A major decision for home owners before embarking on a
renovation is whether to agree on a fixed price with a contractor or build the project
on a straight cost basis. The question, in one form or another, has been around as long as
carpenters have been competing for work.
A fixed
price or lump sum contract is when the builder estimates all costs, allows for
contingencies and marks up for profit, presenting a bottom line to the
owner. If actual costs are below the
estimates, he wins; if overages occur, the problem falls on the builder. There is no going back to cry,
"Ooops!"
A time
and material contract, also known as cost plus or T&M, arranges reimbursement to the builder for
every invoice with a little extra percentage for the trouble and warranty. It costs what it costs and the risk for the owner at the
beginning feels like a potentially whopping blank check and the reputation of
being a fool.
Of
course, there are variations in between these two options and no single version works for every
client, builder and circumstance. Once
again, the answer boils down to the matter of trust and the comfort zone of
risk each party is willing to hold.
Fixed
price contracts are every home owner's first choice. When we go to the store to buy a shirt, we
look at the price tag attached and pay it without negotiation or concern for
how much each of the buttons, fabric and thread might have cost individually.
Often
the initial phone call to a builder includes the desire for a square foot price
(the average total cost divided by the square footage of the area affected) which is really an
inaccurate measure for a remodel, considering the size, scope and complications
have no average. At the end
of the first look interview, after numerous ideas have been bantered around
with no clear decision, the potential client inevitably asks for a ballpark
figure ("I won't hold you to it," they promise), a wild guess that either sets the bar
at a ridiculously low number against which all is measured or whacks the builder
right out of the game entirely.
After
careful consideration, the fixed price contract defines the size of the field,
all the rules and players, even declaring the home owner a winner while the
builder never knows until the dust has settled and the green grass is grown in how well he has done. Settled on the price, the owners can go on to deal
with the physical stress of disruption and door knob decisions, well-prepared
to have checks ready according to the schedule in the contract. Relieved from
most painful surprises beyond inconvenience, the job gets done and they
transfer the funds.
The
builder also enjoys the benefits of planning and if all goes well, packs up
tools with a tidy smile and a thicker wallet.
A clear payment schedule and description of scope, defined allowances
and method for change orders, and the orderly completion of tasks creates an
equally seamless flow that turns each large check into countless smaller checks
good to their subs 30 or 60 days later, or to employees that very same Friday. Everything lines up and everyone is happy.
The
problem in a fixed price contract arises when Mr. Murphy appears to blow the
best laid plans away. A simple, but
large line in the estimate might have been miscalculated (computers can do that,
ha-ha) or misplaced entirely. Bricks
instead of wood might be hidden unconventionally inside the wall. The customers may be so convinced they said
"blue", it is better to paint the room over than to argue the point
and fail to receive the check that is needed that Friday to bring the plumber
back on Monday.
To keep
the labor cost under control, certain tasks are inevitably hurried and corners
might be cut more quickly, a little more squarely than round. The in-stock sink could be purchased
instead of the special-ordered extra (and more expensive) myl of stainless steel, looking just
as shiney upon installation, but showing scratches much sooner. The decision to let a bad cut fit or replace
the board can more often land on the cheaper side of "close enough."
Conscientious,
well-organized and financially comfortable builders do just as well as the
home-owner with fixed price contracts, often better than with the less risky
luxury of a cost plus contract. The underlying
costs, however, in quality and dollars could eventually add up to far more than
fabric, thread and buttons combined.
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