Save Thousands By Choosing The Right Design And Build Company From The Start

Save $1000s By Choosing The Right Design And Build Company From The Start

Stephen Moore gives advice on where the costs can add up and how to avoid unnecessary spending when designing and building your dream home…

John – “So, the scope of works, that means everything is in writing…”

Stephen – “Everything is in writing…”

John – “There’s no innuendo?”

Stephen – “No.”

John – “So, that’s where the budget comes into it… I like the sound of this. I am potentially saving money.”

Stephen – “It works very well. You’re absolutely saving money.”

“And look, it’s funny you should say that, we have clients that come to us that have run their own tender process and found that, for example; they’ve had prices from $1m to $2m…every builder’s quote seems to be different. The clients can’t understand why there’s such a variance. And the key to that is because they don’t have the scope of works. It’s not detailed specifically. It’s not a document written by a builder, for a builder.”

What’s the difference between the Architectural journey and the Design and Build journey?

Stephen – ” It’s a good question. And it is a journey. People have the choice when you’re going down the custom build route; whether you hire an architect who does the design for you and that project can be put out to tender, or whether you go to a company that has in-house builders and an in-house design team.”

“I think, fundamentally, the problem with that (design and build) journey is that once the design is done by the design and build company, they own that design. So, they do the design, you get a quote and if you’re not happy with that quote, you can’t take that design to another builder to get a quote.”

“Whereas, if you go down the architectural route, you own the plans, you can go and get a quote from anybody. That is a big difference there.

“The other problem with the design and build model is often they will have a cheaper upfront design fee which gives clients a false sense of security. ‘It’s a cheaper fee, let’s go down that route.’ However, in the long run, it can prove very costly.”

“I had one client over in Mosman where they said to the company, ‘we want to buy the rights off of you’ and they paid $60,000 for the rights of that design to be able to now get a quote from someone else.”

Watch the full interview to learn more about the all in one service and process that The Site Foreman offer clients and the unique three steps service model when designing and building custom design homes with The Site Foreman.

If you’re thinking of designing and building or carrying out major renovations on your home, feel free to call us and speak to one of our Design Consultants on 1300 728 006 or email service@thesiteforeman.com.au.