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Have you ever been tempted to sign up for something, simply because you were offered something for free?
We get it, the temptation of a business throwing in something free of charge can be overwhelming. But the truth is, it’s usually not as good as it sounds.
In reality, nothing is free.
The cost will be made up elsewhere, whether that’s a jacked-up shipping price of a physical product or it’s subtly added somewhere else in the contract when building a new home.
Even our free guide linked at the bottom of this article isn’t technically free - you still need to exchange something in order to receive the information, even if it’s just your email address!
You might see a builder offering something like free air conditioning if you sign a building contract with them. But think about it, do you really think they were given a stack of air conditioning units for free and are now trying to give them away?
Of course not, the cost of supplying and installing air conditioning is made up somewhere else in your building contract.
Professional Builders Are Open And Honest
These kinds of offers are simply marketing tactics that some builders use when things start to slow down. It’s a ploy to get more people to sign building contracts, even though in the end the consumer does end up paying for that ‘free’ item, whether they notice it or not.
Professional builders won’t offer a ‘free’ bargaining tool. Instead, they’re open and honest from the get-go.
They make sure that everything that you want from your new home is included with an itemised list in the contract before construction even begins.
A lot of consumers believe that builders have big margins, so it’s not hard for them to throw in a freebie here and there.
But, according to a recent report by the Association of Professional Builders, less than 17% of building companies reported making a profit of 10% or more. So if they were actually giving away free air conditioners, you should be more concerned about the builder staying in business during the construction of your new home.
Avoid Being Caught Off Guard
Let me share a story with you…
I had a client a little while back, we’d created the concepts for his home and drafted up a building contract. He was happy, the building contract was signed and we began the construction of his new home.
During the construction stage, this client realised there were a couple of extra things that he wanted to be included in his home that weren't originally in the contract. My construction supervisor came to me and said, “He now wants this, and wants us to throw it in for free. Can we do that?”.
This client had first approached us because he saw that we were a reputable company.
Nearly 1,500 Australian building companies go into insolvency each year, so consumers, just like this client, do their due diligence to ensure they are choosing a trustworthy, professional and financially stable building company to build their home.
So I said to this client, “I can’t just throw these things in for free. You chose us because we have a proven track record of being a good building company. If I were to throw extra things like this in for free during every project, I wouldn’t be that reliable company you chose, I’d end up going broke!”
Professional Companies Know Their Worth
So the moral of this story is if you’re working with a reputable, professional building company, they won’t give you anything for free.
And that’s not a bad thing.
They’ll be honest and upfront with you from the start so you know exactly what you’re paying for.
There won’t be any hidden charges for that bogus ‘free’ air conditioning offer.
It doesn’t matter if you are building your first home or if you have built many times before…
Designing a new home can be very overwhelming and when you hear new things for the first time, it's not easy to remember everything. So that’s why we’ve put together a quick guide for The 7 Things You Must Know Before Designing A New Home.
It’s completely free, and it will help you to keep your design on budget and avoid any nasty surprises that can sneak up on you when building a custom home.
Click on the link below to download 7 Things You Must Know BEFORE Designing A New Home.
