Building your home is one of the single biggest investments you will make, however few who have built a home pay what they expected to or should have, or remember it as a hassle free experience. In fact the building process is often characterised by conflict between the homeowner and builder, usually over extra costs, payments, time delays or poor quality workmanship. Thus building also becomes one of the biggest financial and legal risks you will be exposed to!
So what is the solution?
A Building Costs Analysis
Ideally a Building Costs Analysis should be the step taken once your Architect has reached ‘Design Stage’ on your plans. This will allow you to know whether you are on-track costs-wise and make the necessary adjustments. Certainly though a Building Costs Analysis should be undertaken before arranging finance or calling for quotes (tendering).
The process most people follow however is finding and obtaining quotes from various Building Contractors once they have their plans. Typically however they receive quotes that vary considerably in price. The problem now is twofold; to identify which quotes are fully inclusive, (how do you ensure that you do not land up with the builder requesting more money during the project), and how do you ensure you don’t overpay? In other words, which quote is both accurate and fair?
This problem is common to many who desire to build their own home. Most of us tend to take the lower quote and often end up with the builder requesting more money, a shortfall in our bond, an unfinished project and a fight with the builder which may lead to litigation.
Build Aid’s Building Costs Analysis will help you choose the Right Builder at the Right contract price, by providing a “benchmark” against which you can assess the quotes you receive, enabling identification of the quote that is both accurate and fair.
No matter at what stage you have your Building Costs Analysis done though it serves to protect your financial interests.
Other ways our Building Costs Analysis ensures a successful building project and saves you money
As your very own Tender Document
The Building Costs Analysis is also available in a Tender document format that you can give to prospective Building Contractors or Sub-contractors. This allows you to compare “apples with apples” when comparing their quotes as they will look almost identical except for the prices reflected therein!
Buy your own Materials
Should you choose to reduce your overall costs even further you could order and pay for certain or all of your materials yourself. It’s really convenient to know the correct quantities to order and to negotiate prices and deliveries with the suppliers. I.e. Part-loads cost more than full loads. Unfortunately theft is also an issue even with building materials and knowing the correct quantities of materials will help establish if materials are going “missing”.
Guide to Progress Payments
You have just met with your builder and he has finished the foundations of your new house and asks for a “draw” for this phase of work done. He gives you an amount. Is this amount asked for correct? The Building Costs Analysis is presented in the same sequence as various phases of building and thus assists in determining progress payments.
Some other factors that are not taken into account in the m2 method are; Roof type, the Height of walls
We want to stress – never rely on the square metre (m2) system of pricing, it invites distress and possible disaster.