Building a New Home - Tender Price Vs Final Price

langford28 on 15/07/2016 - 10:38
Last edited 15/07/2016 - 10:45

Hello,

I'm looking to build a new two storey home and wanted to leverage the experiences from people here in relation to how much their contract/tender price was compared to what you actually had to pay at the end of it all (excl. landscaping and furniture).

For e.g. I've heard people say their tender price for Masterton was $450k but then ended up having to pay an extra $100k for mandatory extra costs, upgrades etc.

It would really be great if I could get some responses, so we can work out how much to realistically budget for on top of the tender price.

If replying, please also mention the builder as I understand that it can differ from builder to builder.

We haven't really decided which builder to go with but we found a really nice design from Champion Homes that we like so extra points for those who can quote some figures from Champion Homes!! :)

Thanks guys

Home & Garden

Comments

  • michaelTito on 15/07/2016 - 11:37
    +1

    depend on your expectations.

    Tender price = basic hardware, lights, flooring etc etc.

    final price = updates such as lights, flooring, cabinets etc

    tender price will get you a livable house with standard Australia house (houses that meet Australia building requirements)

    if you want all those fancy lighting, flooring etc they will charge you more for it and that will go toward your final price.

    like when i built my house, the garage door i was givine was just a plane simple colour garage door. there is nothing wrong with it, but i wanted the one that has wood/brownish colour to it so i had to pay an extra $500. same with flooring, i was given choices of 40cmx40cm tiles, wanted 60cmx60cm had to pay an extra $2k to cover the whole house. Toilet seats changed from just a standard one to the soft close one for an extra $400 per toilet. wanted a waterfall edge bench top? extra $800 each side. wanted thicker bench top? extra money etc… the list goes on.they will even charge you more if you want different paint colour on different wall.

    pretty much if you want nothing fancy, stick to your tender price and upgrade nothing. if youre planning to upgrade stuff like i did, then prepare more money to pay the final price.

    if youve been to their show homes, those houses are all upgraded. if lets say tender price of a show home is $300k and you want it to look exactly like the house youre seeing at their show room, then prepare to pay an extra $100k to $150k on top of the tender price.

    Source: built with CasaView

    • geek001 on 15/07/2016 - 11:51

      My neighbour struck a deal with her builder. She got a barebones house and organised it to be finished herself. Like flooring, painting, garage, fencing and landscaping.

      I guess it must be worth it, because when I replaced my flooring downstairs, it cost me $2.8k all up to cover the entire ground floor with 600mm tiles vs the $2k just for your tile upgrade.

      • michaelTito on 15/07/2016 - 12:03

        Yeah of course. It's always cheaper to get a third party to finish the flooring and such but trust me it's a pain in the ass. I was given that option too but I said no to it. However I did get the third party to do my 1st floor flooring for me. By default, it include carpet but I wanted bamboo flooring. Builder quoted 16k to replace carpet with bamboo flooring. Got a third party to do it for 5k. Worth the money but the hassle also come with it. Had to stay home 3 days in a row to monitor the process and make sure they don't steal anything.

        You can always ask them to give you credits on things you don't want such as flooring and tiles and try to get a quote from third party to see if you can save any money.

        And one more thing, builders don't normally including fencing and landscaping in the tender. Make sure you double check on this just to make sure. Cheers

        • geek001 on 15/07/2016 - 12:08

          If you are having a new house built, wouldn't there be nothing to steal? When I did my flooring, I left the key in my mailbox and told to tiler to do his thing. It did take 3 to 4 days for him to finish, but I had no trouble. After he was done, he rang me and told me not to step on the tiles for a day or two. He did come highly recommended on hipages.com.au though.

        • michaelTito on 15/07/2016 - 12:19

          @geek001:

          i moved half of my stuff in as soon as i got given the keys. We were living downstairs while flooring was being done upstairs. i know i made the mistake by moving in too quickly. lesson learnt! hopefully next house will be more smoother!

        • airzone on 15/07/2016 - 14:29

          @geek001: People will steal fixtures, appliances, hot water service…. A mate of mine even had someone try and steal the wiring out of his walls. The thief left empty handed after discovering the hard way that the power was live lol.

    • onetwothreefour on 15/07/2016 - 14:07

      Toilet seats changed from just a standard one to the soft close one for an extra $400 per toilet.

      $400 for a toilet seat?

      • airzone on 15/07/2016 - 14:31

        I bet that's an RRP plus 40% price..

      • SnoozeAndLose on 15/07/2016 - 14:35
        +1

        I bet that's an RRP plus 1000% price.

      • geek001 on 15/07/2016 - 14:39

        Lol. Should have just gone with the standard then go and buy this: https://www.masters.com.au/product/900013344/perma-premium-s…

      • michaelTito on 15/07/2016 - 14:53
        +1

        my bad. wasnt just toilet seats. whole toilet itself. from those standard ones to the square ish looking one. man i love shitting so i need to have one of those fancy one so i can actually enjoy writing shit on the internet forum while im shitting.

        edit: this is the one.

        http://www.reece.com.au/bathrooms/products/roca-the-gap-riml…

        edit number 2: this one is actually shit. no pun or anything but its freaking crap. 2 months in soft close seat turned into a slamming contest between me and the missus. had to call the builder to come and replace the seat itself. lucky it was free. happened 2 more times after that, all replaced for free by builder. the current one been going strong for 6 months now.

        • geek001 on 15/07/2016 - 14:58

          Dude… a bit TMI… I guess that is fair, if you intend to use it A LOT.. might as well be more comfortable. One thing I notice the bidet toilet seat is not common in Oz. Very popular in Taiwan.

        • onetwothreefour on 15/07/2016 - 15:02

          I bought the toilet in this deal and think it's great.

          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/244326

  • langford28 on 15/07/2016 - 15:24

    thanks everyone, im still curious what the final price was for everyone to build (after upgrades etc - i understand it depends on how many upgrades you get) - but just trying to get a ball park figure.. really appreciate it

    • Banana on 15/07/2016 - 20:11
      +1

      Parents are building atm. Quoted probably 460k from a major volume builder, probably 100k more from all the upgrades they wanted. Ended up with a private builder, also spending 100k more than their initially planned. Down side with this builder is, there are a lot of headaches, project is being delayed up to two weeks and we aren't entirely sure if the house is up to standard…

      My advice would be to put at least 50k on top of whatever they are quoting you, plan out everything so future upgrades would be possible.

      For example,
      it was going to cost use $200 extra for every extra power outlet, we save by planning putting power outlets on the specific walls so they could be shared by different rooms. Only upgrades the downstair lights to downlights as you can upgrade upstairs ones later.

  • langford28 on 16/07/2016 - 07:56

    Cool banana(s)

    Thanks for the info

  • Hiroko on 16/07/2016 - 08:26

    some builders offer a fixed price
    no suprises
    might be worth looking into

    • langford28 on 18/07/2016 - 11:26

      which builders? :)

      • Hiroko on 19/07/2016 - 09:04

        metricon, sekisui house, everyday homes, mirvac
        just to name a few.
        youd be suprised how many reputable builders dont advertise it but actually offer fixed pricing

  • DrKB108 on 18/07/2016 - 12:32
    +2

    My situation:

    Building on a sloped block near the Gold Coast
    320 sq. meters (split level house)
    Contract price = $406,600
    Extra upgrades on top of this (NOT mandatory costs) = ~$18,000

    Upgrade items included things like upgrades to the kitchen the bench, splashback, cupboards, ceiling fans, extra concerting, sound insulation, bigger water tank, better carpet, extra power/lighting, upgrades for deck balustrade etc.

    My advice: Include as much as possible at the Tender/Contract stage. Unless you can DIY certain work after the build. Upgrades after the Tender/Contract stage is where builders cash in on $$$.

    All the best.

  • bhunter101 on 30/07/2016 - 11:10
    +1

    24sq single story house with upgrade from Simmonds $241k $24k for $60k upgrade promo 2700 ceiling and 3200mm in kitchen

    30sq double story with upgrade metricon $320k $5.9k promo for a few upgrades like driveway flooring garage door 900mm appliances 2550 ceiling with biggest balcony heating with 4 zones

    • Brainwhacker on 21/11/2016 - 09:09

      Hi OP; just wondering what your experience was like building with Metricon

      • bhunter101 on 21/11/2016 - 21:41

        Construction hasn't started yet. Still awaiting on land to title. But after all they're all builders. But pretty sure they're better than heaps of other builders out in the market. You do need some knowledge before building tho. Like what's in the market price-wise. And if you can source a guidance from a family or friends if they've build before than it would be advantageous. And keep asking questions if you don't understand something. Even if they might be dumb questions. You're the one spending so u need to know everything. You shouldn't forget you are paying them to do the job. Get them to work for u.

        • Brainwhacker on 24/11/2016 - 11:51

          Thanks for the feedback; currently evaluating between Metricon and Simonds

        • bhunter101 on 24/11/2016 - 18:59
          +1

          @Brainwhacker: don't forget to check out the reviews of Simmonds on productreview. A friend build with Simmonds and not happy at all with the quality or the service.
          Plus they only give 7 year construction warranty whereas u get 25 year warranty with Metricon. Get a referral from someone who is also building with metricon to get $1k or $1.5k discount.
          The better deal builders have the more money you will save.
          But tbh my next house will get built by boutique homes.

  • Foxtail on 24/11/2016 - 17:51

    Fixed price contract for the lot end of story, make changes and additions later you will pay more so do your homework before signing up.

  • HeyAngela on 25/01/2020 - 13:48

    One area where people get stung is site costs. You need to find out what is and isn't included in the contract. Halfway through the process, a second soil test might be done you might need additional foundations like bored piers etc. So it always pays to find out what is and isn't included in the contract. Here is a list of all the items that can cause site costs to increase: https://www.pivothomes.com.au/building/building-site-costs/ Site Costs

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