Featured on the Show:

Only Girl On The Jobsite Course

What you will learn from this episode: 

• Research is always the answer!

• Why contractors might not be giving you the honest budget number

• Why formulas don’t work to figure out each project’s budget

Today I want to talk to you about the most frequently asked question I hear on every initial construction meeting I go to. 

At the end of the meeting, the question is always, “Renee, how much is this going to cost?” Or, “What do you think my budget should be on this project?”

I know they want me to tell them some magical number down to the cent. Myself and everyone in my industry wishes we could do that. It would save so much time, heartache, aggravation, annoyance, you name it. But mostly – time. 

But the honest answer is, I don’t know, and I have been doing this work for 27 years.

For this episode, I use bathrooms as an example. Some clients have done bathrooms for $20,000 and some 6 figures +. Each client has different wants and budgets, and for each example that I am sharing in this episode, that person ended up happy with the results. 

So the only thing I can do is give them a range I think they might be in until they start to nail down more and more of the details.

And so where does this take you? Research. And as much as I’ve already said it, I’m not apologizing for it. Researching will save you during these projects. 

What I see people do so many times is just go immediately to a contractor.  The contractor can, like me, give you a range of a budget you will need for your project. But then comes all the pretty things like the faucets, toilet, mirrors, etc, etc. That contractor isn’t going to know exactly what piece you are going to pick. That’s when they use the term Allowance in their contracts – it’s a price created with a formula and has nothing to do with any style or taste level you may have.

In today’s episode, I’m sharing with you examples of how clients hear this Allowance budget that is given them, and then more often than mot they end up going way overboard by the time they’re finished.

Contractors aren’t necessarily to blame. They know that they are being price compared through bidding and therefore contractors uses similar formulas so their numbers run about the same. My entire effort through this podcast, through every episode, post, email, etc., is to educate people in advance so that they can go in, eyes wide open. You might get tripped up somewhere, but by giving this overall view of my industry I hope and pray that there will be far fewer people angry and disappointed in themselves and the contractor. 

So even if you are in the middle of a project, it’s not too late to start researching. Start looking into what each piece might cost you so you know what your overall, true, budget will be in the end. 

Like this Episode?

• Be sure to check out Episode #18 : Confidence vs. Cockiness – Examples and Lessons

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