ᐅ Initial Consultation Appointment with the Prefabricated House Manufacturer
Created on: 19 Jun 2017 18:38
I
Illexchubby
Hello everyone,
My girlfriend and I have decided to fulfill our dream of owning a home. We chose to build a prefabricated house and have already provisionally reserved a plot of land that meets our location and price expectations.
Our plan was (and is) to sit down with prefab house manufacturers, show them our development plan and regulations, and then work together on possible floor plans that meet our individual wishes. We also hoped to get some initial quotes to help us plan and estimate the financing of the whole project.
It’s quite a rough approach for the beginning, I know, but this was primarily meant to help us decide for or against the reserved plot and, of course, to better estimate whether we can afford it.
Over the last few months, we have visited many model home parks and have narrowed down to 3-4 preferred manufacturers.
We recently scheduled our first appointment for a consultation. By the way, it was with a “top” manufacturer, at least according to recent reviews from sources like FocusMoney.
At the start of the meeting, the representative neither introduced herself nor her company in any way. It quickly became clear that the main purpose of the meeting was just to present us with an initial offer. We had sent our plot plan in advance, requesting a review and feedback regarding the location and orientation, but we received no response on that. When I asked about it, she just said she showed it to an architect, who did not see any issues. We flipped through some catalogs, and when I pointed out a floor plan that roughly matched our ideas, it was immediately noted for inclusion in the offer. Then she asked me which heating system I wanted. But who would know that at the first meeting? She then mentioned that for this size, about 160m² (1720 square feet) over two floors, it basically only makes sense to build to KfW55 standards and use an air-source heat pump. When I asked how flexible the floor plans could be, she said we would handle that with the architect later, when the time comes. However, it turned out that I can only see the architect if I sign a preliminary contract because, according to her, the planning involves high costs and the company needs a certain level of security. I also learned that this manufacturer does not have in-house architects but commissions them externally.
Is this the usual process? I feel like I can't buy a plot without at least a floor plan or rough draft, right? At the kitchen showroom, they design my kitchen for the space before I sign anything! I always thought you first look at the building site with the architect in person…
Am I mistaken? Is this just wishful thinking on my part? What can I realistically expect?
Thanks a lot for your answers.
Best regards,
Dennis
My girlfriend and I have decided to fulfill our dream of owning a home. We chose to build a prefabricated house and have already provisionally reserved a plot of land that meets our location and price expectations.
Our plan was (and is) to sit down with prefab house manufacturers, show them our development plan and regulations, and then work together on possible floor plans that meet our individual wishes. We also hoped to get some initial quotes to help us plan and estimate the financing of the whole project.
It’s quite a rough approach for the beginning, I know, but this was primarily meant to help us decide for or against the reserved plot and, of course, to better estimate whether we can afford it.
Over the last few months, we have visited many model home parks and have narrowed down to 3-4 preferred manufacturers.
We recently scheduled our first appointment for a consultation. By the way, it was with a “top” manufacturer, at least according to recent reviews from sources like FocusMoney.
At the start of the meeting, the representative neither introduced herself nor her company in any way. It quickly became clear that the main purpose of the meeting was just to present us with an initial offer. We had sent our plot plan in advance, requesting a review and feedback regarding the location and orientation, but we received no response on that. When I asked about it, she just said she showed it to an architect, who did not see any issues. We flipped through some catalogs, and when I pointed out a floor plan that roughly matched our ideas, it was immediately noted for inclusion in the offer. Then she asked me which heating system I wanted. But who would know that at the first meeting? She then mentioned that for this size, about 160m² (1720 square feet) over two floors, it basically only makes sense to build to KfW55 standards and use an air-source heat pump. When I asked how flexible the floor plans could be, she said we would handle that with the architect later, when the time comes. However, it turned out that I can only see the architect if I sign a preliminary contract because, according to her, the planning involves high costs and the company needs a certain level of security. I also learned that this manufacturer does not have in-house architects but commissions them externally.
Is this the usual process? I feel like I can't buy a plot without at least a floor plan or rough draft, right? At the kitchen showroom, they design my kitchen for the space before I sign anything! I always thought you first look at the building site with the architect in person…
Am I mistaken? Is this just wishful thinking on my part? What can I realistically expect?
Thanks a lot for your answers.
Best regards,
Dennis
H
HilfeHilfe21 Jun 2017 07:4911ant schrieb:
Requesting quotes has become somewhat of a national pastime. Unfortunately, there are quite a few people who just want to find out how much their dream house costs, even though they don’t have a plot of land yet (or don’t know what a zoning plan / development plan is, how to read it, or if building is even possible there). Some haven’t even discussed how much financing they qualify for. Would you really provide a quote to everyone just because there might be a serious buyer hidden among a handful of dreamers?Well, no one gets a written quote. Usually, you meet for a coffee, chat for about 60 minutes, and then get a price thrown at you that you should expect at minimum.
There’s no need to fire up the computer or produce an extensive proposal. A good sales professional knows when it’s worthwhile to get specific. Have you ever worked in sales? If so, you’d know there’s a lot of downtime involved.
T
toxicmolotof21 Jun 2017 08:08What is an investment of 250,000 EUR these days? Here, that only gets you the land or a basic house model with 100 sqm (1,076 sq ft). So, it's more on the lower end.
Putting that aside... Have you ever asked a city how many bids they receive to build the so-called "garage"?
In our case, a daycare center was supposed to be built, and not a single company applied.
Putting that aside... Have you ever asked a city how many bids they receive to build the so-called "garage"?
In our case, a daycare center was supposed to be built, and not a single company applied.
Sure, anyone who understands how public contracts are handled avoids them if they can afford to. In the private sector, I don’t know any client with such poor payment discipline as public authorities. If I owned a construction company, I certainly wouldn’t bid on public projects in today’s environment.
My experience in the public sector is different. Once you’re in, things run smoothly. It is important to clearly define how to handle change orders, but after that, everything flows.
In cases where there were no bidders at all, in my experience, it usually results from unreasonable requirements in the tender that cannot be met.
In cases where there were no bidders at all, in my experience, it usually results from unreasonable requirements in the tender that cannot be met.
HilfeHilfe schrieb:
Well, no one gets a written offer. You go there for a coffee, chat for 60 minutes, and then get a price thrown at you as a rough estimate of what you should expect. Usually, the client expects more detailed information than just a total sum as a ballpark figure. Floor area multiplied by height multiplied by price per cubic meter is quickly calculated. The result is shocked faces and confusion about how the total amount was reached and how to "reasonably reduce" it. Resolving this takes considerably more time.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
Alex85 schrieb:
My experience in the public sector is different. Once you are in, everything runs smoothly. It is important to clearly define how to handle change orders, but then things flow well.
If there were no bidders at all, in my experience, it usually comes down to unreasonable requirements in the tender that cannot be met.Or possibly due to good payment reliability. That is my experience.