Hello,
Since April, we have been looking for a construction company to build a single-family house. Our plan was to first gather some quotes or cost estimates. After all, this is a decision that should be well considered. However, many of the companies we contacted either do not provide an offer, stop responding, or do not reply at all. This is starting to make us suspicious. We are not planning anything unusual. A simple single-family house of about 130m² (1400 sq ft), with an air source heat pump, living room, kitchen, toilet, and utility room on the ground floor, as well as a bedroom, children’s room, bathroom, and office on the upper floor.
For example, we had a conversation with a local construction company that ended with the statement that we would receive an offer. We then heard nothing from them for weeks. When we called, we were only told the manager was out of the office, would call back later, or similar excuses. When we finally reached him, he just postponed again until we gave up asking.
Another company wanted to schedule a meeting with us. After I suggested a date by email, we received no further response.
Another said they would call the next day to arrange a meeting, but never called.
Yet another asked us to call at the beginning of the week to set up a meeting, which we did. Suddenly, they became dismissive and said they could not estimate costs without a completed design from an architect hired by us, and that was the end of it.
What are we doing wrong? Isn’t it normal to present your ideas and get a rough idea of the costs or whether it is achievable within the desired budget? We are becoming quite desperate.
Since April, we have been looking for a construction company to build a single-family house. Our plan was to first gather some quotes or cost estimates. After all, this is a decision that should be well considered. However, many of the companies we contacted either do not provide an offer, stop responding, or do not reply at all. This is starting to make us suspicious. We are not planning anything unusual. A simple single-family house of about 130m² (1400 sq ft), with an air source heat pump, living room, kitchen, toilet, and utility room on the ground floor, as well as a bedroom, children’s room, bathroom, and office on the upper floor.
For example, we had a conversation with a local construction company that ended with the statement that we would receive an offer. We then heard nothing from them for weeks. When we called, we were only told the manager was out of the office, would call back later, or similar excuses. When we finally reached him, he just postponed again until we gave up asking.
Another company wanted to schedule a meeting with us. After I suggested a date by email, we received no further response.
Another said they would call the next day to arrange a meeting, but never called.
Yet another asked us to call at the beginning of the week to set up a meeting, which we did. Suddenly, they became dismissive and said they could not estimate costs without a completed design from an architect hired by us, and that was the end of it.
What are we doing wrong? Isn’t it normal to present your ideas and get a rough idea of the costs or whether it is achievable within the desired budget? We are becoming quite desperate.
ypg schrieb:
To me, it sounds (or rather reads) like you already want a price quote during the initial exploration phase. You haven’t yet decided if the scope of work description suits you or if you like the builder’s philosophy. You are randomly jumping between builders with fixed expectations without having had any discussion. Why should a builder invest time now when most information is roughly available on the website, and the customer will probably drop out anyway?! Maybe I’m exaggerating in my imagination, but I’ve gone through this myself: I requested catalogs with price lists or used the internet. I inquired about 3 to 5 building companies by phone and email regarding a building structure, and ultimately visited the one remaining for a personal meeting to discuss plans with special features. Maybe another would have offered the same price but built me 10 sq m (108 sq ft) more? It doesn’t matter, because my gut feeling must tell me that this is the right builder for me. Therefore, approximate figures are enough for comparison when it comes to a standard house to narrow down options – which you haven’t done yet.
Just my opinion!Here, one somehow quickly gets labeled as a difficult customer, unpleasant in approach, too demanding, etc.
I’ve even created spreadsheets to compare sections of different scopes of work. We visited model home exhibitions, a local fair, toured houses, talked with acquaintances and friends, drafted floor plans, studied the websites of various providers, read building blogs, and ordered catalogs. We also had conversations. Based on that, three offers were made. I received quotes from three companies; two of them I don’t like at all, but that’s not enough to make a well-informed decision. I don’t understand why this should be considered so wrong. We didn’t pursue one provider further because they pressured us to sign a contract. Another, with whom we had a really good conversation, never presented us with an offer, cost estimate, or a calculated reference house, as described. We were kept waiting for weeks until we gave up. If they don’t want to build with us, they can simply say, “Sorry, but this won’t work.” But to just leave us out in the cold like that can’t be normal. And if we’re not even invited to meetings with others, it’s hard to prove to them that we are serious.
NullVier schrieb:
Here, you quickly get labeled as a difficult customer, unpleasant in attitude, too demanding, and so on.
I even created spreadsheets to compare sections of different construction service descriptions. We visited model home exhibitions, a local trade fair, toured houses, talked to acquaintances and friends, drafted floor plans, studied various providers’ websites, read construction blogs, and ordered brochures. We also had discussions. Based on these, three offers were made. I received proposals from three companies, two of which I don’t like at all, but that’s not enough to make a well-informed decision. I don’t understand why this should be seen as so wrong. We didn’t pursue one provider further because they tried to pressure us into signing a contract. Another, with whom we had a really good conversation, never presented us with an offer, quote, cost estimate, or a calculated reference house, as described. We were put off for weeks until we gave up. If they don’t want to build with us, they could just say, “Sorry, but this won’t work.” But to just leave us out in the cold can’t be normal. And when we’re not even invited to appointments by others, it’s hard to prove to them that we are serious. Maybe you are a client who, like us, should try your luck with a freelance architect. You could, for example, find one through good references from friends and acquaintances.
You won’t be quickly dismissed here as a difficult customer with an unpleasant attitude. Unusually, you often don’t receive concrete offers or are kept waiting. This situation is initially very noticeable, and understandably you wonder why this is happening to you.
Of course, it is theoretically possible that you are just having bad luck and that things aren’t working out as they should. But that would also be somewhat unusual, since providers want to make money, almost regardless of who they do business with.
The critical look at your own behavior is meant as an encouragement for self-reflection. But this very reaction shows me that such critical self-examination is not wanted at all, and a consideration of your own approach does not take place. Instead, the response switches to indignation.
The fact is that you apparently are not successful in obtaining offers, and your contacts seem to prefer not to do business with you, even though they presumably have little objection to making money.
I wish you the best of luck in selecting an architect, as these issues could arise there in a similar way.
Of course, it is theoretically possible that you are just having bad luck and that things aren’t working out as they should. But that would also be somewhat unusual, since providers want to make money, almost regardless of who they do business with.
The critical look at your own behavior is meant as an encouragement for self-reflection. But this very reaction shows me that such critical self-examination is not wanted at all, and a consideration of your own approach does not take place. Instead, the response switches to indignation.
The fact is that you apparently are not successful in obtaining offers, and your contacts seem to prefer not to do business with you, even though they presumably have little objection to making money.
I wish you the best of luck in selecting an architect, as these issues could arise there in a similar way.
In my first post, I wrote:
The response was:
I find it quite upsetting that this would be considered too much to ask when you want to build a house.
Then I explained that we have two offers, where the first provider did not sufficiently address our wishes and with the second, the materials and fittings used did not suit us. I was then accused of having already “burned” two companies and was advised to choose one of those two companies. I also find that quite inappropriate.
Of course, we have certainly made mistakes as well. At first, we submitted a floor plan that we later stopped using because it quickly became clear that the first one was unnecessarily large and included costly extras. As inexperienced clients, you simply don’t know much at first. However, we are now always working from the revised floor plan, and we are currently looking for an offer mostly from a local provider based on that.
At some point, out of frustration, I sent about five emails in a row just to ask whether these providers even build in our region and if they could estimate the costs for a single-family house with the specifications given in the first post. That was probably a mistake. But, as I said, I was desperate because we weren’t making progress.
Okay, our approach might also be completely off. I have thought about this (but not written down those thoughts here), and I can’t think of what might be so off-putting about us. However, we are quite young, both in our early 30s, and my voice unfortunately makes me sound even younger. We don’t have children yet. Maybe that’s why they don’t take us seriously. There’s not much I can do about that.
By the way, I had a phone call yesterday (which sounded very uninterested at first), and then I quickly mentioned that we already own a plot of land. Suddenly, the interest noticeably changed.
So, I guess the construction companies are really busy and are not actively competing for clients. Maybe mentioning the plot of land as early as possible helps now. Or perhaps we will decide to contract the trades individually.
In any case, I thank you for your advice and would wish that builders at least ask questions if they are unsure whether someone is serious. Simply anything they need to know to be sure it is an actual potential customer and not a prank inquiry.
Isn’t it normal to present your ideas and, in return, be told approximately what costs to expect or whether it is feasible within the desired budget?
The response was:
You are asking for a lot of work.
I find it quite upsetting that this would be considered too much to ask when you want to build a house.
Then I explained that we have two offers, where the first provider did not sufficiently address our wishes and with the second, the materials and fittings used did not suit us. I was then accused of having already “burned” two companies and was advised to choose one of those two companies. I also find that quite inappropriate.
Of course, we have certainly made mistakes as well. At first, we submitted a floor plan that we later stopped using because it quickly became clear that the first one was unnecessarily large and included costly extras. As inexperienced clients, you simply don’t know much at first. However, we are now always working from the revised floor plan, and we are currently looking for an offer mostly from a local provider based on that.
At some point, out of frustration, I sent about five emails in a row just to ask whether these providers even build in our region and if they could estimate the costs for a single-family house with the specifications given in the first post. That was probably a mistake. But, as I said, I was desperate because we weren’t making progress.
Okay, our approach might also be completely off. I have thought about this (but not written down those thoughts here), and I can’t think of what might be so off-putting about us. However, we are quite young, both in our early 30s, and my voice unfortunately makes me sound even younger. We don’t have children yet. Maybe that’s why they don’t take us seriously. There’s not much I can do about that.
By the way, I had a phone call yesterday (which sounded very uninterested at first), and then I quickly mentioned that we already own a plot of land. Suddenly, the interest noticeably changed.
So, I guess the construction companies are really busy and are not actively competing for clients. Maybe mentioning the plot of land as early as possible helps now. Or perhaps we will decide to contract the trades individually.
In any case, I thank you for your advice and would wish that builders at least ask questions if they are unsure whether someone is serious. Simply anything they need to know to be sure it is an actual potential customer and not a prank inquiry.
T
toxicmolotof15 Oct 2015 10:55That is exactly the problem... the line between a "joking question," or rather a vague inquiry, and having a finished plan in hand along the lines of "how much will our house cost" is very blurry.
And even when someone comes around with a finalized and approved design from an architect, it still doesn’t automatically lead to enthusiasm and excitement.
I never demanded that one of the two providers be chosen immediately. But since you yourselves showed no interest in these companies, they were clearly out of the running (burned).
For the cost calculation of an approved house, such a specialist also needs a full day... including additional expenses, that easily amounts to 1000 euros (about $1100) investment. If this is done 10 times without a contract, the 11th client would have to generate 10,000 euros ($11,000) in profit just to break even.
It’s only understandable that no one wants to invest too much time (money) for free.
You have to move away from the mindset that this is about long-term customer retention (like with insurance companies, banks, or direct sales representatives). Even retail is much more proactive in engaging customers but only provides standard CRM communication tools to keep (advertising) costs relatively low. The only option is to address a large volume of people, which is hardly possible in home building.
And even when someone comes around with a finalized and approved design from an architect, it still doesn’t automatically lead to enthusiasm and excitement.
I never demanded that one of the two providers be chosen immediately. But since you yourselves showed no interest in these companies, they were clearly out of the running (burned).
For the cost calculation of an approved house, such a specialist also needs a full day... including additional expenses, that easily amounts to 1000 euros (about $1100) investment. If this is done 10 times without a contract, the 11th client would have to generate 10,000 euros ($11,000) in profit just to break even.
It’s only understandable that no one wants to invest too much time (money) for free.
You have to move away from the mindset that this is about long-term customer retention (like with insurance companies, banks, or direct sales representatives). Even retail is much more proactive in engaging customers but only provides standard CRM communication tools to keep (advertising) costs relatively low. The only option is to address a large volume of people, which is hardly possible in home building.
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