ᐅ Preliminary selection / Final selection / Initial consultation with the home builder
Created on: 12 Feb 2017 08:54
W
Winniefred
Hello!
We are still in the early stages of planning our house. Yesterday, we had our first meeting with the prospective home builder. It went fairly well. We like the system they offer, and the price is still within a reasonable range (based on initial estimates^^).
However, the topic of preliminary selections came up. This builder is local, so their selection center is only about 45 minutes away. The advisor, however, firmly insisted that no home builder offers preliminary selections and that they don’t do it either (because then lots of people who aren’t even customers would walk through the selection center, etc.). Only after signing the contract. Even though I voiced my concerns, he was not willing to discuss it. That really upset me. Overall, the advisor seemed like a typical salesperson, in a negative way. He named a few extra costs from the list, for example for solar panels, etc. If I order a new car at a dealership, I don’t sign first and then find out what the standard features are and what the extras cost.
Since I’ve been reading this forum for some time, I know from a reliable source that many builders do offer preliminary selections. Should we now rather walk away from this builder? He pretty much lied to our face—who knows what else he might be hiding?
Of course, we will get several quotes from other builders; we’re not in a rush. We hope to build in 2019 if everything fits. But the system was really our favorite, and it still would be regardless of the advisor—if it weren’t for the issue of no preliminary selections.
What are your experiences? Who has bought without any preliminary selections? Is it maybe possible to skip this advisor and discuss it with someone else at the company?
I have serious concerns. In retrospect, we would have no “leverage,” no basis for negotiation, and probably who knows how high extra selection costs...
We are still in the early stages of planning our house. Yesterday, we had our first meeting with the prospective home builder. It went fairly well. We like the system they offer, and the price is still within a reasonable range (based on initial estimates^^).
However, the topic of preliminary selections came up. This builder is local, so their selection center is only about 45 minutes away. The advisor, however, firmly insisted that no home builder offers preliminary selections and that they don’t do it either (because then lots of people who aren’t even customers would walk through the selection center, etc.). Only after signing the contract. Even though I voiced my concerns, he was not willing to discuss it. That really upset me. Overall, the advisor seemed like a typical salesperson, in a negative way. He named a few extra costs from the list, for example for solar panels, etc. If I order a new car at a dealership, I don’t sign first and then find out what the standard features are and what the extras cost.
Since I’ve been reading this forum for some time, I know from a reliable source that many builders do offer preliminary selections. Should we now rather walk away from this builder? He pretty much lied to our face—who knows what else he might be hiding?
Of course, we will get several quotes from other builders; we’re not in a rush. We hope to build in 2019 if everything fits. But the system was really our favorite, and it still would be regardless of the advisor—if it weren’t for the issue of no preliminary selections.
What are your experiences? Who has bought without any preliminary selections? Is it maybe possible to skip this advisor and discuss it with someone else at the company?
I have serious concerns. In retrospect, we would have no “leverage,” no basis for negotiation, and probably who knows how high extra selection costs...
C
Caspar202012 Feb 2017 12:02In our prefabricated house contract, many details were discussed with the consultant, especially the major items. We also had the advantage that our provider has an entire forum available; there were extensive lists of additional costs as well as many ideas about what options you can actually select.
With the consultant, we had a factory tour, followed by lunch, and then spent the entire afternoon in the sample center. There, we could look at everything included in the standard selection. For some items, we did not like the standard options or decided immediately on a specific type or quality. We were given the prices right away, and these were directly included in the contract. After this full day, the contract was reviewed again, and the final details were refined.
The actual selection process after obtaining the building permit / planning permission is scheduled by the provider to take two full days at the sample center.
With the consultant, we had a factory tour, followed by lunch, and then spent the entire afternoon in the sample center. There, we could look at everything included in the standard selection. For some items, we did not like the standard options or decided immediately on a specific type or quality. We were given the prices right away, and these were directly included in the contract. After this full day, the contract was reviewed again, and the final details were refined.
The actual selection process after obtaining the building permit / planning permission is scheduled by the provider to take two full days at the sample center.
We had a conversation with a supplier. They also did not want a preliminary selection. However, we called the selection center, and they saw no problems with that. Still, a salesperson has to attend this appointment, which the supplier did not want to do. In the end, we decided to go with an architect. The architect calmly selects all the individual items over several days or hours with local dealers. (We didn’t want to make decisions about tiles, sanitary ware, floor coverings, stairs, electrical work, etc., all within 1.5 days.) After that, the total amount is finalized, and the construction contract is signed. Of course, we had previously hired the architect by contract for the individual service stages.
We had four providers to choose from, and we were able to visit each of their sample centers on our own. Before signing, all of them offered us the opportunity to tour the construction site and visit the showroom accompanied by a representative to ask questions. Our chosen provider, with whom we are now building, also informed us of every additional charge we inquired about, down to an extra electrical outlet.
This was our experience with the matter. I would not sign a contract without a prior selection process and would clearly communicate that to the advisor. Then see how they respond.
Additional costs will definitely arise, and it’s important to have an overview of their amounts. In our case, we were informed about every extra cost, and this was respected. We also had these charges listed in the contract.
This was our experience with the matter. I would not sign a contract without a prior selection process and would clearly communicate that to the advisor. Then see how they respond.
Additional costs will definitely arise, and it’s important to have an overview of their amounts. In our case, we were informed about every extra cost, and this was respected. We also had these charges listed in the contract.
M
Maike&Basti12 Feb 2017 14:42I believe that if a provider works truly transparently, they will give you a detailed scope of work. This document should clearly show the standard included.
However, I think that when a general contractor or developer runs their own selection center, you can definitely expect significant markups on anything that exceeds the standard scope of work—after all, they want to make a profit from that as well.
At the time, we were given the address of a building materials supplier where we could choose many of the materials ourselves. For the brick veneer, the scope of work included a price per 1000 units (approximately 2200 lbs), and anything beyond that cost extra.
There were no suitable tiles for us there, so we received a rebate and purchased the materials from a local specialist retailer. We even ended up saving some money.
All other additional work and special requests we settled directly with the individual trades without the general contractor being involved.
However, I think that when a general contractor or developer runs their own selection center, you can definitely expect significant markups on anything that exceeds the standard scope of work—after all, they want to make a profit from that as well.
At the time, we were given the address of a building materials supplier where we could choose many of the materials ourselves. For the brick veneer, the scope of work included a price per 1000 units (approximately 2200 lbs), and anything beyond that cost extra.
There were no suitable tiles for us there, so we received a rebate and purchased the materials from a local specialist retailer. We even ended up saving some money.
All other additional work and special requests we settled directly with the individual trades without the general contractor being involved.
Winniefred schrieb:
(there would be a lot of people who aren’t even customers yet walking through the selection center etc). Only after signing. [...] In general, the consultant was more like the typical salesperson, in a negative sense.The typical salespeople, in a positive sense, will appreciate this because he is their best assistant. I would have sent a polite fax saying: “We probably would have signed with you, but your sales rookie wasn’t on top of things.” I assume that unsupervised wandering through the selection center isn’t exactly welcomed, and it’s expected that the salesperson guides the customer there. If they aren’t compensated for that, they are unlikely to be motivated. But then they clearly don’t understand the connection between engagement and closing the deal. This also makes me suspect that this provider works with independent sales agents – in my opinion, a disadvantage.
In any case, I would never consider buying a house blind, without knowing the framework where more than standard features are planned. On the other hand, do you have a clear definition of how much of your budget can be allocated to above-standard quality features?
You probably don’t need to worry much about the provider offering certain options in colors that don’t suit your taste at the desired quality level. What must be eliminated before signing is the overall price risk (that it becomes too expensive if you want it to be nice enough).
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