How do you establish the budget for a remodeling project?

This is a short, but important article written by Dan Baumann of Chief Experts.com, your #1 Source for Chief Architect Training, Support and Services. I consider Chief Architect to be one of the finest and easiest to learn CAD or residential design software, on the market today.  It will definitely take your business to the next level and make you much more profitable.  And Dan will teach you how to use it.  He teaches me and has been worth every penny.

At the end of the article is a link for a terrific  FREE Quick Quote spreadsheet that he put together that not only helps you quote the project, but also the upfront design work (that’s where you start to be more profitable).

Here’s Dan:

We’ve all heard the horror stories. The contractor that takes a plan produced by someone else, spends an enormous amount of time estimating it only to discover that the cost to produce what’s been drawn is twice or three times what the client has budgeted.

Sound familiar?

As a designer I can take a kitchen project and design a functional $20k project or a fantastic $100k project in the same space. Wouldn’t it be easier if I just worked with my client and designed around their budget. If their budget is $50k it gives me plenty to work with and at the same time I’d be careful not to go overboard.

That brings up the question – How do you find out what your clients budget really is?

First of all I make it clear to them that I won’t work on a design if there isn’t some sort of a budget established. If they absolutely refuse to reveal what they have available to spend on their project then I’m gone. I’m not going to waste my time.

If their reason for not revealing their budget has to do with trust, then it’s just as well that they work with someone else. However, if their reason is because they don’t know what the project they have is mind should cost, I can work with that.

A simple solution for establishing a budget on a project is a “Quick Quote” I’ve used this method for years in my construction business and I still use it today as a designer.

The “Quick Quote” is just what its name implies. It’s a Quick Guestimate or SWAG (scientific wild a** guess). It’s more detailed than a WAG (wild a** guess) and actually had merit when it’s done correctly.

I’ve created a spreadsheet that helps with this process. Rather that explain how it works here I’ve created a 13 minute video that explains it. You can also download the spreadsheet for free and customize it for your own use. It’s set up to help you come up with quick numbers for your design services and the actual construction budget.

You can check out the video and download the spreadsheet at this link:

After you’ve had a chance to try it come back here and let me know what you think.

Sincerely

Dan Baumann

ChiefExperts.com, Inc.

12304 Junction Road, Minnetonka, MN 55343

O: 952-236-4427  M: 952-451-9911

Skype Search Name: chiefexperts.com

www.chiefexperts.com email: dan@chiefexperts.com

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www.RemodelerBiz.com is published by Randall S Soules, a 37 year construction veteran. The intent of this web site is to help builders, remodelers and those in the trades, create a rewarding career and lifestyle.  At Remodeler Biz you’ll find helpful articles on niches, marketing, graphic standards and the design-then-build field.