How do I know if they are competitive

It will morph if you don’t read and understand the contract before signing. Watch out for PC (prime cost) and PS (provisional sums). If you don’t know what these are find out. They are generally a licence to print money, but not for your pocket.

Hi Maree So – start here – http://www.buildingguide.co.nz If you’re happy with a standard timber clad, iron roof house, the group home builders will likely be your cheapest route, but as you’ll see from comments below, it can be hard to find a good one. A lot can depend on your region. Some franchisors are better than others, some main companies better than others. Because of the cost of building a house, doing your homework is important. That means talking to people about their experiences with builders. Builders are required to give you the ‘Prescribed Checklist’ (http://www.buildingguide.co.nz/resources-regulations/consumer-protection/) which sets out common understandings on the project and some of their background financial viability. Make sure you have good insurance that covers the build itself, but also the risk of your builder going under and not being able to complete the project. Make sure you have a good contract – don’t take the Master Builders one. The http://www.buildingdisputestribunal.co.nz and http://www.hobanz.org.nz both have excellent alternatives. An architect will cost a bit more upfront, but can build your home for your budget – be firm on this and cut back to fit where necessary as your dreams and budget will often be at odds. Don’t make changes, so make sure your plans are well thought through. Architects can also act as a project manager, although consider paying to get a project manager to help you – a good one will take a world of stress out of your life. The project can be very exciting and rewarding but if you get the wrong people, absolutely destroying, so do your homework. You’ll find additional challenges as a woman, as many builders and tradies are still chauvinistic. The planning is a wonderful time as your dreams take shape. The initial build is fast and thrilling, then everything seems to slow down. The final rush is very stressful as you are forced into making decisions on materials and fixtures and unforeseen changes. The day you move in will hopefully be the best day of your life. Remember, there are people who can help, especially here.

Hi Maree, I totally agree with everything that Mark has said. As usual he has many wise comments, and if you very inexperienced in building, or just want to minimise hassle, then getting an Architect or Project Manager involved could be money well spent. But I would just like to add a couple of comments. I assume if an Architect engages a builder on your behalf, and then supervises the Contract, he/she would probably use one of the NZ Institute Of Architects Standard Conditions Of Contract. This means you would give the Architect quite strong powers to act on your behalf in making decisions over things like quality of work, payments, variations, time extensions etc. It would also mean the Architect has the right to inspect the Works, and give instructions to the Contractor (Builder). But if you engage a Project Manager you need to think about exactly how much of these kinds of power you want to give him/her, and most importantly make sure the Contract reflects what you’ve decided. A good builder might welcome this, as a second opinion and advice on whether things are going smoothly, or could perhaps be improved. But many builders (especially the less competent or trustworthy ones) will actually hate the idea that someone who knows what they’re doing can nose around at any time, and point out their defects. So they will try to limit the PM’s access to the Site, or be quick to point out the limits of his/her powers under the Contract. Also bear in mind that an Architect’s job is not just to chase up the Builder, but also chase up you, if decisions you need to make are required urgently, to avoid delaying the Work. For Builders the old saying ‘time is money’ is absolutely true. So if you are the one delaying a Builder while you think about what you want, you must expect to pay for it. Regarding Nigel’s comments, I’ve written about these before. Try pressing Ctrl-F and putting PC or PS in the Search Box. I agree you need to be very cautious with these. But provided you know how and when to use them they can have a useful place in a Contract, for things which are either impossible to know exactly, or you don’t want to decide on, when you sign the Contract. The main thing is that they are worded in a way that does not just allow the Builder to charge whatever he likes.