Costs “per square foot” are like the 10-day weather forecast: they exist because there is a huge demand for them and the fact that they are usually woefully inaccurate is hardly ever factored.
To use a favorite Bushism, “there’s a lot of misunderestimating going on.”
When comparing costs per square foot it is critical to make sure you are using an apples-to-apples comparison. On the top of the equation ask yourself what costs are included. Does it include landscape, hardscape, permit fees, cost of money, sales tax and contingency? Then you have add other things like impact fees, design and engineering fees, etc.
If a modular home is what you are building, a lot of these items are included in the factory’s costs to the builder. One of the biggest benefits of building modular is that the builder can quickly give you a price on the home alone and then start pricing the other things if you agree that the house is in the price range.
On the bottom of the equation, what exactly, is the area measured? Just livable spaces, or are the garage, mechanical, storage, covered areas, deck and patio areas also included?
Manipulate these numbers for any project and you can easily have a 100% swing.
And that’s not accounting for what I call the Pinocchio effect; sometimes the most telling metric would be the builder’s nose length, measured before and after they spout out these numbers.
No comments:
Post a Comment