Has anyone had additions done to their property. Whats the process? Going crazy.

[friendly_prawn]

Has anyone had additions done to their property. Whats the process? Its driving me batty.
We want to build two rooms in the garage, add internal access stairs and under the rest of the house we want to dig it out and make a garage. So we go to the builder who says, yes doable but is unable to give us a rough estimate. We are told they'll need drawings. Tried a couple of other builders but were told the same. So off to an architect. In fact several architects. Keep getting sent a quote and an account.

Im not prepared to start throwing money at anything until I got a fair idea its going to be viable. So I go back to the builder Im probably going to use and gave her some very basic drawings one of the architects drew up, (with out me asking them too but Im not complaining) and asked the builder to give me a quote off the drawings. Builder says its too hard and they dont want to take a quess, so send me off to see a quantity surveyor.

So i chat to the quantity surveyor who says, they'll cost up what they can off the drawings and that may be as little as $1800 or up to and possibly over 5k..

So now Im scratching my head where to from here.

What is the correct procedure to go about finding out if the build is going to be viable or not? I dont want to start throwing lots of money at the build if it means we'll be over capitalising. Any thoughts guys?

[Bob Kane]

You asked a builder to give a fixed quote for a vague amount of work?

[friendly_prawn]

You asked a builder to give a fixed quote for a vague amount of work?

No.
I asked for a rough price guide. I do understand it would be hard to put an exact figure on such a job, but I do need some sort of guide.
Real estate sales people tell me that what I intend to do will add aprox 200k value on the house. I need to find out whether Im going to be over capitalising by going ahead with this build.

My reason for posting in here is to find out how to go about this process with out throwing lots of money down the drain first, only to find out later its not doable. Are you able to advise on this?

Or are you suggesting that you would just sign an open check for any building company that wanted to take the job on?

[hawkeye]

Well take your first estimate and double it. That’s my experience.

[John the builder]

start with QS.

If you dont invest something (1800?) you wont get this off the ground. There are good reasons why others havent done this before you.


QS may be able to apply element rates to build up a number.

You cant expect others to do this for you and no certainty of getting a job out of it?

[Don't believe the Hype]

You say you don't want to have to throw a tonne of money at the project to determine if it is viable... which is sound. But you can't get away with spending nothing. If you invest a few thousand dollars maybe even as much as $5k depending on level of detail you want to go into, you'll know if you have a viable project.

In this market with all trades and associated professional services awash with work no one is going to invest their time to help you get your project off the ground.

[friendly_prawn]

You say you don't want to have to throw a tonne of money at the project to determine if it is viable... which is sound. But you can't get away with spending nothing. If you invest a few thousand dollars maybe even as much as $5k depending on level of detail you want to go into, you'll know if you have a viable project.

In this market with all trades and associated professional services awash with work no one is going to invest their time to help you get your project off the ground.

Thank you every one.. This is exactly what I was trying to ascertain. Whether I had to be throwing money at it it find out if it was viable.


Seems a crazy way to do things as it becomes a gamble as to whether you are just throwing good money down the drain. Looks like I need to chew over where to from here. Thanks for the clarification guys.

[Don't believe the Hype]

Seems a crazy way to do things as it becomes a gamble as to whether you are just throwing good money down the drain. Looks like I need to chew over where to from here. Thanks for the clarification guys.

I'm confused why you think others should gamble as you put it on your project. This cost is no different to paying for a building inspector to check out a property before you buy it. Would it be a waste to spend a few hundred dollars on a building inspection to find the property was in poor condition so you pulled out of the purchase?

You want others to provide you their expertise at no cost to you so by definition at a cost to them so you can then make a decision to proceed if the outcome is beneficial to you.

Financial reward comes with risk - no risk = no reward. If you don't want to take the risk of a few k on the feasability of the project then don't spend the money - put it in the bank at negative interest rates.

[friendly_prawn]

I'm confused why you think others should gamble as you put it on your project. This cost is no different to paying for a building inspector to check out a property before you buy it. Would it be a waste to spend a few hundred dollars on a building inspection to find the property was in poor condition so you pulled out of the purchase?

You want others to provide you their expertise at no cost to you so by definition at a cost to them so you can then make a decision to proceed if the outcome is beneficial to you.

Financial reward comes with risk - no risk = no reward. If you don't want to take the risk of a few k on the feasability of the project then don't spend the money - put it in the bank at negative interest rates.

So can you explain since you obviously know so much about it, what are the actual steps that should be taken in trying to get a project off the ground? How do you get to a point where you know if the job is going to be viable or not? Is it getting drawings done then submitting them to a builder to get a quote? Is it taking drawings or perhaps a concept plan to a quantity surveyor? What steps would you take to get to a point that you can have a fair idea whether the job is viable so that you can give a building co the go ahead?

[friendly_prawn]

Financial reward comes with risk - no risk = no reward. If you don't want to take the risk of a few k on the feasability of the project then don't spend the money - put it in the bank at negative interest rates.

Financial reward also comes with using common sense and logic. But in this case its not financial reward we are after. We want to have a larger house with internal access. Building underneath is not the only option. There is the option of just selling the house and buying something already built. Its simply a matter of asking all the right questions before doing anything and making a decision on which way we move forward. No point in jump in the deep end blindfolded. Only way to learn is to ask. Hope that makes sense.

[Bob Kane]

Real estate sales people tell me that what I intend to do will add aprox 200k value on the house.

Why not ask these real estate people to document your proposed changes and get them to confirm that after that work they will guarantee to get you a registered valuation $200k higher than now?
Sales agents tell all sorts of stories in order to win you over.
The $200k increase may be fictitious. I wouldn't believe it.
Selling your house and buying something bigger is probably the easiest option.
You aren't experienced in renovating and will most likely make a few big mistakes.

[friendly_prawn]

Why not ask these real estate people to document your proposed changes and get them to confirm that after that work they will guarantee to get you a registered valuation $200k higher than now?
Sales agents tell all sorts of stories in order to win you over.
The $200k increase may be fictitious. I wouldn't believe it.
Selling your house and buying something bigger is probably the easiest option.
You aren't experienced in renovating and will most likely make a few big mistakes.

In actual fact the real estate sales people have an interest in me not going ahead with the project so want me to pull out of doing the house up. It's not in their interest for me to go ahead and renovate, so they are unlikely to lie about the value that will be added. If anything they'll try to tone down any added value, not bump it up as that isn't in their interest. So at 200k added value for what Im going to do, if anything, they'll be toning that figure down, not up. It's just not in their interest to try to talk me in to not selling it.

Also I have done quite a bit of research myself. Im quite happy to come to the conclusion that they are correct in what they say. In fact I think they may, as stated earlier, be playing down added value in the hope I'll list it with them rather than renovate.

Selling and buying another is not an easy option by any means. There is a huge shortage of listings at the moment, so if we do go down that route, it could possibly be a very long process in ever finding the right house. Who knows when the property market will come right and we have been looking for over a year now.

So back to the topic at hand, what steps need to be followed to get to a point that we know if we are going to have to abandon the job or go ahead due to whether we are over capitalising or not? Do you know?

[Don't believe the Hype]

So can you explain since you obviously know so much about it, what are the actual steps that should be taken in trying to get a project off the ground? How do you get to a point where you know if the job is going to be viable or not? Is it getting drawings done then submitting them to a builder to get a quote? Is it taking drawings or perhaps a concept plan to a quantity surveyor? What steps would you take to get to a point that you can have a fair idea whether the job is viable so that you can give a building co the go ahead?

I'm not sure why you keep asking the same question expecting a different answer... multiple people on here have offered you their advice. what they haven't done is told you what you want to hear. I'll try one last time...

You need to invest some money in your investigation (due diligence) on the project - find a draftsman/architect who has a relationship with a QS and have them design something and cost it up. Seems like you need the steps:
1 - Turn on your phone/laptop/PC or tablet
2 - Open the internet browser
3 - Google 'architect/draftsman in (insert your location)
4 - Find their contact details
5 - Email or call asking for a cost to draw up and QS
6 - Agree to pay
7 - Wait for the work to be done
8 - Pay the bill
9 - Decide if you'll proceed

If you're not willing to spend anything on it then you'll get nowhere.

[friendly_prawn]

I'm not sure why you keep asking the same question expecting a different answer... multiple people on here have offered you their advice. what they haven't done is told you what you want to hear. I'll try one last time...

You need to invest some money in your investigation (due diligence) on the project - find a draftsman/architect who has a relationship with a QS and have them design something and cost it up. Seems like you need the steps:
1 - Turn on your phone/laptop/PC or tablet
2 - Open the internet browser
3 - Google 'architect/draftsman in (insert your location)
4 - Find their contact details
5 - Email or call asking for a cost to draw up and QS
6 - Agree to pay
7 - Wait for the work to be done
8 - Pay the bill
9 - Decide if you'll proceed

If you're not willing to spend anything on it then you'll get nowhere.

I think you are very confused. Perhaps you have confused this thread with another. No one has mentioned going to a surveyor. There has been one suggestion of going to a Q/S. Others have mentioned spending money but not what steps need to be taken. I do appreciate the advice as it sounds like good advice. Shame you made a bit of an ass of your self in the process though..

None the less I appreciate the advice. Now I know where to if I go forward.. Cheers for the advice. It is appreciated.

[Don't believe the Hype]

I'm glad you finally got the level of detail you needed to work it out.