ᐅ Building with a general contractor – were you able to negotiate the terms, and if so, what did you manage to arrange?
Created on: 7 Apr 2016 10:17
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MizitFirst of all: This is not about naming companies that might have offered some discounts on the final price, and we don’t consider the possibility of negotiating a better deal for the client crucial for deciding whom to build with.
So far, in our discussions with two providers, the question of how negotiable the final price is or whether extra-cost options can be negotiated out has not played any role.
A friend who is an architect told us that you can usually negotiate a little with a big general contractor, but once you have made a decision for one or the other, you shouldn’t consider the initially quoted prices as set in stone. There is usually some room for negotiation.
Is that your experience? Have you been able to lower the price by a few percent or negotiate extras? As I said, I don’t want to hear any company names, just general interest in whether that’s the case.
So far, in our discussions with two providers, the question of how negotiable the final price is or whether extra-cost options can be negotiated out has not played any role.
A friend who is an architect told us that you can usually negotiate a little with a big general contractor, but once you have made a decision for one or the other, you shouldn’t consider the initially quoted prices as set in stone. There is usually some room for negotiation.
Is that your experience? Have you been able to lower the price by a few percent or negotiate extras? As I said, I don’t want to hear any company names, just general interest in whether that’s the case.
Well, right now we’re just happy to secure any building window at all...!
(another southwestern area around Hamburg)
I would rather add something to speed it up.
But that doesn’t work, which is probably for the best.
Since the plot involves a non-transparent mixed calculation, there is certainly some room for a discount.
Having dealt professionally with construction defects from a legal perspective in the past, let me tell you: the price is secondary; the final result has to be right.
Unfortunately, you just don’t know that in advance...
(another southwestern area around Hamburg)
I would rather add something to speed it up.
But that doesn’t work, which is probably for the best.
Since the plot involves a non-transparent mixed calculation, there is certainly some room for a discount.
Having dealt professionally with construction defects from a legal perspective in the past, let me tell you: the price is secondary; the final result has to be right.
Unfortunately, you just don’t know that in advance...
Given the current situation, negotiating is difficult... if you don’t build, someone else will come along...
But yes, we were able to recover quite a bit, often because defects appeared here and there, which allowed us to request a reduction since the final result wasn’t exactly as on paper, or plans were approved too early even though we hadn’t signed off on them yet, and so on.
In those cases, you can negotiate... but it’s still only small amounts compared to the overall construction cost...
But yes, we were able to recover quite a bit, often because defects appeared here and there, which allowed us to request a reduction since the final result wasn’t exactly as on paper, or plans were approved too early even though we hadn’t signed off on them yet, and so on.
In those cases, you can negotiate... but it’s still only small amounts compared to the overall construction cost...
In my opinion, our general contractor (GC) offered fair prices. There wasn’t much room for negotiation on the price itself.
However, he included many tasks that others might have charged for separately. During the construction contract negotiations, I often insisted on having certain services included. This usually just made him shake his head (we were negotiating directly with the owner). Essentially, he said something like: "Normally, we would have done these tasks anyway. Now that they are specifically written into the contract, we have to charge for them." At the time, I didn’t fully trust that and preferred to have them documented. Now I know that back then, he actually would have handled those tasks without extra charge (this became clear with other issues). His subcontractors acted similarly in some cases (for example, the civil engineers who brought half a truckload of gravel without extra charge or later concreted the mailbox posts for us). It’s also true that you get what you give. They wouldn’t have been so accommodating with someone difficult.
Our GC also passed on his discounts to us. For example, the tile center was quite surprised that the 10% discount was deducted from the price before it reached us, instead of being kept by the GC.
Additional costs mostly arose from factors beyond his control: for example, a deeper geothermal borehole or an electrical system upgrade.
Where in Rhineland-Palatinate (RLP) are you planning to build? Maybe they are active in your area as well.
However, he included many tasks that others might have charged for separately. During the construction contract negotiations, I often insisted on having certain services included. This usually just made him shake his head (we were negotiating directly with the owner). Essentially, he said something like: "Normally, we would have done these tasks anyway. Now that they are specifically written into the contract, we have to charge for them." At the time, I didn’t fully trust that and preferred to have them documented. Now I know that back then, he actually would have handled those tasks without extra charge (this became clear with other issues). His subcontractors acted similarly in some cases (for example, the civil engineers who brought half a truckload of gravel without extra charge or later concreted the mailbox posts for us). It’s also true that you get what you give. They wouldn’t have been so accommodating with someone difficult.
Our GC also passed on his discounts to us. For example, the tile center was quite surprised that the 10% discount was deducted from the price before it reached us, instead of being kept by the GC.
Additional costs mostly arose from factors beyond his control: for example, a deeper geothermal borehole or an electrical system upgrade.
Where in Rhineland-Palatinate (RLP) are you planning to build? Maybe they are active in your area as well.
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Bauexperte7 Apr 2016 11:20ONeill schrieb:
So, we were still able to include the controlled residential ventilation system and a few smaller items. At what cost...?
Regards, Bauexperte