ᐅ No groundbreaking yet, but already problems with the construction company
Created on: 4 Oct 2016 09:59
J
Jazz089
Hello dear forum community,
I just need to vent a little. As mentioned in the headline, we haven't even broken ground yet, but I'm already frustrated with the construction company. We are building with Town & Country and originally didn’t want to build with them, but because of the plot of land, we were tied to this company. Maybe this is all normal, but I just feel like I’m being taken for a ride...
We’re all probably aware that building a house is expensive. We also know that Town & Country doesn’t represent the luxury segment of homebuilding (and they’re not exactly cheap either). So why am I upset right now? First of all, we have absolutely no cost transparency. We want a decentralized ventilation system instead of a central one. During the sales meeting, they said that a decentralized system is not an option for our house type or that they had bad experiences with it. Since this was very important to us, the salesperson said he would call the heating contractor again to see if there might be another possibility. Well, we then received an email stating that we would have to pay an additional 3,000€ (about 3,300 USD) and would get a decentralized ventilation system. After the planning meeting with the managing director, this statement was revoked and he said he would send us an offer. Well, that 3,000€ then turned into 10,000€. We complained, and then suddenly it was 6,000€ plus 2,000€ for the basement. What am I even supposed to believe at this point?
Then there was the issue with ordering extra windows. During the sales meeting, I wanted to include all additional windows we planned to have. But I was told to sort that out with the architect later, and that the surcharge for windows would only be the material cost… Now we are being asked to pay 950€ (about 1,050 USD) for upgrading from standard to floor-to-ceiling windows and 1,750€ (about 1,940 USD) for an additional floor-to-ceiling window. The prices seem extremely expensive to me, and I’m just not willing to be taken advantage of like this. In the construction contract, we already included 4 additional windows, but these were never accounted for in the pricing… I’m just so frustrated and we haven’t even properly started yet.
How do you see the window costs? Are these normal prices? Maybe I’m not yet fully in the building mindset and haven’t gotten used to additional costs, but it just seems very expensive to me.
Thanks for listening.
I just need to vent a little. As mentioned in the headline, we haven't even broken ground yet, but I'm already frustrated with the construction company. We are building with Town & Country and originally didn’t want to build with them, but because of the plot of land, we were tied to this company. Maybe this is all normal, but I just feel like I’m being taken for a ride...
We’re all probably aware that building a house is expensive. We also know that Town & Country doesn’t represent the luxury segment of homebuilding (and they’re not exactly cheap either). So why am I upset right now? First of all, we have absolutely no cost transparency. We want a decentralized ventilation system instead of a central one. During the sales meeting, they said that a decentralized system is not an option for our house type or that they had bad experiences with it. Since this was very important to us, the salesperson said he would call the heating contractor again to see if there might be another possibility. Well, we then received an email stating that we would have to pay an additional 3,000€ (about 3,300 USD) and would get a decentralized ventilation system. After the planning meeting with the managing director, this statement was revoked and he said he would send us an offer. Well, that 3,000€ then turned into 10,000€. We complained, and then suddenly it was 6,000€ plus 2,000€ for the basement. What am I even supposed to believe at this point?
Then there was the issue with ordering extra windows. During the sales meeting, I wanted to include all additional windows we planned to have. But I was told to sort that out with the architect later, and that the surcharge for windows would only be the material cost… Now we are being asked to pay 950€ (about 1,050 USD) for upgrading from standard to floor-to-ceiling windows and 1,750€ (about 1,940 USD) for an additional floor-to-ceiling window. The prices seem extremely expensive to me, and I’m just not willing to be taken advantage of like this. In the construction contract, we already included 4 additional windows, but these were never accounted for in the pricing… I’m just so frustrated and we haven’t even properly started yet.
How do you see the window costs? Are these normal prices? Maybe I’m not yet fully in the building mindset and haven’t gotten used to additional costs, but it just seems very expensive to me.
Thanks for listening.
RobsonMKK schrieb:
Hi, the 6k is the usual additional cost in the Town & Country price list for the Vaillant Recovair.
It seems they tried to overcharge you with the initial price.Yes, that’s exactly how we feel. Completely ripped off. How do you know the prices? Have you built with Town & Country yourself? €6,000 plus €2,000 for the basement... I’m so frustrated!!!
The problem is that you’re unfortunately tied to the construction company and they can really do whatever they want with us.
RobsonMKK schrieb:
We are currently planning with a Town & Country partner.
However, they are very transparent, which is the issue with franchisors. Some are like this, others are different.
And so far, everything has always been explained to us very fairly and transparently.I’m glad to hear that! That’s how it should be, really. We also thought our partner was "relatively" fair. Well, now I’m having doubts. Especially since there is a difference between sales and management. If you are currently in contact with your partner, could you possibly ask about the windows again? It would really help us. Specifically, about the surcharge from standard to floor-to-ceiling windows!
I am sure that the additional cost of decentralized ventilation compared to centralized ventilation is actually quite small if it is a "proper" decentralized system with heat recovery and so on. For a single-family house, you need at least 8 to 10 decentralized units, each requiring wiring, wall penetrations, etc. The central mechanical ventilation with heat recovery itself is not that expensive by comparison, but installing the ductwork throughout the house does cost. The difference should be significantly less than 10,000 euros.
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The additional cost for our windows was around €1,000 depending on the size. This included electric Venetian blinds (anthracite), guide rails (anthracite), and window frames in anthracite. The guide rails alone already cost several hundred per linear meter. Is the extra charge possibly due to this, or are the costs for the blinds and guide rails added separately?
ntsa86 schrieb:
The extra cost for our windows was around €1,000 (about $1,100) depending on the size. However, this included electric external venetian blinds (anthracite), guide rails (anthracite), and anthracite-colored windows. The guide rails alone cost a few hundred euros per linear meter. Is the extra charge possibly due to this, or are the costs for the blinds and guide rails additional?We plan to talk to the construction company again tomorrow to get a detailed breakdown of the window price. Our windows are also anthracite, and normally roller shutters are included—usually all electric. Venetian blinds are not included yet; depending on the window size, they would add approximately €350 to €1,200 (about $385 to $1,320) extra.