I don't mind Ford or Ikea, but I hate department stores the same way I hate being demographically profiled by housing contractors.
I have 5 year old tailored shirts I prefer to wear more then the one I bought last week at the shops because they just fit right. My sleeves are too short, the necks too big or the cut is so fat I flap in a mild breeze. Only when the planets align do I find a pair of pants where the waist and length match my genetically disproportionate body structure. Is it really this hard?
I suppose if I didn't by mass produced clothing through bulk buying orders I'd be forced to figure out my own trend. This I can assure would be quite interesting for one of us, I'm no slouch when it comes to sassified trappings. But its probably a good thing I do not as it would most likely result in many more children I'm not aware of. The fringe benefit for me is clothing that fits me perfectly. No need for elastic waistbands, release straps, or extra holes for cuff links. Unfortunately the downside is an empty wallet for the special individual care for to my body. And so, like most of us out there, I'm drawn to the manufactured goodness that comes in a range of sizes with standard proportions. I put up with the inaccuracy. Why? Because it does the job, not perfectly, but it protects me from wind, sun, rain and causing car crashes from rubbernecks. But how I wish I had a local tailor with an economic pricepoint.
Luckily I live in a slightly different way. After driving home in my mass produced car, and eating at my mass produced kitchen table, with my mass produced fork, plate, glass, steak, rice and salad I sit in front of my factory made TV on my store bought couch before retiring to my Sealy mattress. However, all of this is kept inside one of the only things left in the works that can be unique; a house. Not many are custom made any more and its not hard to understand why. Much of the money spent on your desired location is sunk in the ground, leaving the improvement built on top of it subject to the residual debt owned by the bank. That's if you're able to find the block of dirt to begin with after competing with the major developers who have land banked the remaining portions of the earth not underwater.
Labour isn't cheap, and neither are the building products best bought in bulk. Anything not straight, or in rubix cube form, seems to require an exorbitant amount of thinking before the hammer starts swinging. With time being the essence of labour costs, thanks to Einstein's theory on relativity, the build cost can defy the space time continuum at foundation stage. The trick is to use relativity to your advantage by using the principles of buying and management.to your advantage. Its a hard learned lesson that demands patience, trust and intuition.
The next part to conquer is how you buy these sorts of things, and the answer is smart competition. It is an art form that can save you thousands simply by understanding competitive tension. Start by making sure you've got the right builders in the game or there's no point to any of it. Recommendations, word of mouth and examples of previous experience should make up a majority of your field, but its good practice to throw in one or two wild card builders, sourced independently, with the others to keep it interesting. You can even invite your tender group to submit an initial expression of interest to see who's interested and gain some knowledge on their capability. Next choose the number of players you want to tender to. Never less then 3, or more then 7. Ideally 5 builders in a big tender will ensure you've got a ball game, but for home building three will do just fine. Then comes the fun part where you keep it simple and request your bids. Make sure that beyond the price they also tender the schedule and some quality options. Remember once you get your bids in the games not over. You still have the right to go back out with clarifications and additional tender items. Just don't be seen to play games or you'll lose your bidders. Understanding the demand in the industry is important in the way you treat your builders. You can also shortlist after a first round to get a sharper pencil for a final price. As a last resort you can finalise the deal with a negotiation, just don't lose your competitive edge too early. Negotiations can reduce cost if you're lucky, but mostly its useful for ironing out the details of the deal, like risk allocations or quality products. If done well you will end up with a competitive market price. It could be above or below budget, but its still the best the market can offer at the time.
The last part, which is really the part that continues the whole time, is the management of your project and expectations. Do not think it is easy but don't be scared either. Pick your team wisely and pay for what you want. Your architect and project manager can be the same or different people. If its you, then you better be in the business already. Its a quagmire of regulations, research, phone calls, letters and emails that are much better being someone else's problem that you can yell at. if they get it wrong. Nothing worse then having no one else to blame but yourself and finding that fixing the problem will cost you more then if you paid someone to do it for you in the end. Plus the best part is, since you hold the money, you get to be the master of everything and the expert in nothing.
Once you've finished your house, and filled it with Ikea, each part will fit perfectly. You'll find it amazing how proportions work and how the height of the benchtop in the kitchen can change your chiropractic habits. You'll wonder why you didn't always have a cupboard the right size for the toaster, or wardrobe with a tie rack and shoe cupboard. Your front door will most likely match the garage, windows will frame views, sunlight will warm the house and your bedroom can be acoustically insulated from the kids. Its a new world out there when you're walking around in pants the right size.
-BTB
No comments:
Post a Comment