Has anybody experience with using building brokers to design your development and then put it out to tender to 3 or 4 builders to get the best price for you.
There are a few that do this in Perth. Design & Construct Residential, Design Better Buildings, Building Brokers Perth to name a few.
I would be interested in people’s experience in developing this way and if there are some building brokers they would recommend in Perth
Hi Ladybird
Do you meant the cost-plus builder?
If you are I would suggest you to be very careful about this. One of my client had just engaged the service of a Morley based builder. He had his 2-stories plan drawn by someone else and get this builder to build.
My client was very upset as a lot of the things are not done in the way as the plan described. He was very upset, and a number of paint work / plastering is not done property. He called the builder to come and repair the thing as it should be under the building warranty but it had been months the builder still refuse to turn up. As I promised the client and privacy act I wouldnt name the builder but still, be very careful.
The other client of mine is engaging the service of another builder broker. I'll give you the name if they do good job in the coming 2-3 weeks.
Hi Ladybird,
I know this forum is old, but i just commented on another forum today where someone was asking about Building brokers.
Some friends of mine used a National Building Broker called better building prices. They saved 65k on their house and said it was the best thing they ever done. I'm in the process of selling my existing house and upgrading to a bigger home and I've had discussions with them about designing and pricing my next home in Canningvale. The guy who put them onto this company built a 3 or 4 unit development in Morley with them and saved 15k per/unit plus about 5-10k on his house drawings. Can't argue with that i suppose.
The website is http://www.betterbuildingprices.com.au
Very well oiled company and they know there stuff!
Since I made the original post, I have engaged the services of a building broker called RCI:
http://www.rcibuilding.com.au/
To date RCI have designed the two townhouses I plan to build (I get to own the designs) and have obtained planning approval from the council. We have worked together to do detailed specifications of what fittings and finishes I require, right down to the brand of toilet role holder, so there is little room for the eventually to be chosen builder to screw me on variation charges.
We are currently at the stage where they have sent the designs and detailed specs out to 5 builders and are awaiting quotes to be returned. They have chosen builders who they know to be comfortable with the type of project I am undertaking.
Although we have quite a bit more to do, I am extremely happy with their performance so far. Their initial design of the townhouses was so good that I didn’t really need to make any changes other than increasing some room sizes over and above what I had originally requested. This is in contrast to two building companies I had initially gone with and whom I abandoned after spending several thousand on their designs. One of these builders, Summit Projects, made an absolutely appalling design that was completely at odds with what I requested. It even turned out that they were designing under the constraints of the wrong zoning for my block, even though they had been clearly told what it was by me and in any case was available from the council.
The good thing with using the building broker is that should I decide not to pursue the project for any reason or delay it for a while, I own all the designs and documents produced to date. I am also not tied to any builder, until I sign a contract with the builder.
I'm glad you posted that SmithersK.
I investigated their services a few months ago. They could beat no quote I had received, not one, so they didn't even bother.
What they seem to want is to get you locked in to their own draftsman and then you have to go with one of their builders.
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