Anybody here who have built with Today Homes but have ended up paying extra than...

Hi Vishal, I’m not sure whether the number of PC sums is the only basis on which you’re choosing a builder. I would hope not. Especially if you think that zero PC sums means it’s in effect a fixed price Contract. Because that would depend on other clauses in the Contract, and it’s very difficult to find a building Contract which is absolutely fixed price. But regarding whether these PC sums are a good thing, that depends on what the builder is actually including in his spec. To give you a simple example, if the PC sum is for kitchen appliances, it may be better to have a generous PC Sum in the contract that you know will buy you top of the range appliances, rather than no PC Sum, but the builder has only allowed in his spec for low grade appliances. That’s OK if you don’t mind low grade stuff, but if you later want to upgrade it then it becomes a Variation to the Contract. And that may attract other costs, apart from just the difference in price of the appliance. The answer is that you must do your homework, and check exactly what the Contract includes in the overall price, and exactly what it would cost to get what you want. So you can surely look at the PC Sums in Today Homes contract, and ask yourself whether they are enough to get what you want. Typically these are things like kitchen cabinets and appliances, tiles, carpet, bathroom fixtures etc. You should then know whether you’re going to have to pay extra. By the way, do not confuse PC (Prime Cost) Sums (which are generally for things you know you will need, but may want to choose an exact type or model later), and Provisional Sums, Rates or Quantities for things that the builder may genuinely find it difficult to assess out until he gets on Site, or which you may never in fact need. For example amounts of excavation required for the foundations, which may vary depending on the soil quality.

Hi My name is Peter from Quinn Homes. Pc sums can be dangerous if you are on a fixed budget. With Quinn Homes, we. eliminate all. provisions costings before construction commences. If. you are. interested in pricing, please see our website http://www.quinnhomes.co.nz. My contact details are. in the contact section. We have have several. Homes. under. construction in Prebbleton should you want to. meet. up. Thanks Peter

I understand what Peter is getting at here, and of course ideally every cost would be completely fixed (with absolutely no provision for increases due to inflation or changes in the builder’s costs) before you sign the Contract. And then the client would not make a single change (Variation) during the Contract. So the final cost would be exactly the same as the original cost in the Contract. In your dreams! With bespoke houses that would be difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. I would happy to hear of examples. But my main reason for writing is to say that as a builder Peter should not get confused between PC (Prime Cost) sums, and Provisional Sums (or could be Provisional Rates or Quantities). As I’ve said before, the former is a sum put in for things like kitchen appliances, carpets, tiles etc which allow a sum of money for the client to choose the type they want, when the item is required. So they just pay the difference (or get a rebate) if the cost of the item is more, or less, than the PC Sum. Nothing wrong with this, as long as the client is realistic about what they can get for that sum. A Provisional item is different. It is for an amount of money, or a quantity or rate, put in for something which neither the builder nor client can accurately assess at the time the Contract is signed. A typical example of this is in foundation work. The Contract may be based on the assumption that the soil on the site is all of a reasonable standard, which allows a standard type of foundation. But any builder or client with any sense will put in a Provisional Sum (or better still a Provisional Quantity with a fixed rate ($/m3) for excavating and disposing of ‘unsuitable material’, which only comes to light when excavation starts, and replacing it with crushed stone or some other suitable material. Typically that might be 10% of the anticipated excavation. Of course if you get unlucky and it’s a lot more then the build cost goes up. If it’s less the build cost goes down. The main point is that the decision on this should be made by the Engineer. So it’s out of the hands of both builder and client.