want to keep their boys working.You sound inexperienced, and so if I may, I would suggest getting in touch with a lawyer or other person very familiar with building contracts to look them over. Remember, building contracts are not standard – almost every one is different because its written by a different person – and you will have clauses that favour the builder more, or less. With large companies, they have done their homework, paid their lawyers, and will have a contract that favours them. personally, if i take on a contract, i prefer to use my own contract, because it favours me (well to be honest, i prefer working for cash and getting my money up front, but thats another story)
Also keep an eye out for variation fees – large companies charge you up to $500 everytime you have a variation of the contract – so lets say you wanted to change the position of a window – $500. A couple more power points? $500. Different color benchtop? $500. just to put in the form. Then they slug you with the cost of work on top. So, if youre going to alter anything in the contract like that, do it before you sign, and the builder doesnt have you over a barrel – because once you sign and put down your deposit, you arent going anywhere, and they can start chipping away at you.
Places like the HIA (housing industry association) have lawyers who specialise in property. Give them a call (theyre australia wide) and get a referral. Usually they support the builder (because they train builders) but theres no reason that making the public savvy isnt a good thing – itll just make dodgy builders pull their socks up
bear in mind that nothing is standard. building defects periods (the time in which the builder must come back and fix defective work or materials) does not legally even have to be in the contract. nor do penalty times, witholding periods etc – so the couple hundred dollars you spend on a lawyer may save you far more. Im presently picking a huge fight with another builder on behalf of a lady because he managed to convince her of such absurdities as her keeping the power on in her name for a new house construction, getting her to pay for some of his heavy machinery etc – terrible stuff. So beware.
cheerios
Great post Ocean Architectural and terrific advice for the inexperienced. It's nice to get the perspective from the builders point of view (including potential wroughts) and your continued input will certainly be appreciated by the forum.
Kind regards,Are you planning to build a project home or a custom home?
Depends which market your are looking at how much much of a margin the builder requires to discount to get your business.There are several standard form contracts available, working with non-standard contracts can be risky & expensive.
The HIA, MBA & RAIA all have standard formas. RAIA are more slanted to the owner. Standard building contracts have been tested in the courts & have precedents.
I'd be interested to see if Anthony is negotiable on his fees as he said "everything is negotiable"?
Having worked for a law firm for five years as an Accounts Receivable I seem to recall that the lawyers' fees were definitely not negotiable!
Hi hankmoody.
As I have said, everything is negotiable and so are my fees!. The problem with most lawyers and in particular, the big law firms, is it's pretty much a 'boys only club'. Most Lawyers won't negotiate on fees just like Doctors and Vets won't. Most of them believe that the 6 years minimum of study it took to obtain their qualifications means they're entitled to charge the often exorbitant fees they do. Also, Lawyers can also be governed by such professional organisations such as The Law Society and the Attorney Generals Department.
Lastly, during my career, I have done and will continue to do, my fair share of 'pro bono' or 'good works' which means I either help people for a significantly reduced fee or I do it for nothing. I don't believe people and professions should all be 'tarred with the same brush'. I take each persons case individually and is why I set up my company to always have a free 1st consultation, free of conditions and time limits.
I hope this has helped you realise hankmoody that bwe are not all the same
Kind regards,
yes everything is negotiable, as the person above said. Large building companies with display villages have a lot of employees to keep happy, so it also pays to keep an eye on how busy they are – the busier they are, the less they care about you (because theres always someone else that will buy) but if you can find them in a position where they are less busy than usual you can sometimes get some very good deals because they want to keep their boys working.
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