Developer houses

[spanners]

I'm about to order a house from a developer, those companies like Higginbotham / fairmont etc, to be built on land I already own. Once I get the final final costs I'll start to pick holes in the quote on specific items but my question to you all is this - is buying one of these houses just like buying an existing house or car in that I should look at the cost and then offer 15 - 20% less and haggle or are these costs more rigid? Those of you who have built, did you pay list price?

Thanks

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Anyone????

[Guest Guest5035]

good luck mate.

 

stevo

[Guest guest569]

i would say that you pay the quoted price for the house. See what you can get thrown in free of charge ( ie soil removal , storm water or any upgrades). Then you delete all the bits that you can get done after its handed over to you( ie driveway, paths, aircon and floor coverings).you will find these things marked up by around 20% so you will save $$ there.

[monty9110]

I'm about to order a house from a developer, those companies like Higginbotham / fairmont etc, to be built on land I already own. Once I get the final final costs I'll start to pick holes in the quote on specific items but my question to you all is this - is buying one of these houses just like buying an existing house or car in that I should look at the cost and then offer 15 - 20% less and haggle or are these costs more rigid? Those of you who have built, did you pay list price?

Thanks

 

We've just moved in to a new build..

 

I would say to expect alot of unexpected costs...The list price of the house doesnt include footings/groundworks and depending on your land (flat or sloped) can add alot to the cost of the house..

 

We went with a buildert who had an 'absolute price guarantee'.. but you dont get the costing from them until approx 5 months after you have paid your deposit!!! ( at which time its a bit late to pull out!. The estimate the sales man in the show home gave us was approx $50k out.. a cost which we werent expecting!!

 

We were very picky about the costs & there are alot of things we got the builders to do which we could have arranged ourselves later at a fraction of the cost!!

 

Another friend of ours (different builder) kept sending them bills for additional costs.. and ive even heard of bills being sent by builders for additional skips ( which are then filled up by any Tom, Dick or Harry passing by!!)

 

Good luck with your build..

(PM if you want any info)

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

You can easily add $50k on top pf the price you see at the show homes....We didnt upgrade alot.

 

You can pay $75 to upgrade single plug sockets to doubles....and well over $125 for an extra tv point in the room.

 

Its very quicky adds up....

 

HG

[spanners]

Thanks for the replies. I have a cost that includes the extras that I was after and yes, it has increased the initial cost by double. But now I have this price, before I sign the contract is there room for cost negotiations?

Thanks

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

Probably not mate, what you may have to watch out for is any increases in price if it takes to build ytour house eg labour, materials etc etc....

 

these can add up to...if they cnt do the work and finish on time they can ask for more money due to rising costs etc etc....

 

But at the end of the day if you dnt ask you get....

 

HG

[jim and adel]

I'd say it's very doubtful you'd get any reduction - the only price difference is likely to be up. Regardless of what guarantee you get or what stage of the process you're at, there are ways a builder can increase the price. If you did negotiate a lower cost I suspect a few weeks down the line the builder would find a way to recoup it.

 

Jim