Understanding Your Fixed Costs in 2022
When you’re building a new home, it’s important to understand the fixed costs in the quote you receive from your builder. Many builders will put something called ‘prime cost’ items or provisional allowances into their quote, and clients may find that when it comes to actually selecting items for their home, they’re met with surprise costs that weren’t included in their original quote. At Hotondo Homes, we are committed to providing clients with transparent pricing to ensure you don’t get any costly surprises.
What Are Prime Cost Items and Provisional Allowances?
Often builders may include prime cost items and provisional allowances in their quote. These could be for the kitchen, tapware, sanitary ware, connection of services, bricks and many other items in your new home. This is where a nominal figure is included in your quote to cover basic items, so when it’s time for you to make your selections for your new home, you pay the difference between the basic item and the item you wish to include.
Why are Prime Cost Items and Provisional Allowances Confusing?
Many clients are unaware of these additional charges when they do their selections, and while it’s considered very normal practice in the building industry, it can lead to clients becoming disillusioned and disappointed. Clients who sign a contract with a builder in good faith based on the quote they’ve received being a fixed price then find out throughout the building process that every time they make a selection, or there’s a construction issue on site requiring extra work they incur additional costs not included in their quote.
Why Is It Best to Quote Accurately?
We believe that quoting clients with prime cost items and provisional allowances is a bit of a trap – so we don’t do it! Inevitably these allowances do not cover what you will ultimately select for your home. We want you to have the freedom to select exactly what you want for your dream home and understand where it fits in to your budget, without the nasty surprise of additional costs, so the price we quote you in your contract is the price you pay. The only change to that is if you have specific items you’d like to include, or upgrades you’d like to make in your home.
How Can We Quote Accurately?
Providing our clients with a true fixed price quote takes a lot of work, due diligence on our part, and time. Our builders visit every site, and arrange to do specific soil tests, rock test, fill tests, compaction tests and contour surveys. Then, armed with all that information, they get a civil engineer to asses the best way of building your home, the necessary site cuts, piers, fill and driveways, paths, and retaining walls if required. They also work to determine the position of the service connections, and price those accurately. Once all this has been priced, the builder then works on pricing the cost of building your home, including any modifications you require, to an agreed specification level. This level of specific pricing will provide with you with a fixed price quote to give you an accurate idea of your overall costs, right down to the cost of including heating, cooling, light fittings, and even the mail box!
At Hotondo Homes, we are committed to making sure you don’t get any nasty surprises throughout your building journey, and that the price on your contract is the price you’ll pay. We believe in being accurate and transparent in our quotation process, and we will work closely with you to answer any questions you have, include any modifications you may need, and provide you with an accurate price for your home. To start planning your dream home, visit the Hotondo Homes website and find a local builder in your area today!
