If your asking me to shoot myself in the foot…..left or right

These blog post often stem from conversations I find myself having over and over again with customers, so they are common questions or concerns.

I get the instinct to shop around and make sure your getting a good deal, I do it to.  That said shopping for a house is not the simple.  I watch people get frustrated when they come in and ask, how much is it going to cost me to build a 3 bedroom two bath ranch on a piece of land in ……… and I refuse to give them an answer.  Because I can’t be honest and answer the question at the same time.  I can only shoot myself in the foot.

Right foot….. I shoot a little low, give them best case scenario, small lot, no trees, city water, city sewer, sandy soil, cheap heating system, crawl space, 5/12 roof pitch 1000 sq’ home, on the lowest priced piece of land I have seen in three years.  They get excited, then we start to fill in some details. Not that town, 2 acres minimum, no neighbors, on site water and septic because it is not in the city limits, they need at least 1500 sq’ and of course want a full basement and need a 2 car garage.  As each blank gets filled in the price goes up, and with each increase they think I was completely dishonest, was playing games with them with my first number and there is not trust which means there is no way they would ever use me as a builder.

Left Foot……. I though out a conservative number, one I know I can do in current market conditions with all of the things most customers want (not that any two people want the same things) at which point they walk out the door discouraged that I am way to expensive, the guy down the street gave them a much lower price, and there is no way they would ever use me as a builder.

Or I can just shoot myself in the Nu!$ and not give them an answer to the question they have asked.

Yes this can be frustrating, but I have actually learned that this simple explanation helps people understand.  I thought it was worth sharing.  They guy you need to be afraid of is the guy that actually gives you a number.

The good news……we can answer your question, it may take 30 minutes not 30 seconds but trust me we will both be in a better place for it.  I hate getting shot.