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I am in the process building a house in a subdivision in North Raleigh. My contact includes an upgrade feature, even though I felt that the price the builder charged for this particular feature was high, I still included it in the contract because I regarded it as essential for this house. Now the house is near completion, and I do like this feature. However, I also found out that another house in the neighborhood, which is a model very similar to mine and had a construction schedule just a couple of months ahead of mine, was charged far less for the same upgrade than I was charged. In fact, I was charged more than three times of what the other house was charged for the same upgrade.
I talked to the builder, they gave me a very abstract answer stating that every upgrade charge was based on the individual house, and the do not revisit contract.
My question to those of you who are knowledgeable on this: Is the builder on good ground charging different customers so drastically different, for a same upgrade? Or should I just swallow it and forget about it? Thanks.
What was the feature? The builder I currently work for charges set prices for features. However, the price can vary per house/lot.
For example, we charge $60/sq. ft to screen a deck. That price is set. One house may get at 12x14 porch, the next might get a 14x18 porch. Big price difference between the two porches. Also, we charge more for gable roof porches than for the shed roof porches.
If the porch is on a basement home, we may charge more if the height is more than 10'.
So it may be that one house gets a screen porch that costs $10,000 and the one down the street gets one that costs $16,000.
If all things are equal between your feature and the one down the street - then Saturnfan is correct. Those buyers may have gotten a deal on the feature as an incentive to buy the house. My builder will certainly add incentives to homes on the less than prime lots, or on plans that are not popular sellers.
None of us want to feel like we've paid too much for something. If your home and the one down the street are truly apples to apples comparisons, I see nothing wrong with requesting an explanation as to why your feature costs so much more. However, though you may get an explanation, I wouldn't expect that you will get a price reduction. It doesn't hurt anything though to ask, and to express your disappointment.
If there are any differences in desirability between the house plans, the lots, or the position of the lots in the neighborhood, then a price difference can be justified.
Best wishes, and please don't let this taint the enjoyment of your new home
Thanks for the replies.
My sense is that the builder has realized that I was overcharged but is unwilling to let go that portion of profit. They first tried to explain the difference based on physical characteristics of the upgrade, but they could not even convince themselves; now they have reverted to "we charged you that figure because your contract said so". I know they have me in a bind because they already have a large sum of my deposit. I probably have zero chance to force a change, but I am a little disappointed that they are unwilling to correct an obvious overcharge, and the only recourse I have is being an soured customer
Thanks for the replies.
My sense is that the builder has realized that I was overcharged but is unwilling to let go that portion of profit. They first tried to explain the difference based on physical characteristics of the upgrade, but they could not even convince themselves; now they have reverted to "we charged you that figure because your contract said so". I know they have me in a bind because they already have a large sum of my deposit. I probably have zero chance to force a change, but I am a little disappointed that they are unwilling to correct an obvious overcharge, and the only recourse I have is being an soured customer
Sorry for this happening to you but if you have a buyer's agent, let her see what she can do. Builders do not like it when the Realtor is unhappy because she goes back to her office and tells the entire office how unfair the builder was. Never good publicity! And yet another reason why to have your own buyer's agent since the onsite person works for the builder. Sometimes it is a hard lesson to learn.
Actually, builder's don't like it when customers are unhappy. Unhappy customers don't refer friends and family. You don't need a third party (your agent) to escalate this. You have more power as the customer. Don't hesitate to ask to speak to the Division President or Vice president of Sales. The onsite sales person does not have authority to change contract pricing, so you will have to take this up the management chain.
Ask for a face to face meeting. Calmly lay out the facts as you understand them, explain what you want to have happen to correct this matter, and see what happens. Be calmly persistent. I wouldn't hesitate to imply that there will not be a closing until the issue is resolved.
I always remember that when I worked for Moderator cut: removed , management's MO was to tell the customer NO at least three times before finally giving in. I always found this very odd. If they were going to give in anyway, why torment the customer by drawing out the situation. Now, when I'm the customer, and am seeking some resolution on an issue, I never accept NO as the final word, when I know I'm right about the issue.
It may feel unpleasant and uncomfortable to be your own advocate, but you have more power than you may believe in this situation. Give it a go and see what happens.
Last edited by autumngal; 08-10-2008 at 08:07 PM..
Actually, builder's don't like it when customers are unhappy. Unhappy customers don't refer friends and family. You don't need a third party (your agent) to escalate this. You have more power as the customer. Don't hesitate to ask to speak to the Division President or Vice president of Sales. The onsite sales person does not have authority to change contract pricing, so you will have to take this up the management chain.
Ask for a face to face meeting. Calmly lay out the facts as you understand them, explain what you want to have happen to correct this matter, and see what happens. Be calmly persistent. I wouldn't hesitate to imply that there will not be a closing until the issue is resolved.
I always remember that when I worked for Moderator cut: removed , management's MO was to tell the customer NO at least three times before finally giving in. I always found this very odd. If they were going to give in anyway, why torment the customer by drawing out the situation. Now, when I'm the customer, and am seeking some resolution on an issue, I never accept NO as the final word, when I know I'm right about the issue.
It may feel unpleasant and uncomfortable to be your own advocate, but you have more power than you may believe in this situation. Give it a go and see what happens.
Thanks so much for all the advise. I'll give it a try and report back what happens.
Last edited by autumngal; 08-10-2008 at 08:08 PM..
Reason: Mod edit quote
Saturnfan hit the nail on the head. At times, buying a house is a lot like buying a car. Sometimes it can be worse. I hate to say it but the builder charged you more because you felt it was "essential to the house". He knew how you felt so he jacked up the price. You may get him to cut you a deal but I doubt it. Times are tough on builders and they will squeeze as much profit out of a house as they can.
I agree with most of the posts on here, and feel you should continue to work to with the builder to come to an understanding, but would like to suggest another scenario if you aren't able to make headway:
You thought this element was essential to the home for some reason. Either you felt it would help in resale value, or you really just loved it and thought it would add to the pleasure of living there. At the time the $$ didn't strike you as being excessive, only now when compared to the deal someone else got. I would suggest that if you love the home you're building, and you've received a quality project, you let it go and enjoy it as is. It's possible the "other guy" just negotiated harder than you, or had some other reason the deal was cut. This doesn't necessarily devalue what you got in the offer. And you may have negotiated something else stronger than the "other guy".
It's kind of like knowing office salaries isn't it? You feel pretty good about what you're making until you know that the undeserving idiot next to you is making more :-)
I agree with most of the posts on here, and feel you should continue to work to with the builder to come to an understanding, but would like to suggest another scenario if you aren't able to make headway:
You thought this element was essential to the home for some reason. Either you felt it would help in resale value, or you really just loved it and thought it would add to the pleasure of living there. At the time the $$ didn't strike you as being excessive, only now when compared to the deal someone else got. I would suggest that if you love the home you're building, and you've received a quality project, you let it go and enjoy it as is. It's possible the "other guy" just negotiated harder than you, or had some other reason the deal was cut. This doesn't necessarily devalue what you got in the offer. And you may have negotiated something else stronger than the "other guy".
It's kind of like knowing office salaries isn't it? You feel pretty good about what you're making until you know that the undeserving idiot next to you is making more :-)
Congratulations on your new home!
Thank you Kim.
I basically agree with your take on this, and I personally do not like nickel and dime, whether on the giving end or on the receiving end. The thing is that, some builders are professional nickel-and-dimers. Sure, the overall real estate market is a free market that one enters at free will (and most customers are just as "greedy" or self interest-centered as most of the builders), but once the customers enter a contract with the builders, the playing field become intrinsically uneven. The builders are the ones in control, with huge amount of leeway, and sometimes they can and will push things too far, and if the customer are not alert or assertive enough, they would have to live with the feeling of being short-changed. Of course, people feel being short-changed all the time; such is life. This is why I think I'll give it a try, but be ready to move on.
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Sometimes price differences are justified....
