Guest Post: BVM Contracting on Renovation Consultations & the Value of ROM Budget Pricing!

What is Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) Home Renovation Budget Pricing?

Try saying that ten times fast! It is a mouthful but in simplified terms, BVM Contracting has created a process that allows us to cost out renovations before there is a design or final building permits available. We are able to give pricing before drawings are available by completing the following four activities:

• We come to the home of interest (whether it be a home on the real estate market, your primary residence, or one of your tenanted properties) and measure the property to get accurate data to aid in accurately quoting the proposed work.
• We sit down with you and drill down as specifically as possible into the scope of work. Would you like to install radiant floor heating? What type of kitchen would you like to install? Do you want pot lights in all of your bedrooms? All of these questions will be answered and will help us get an accurate budget for your project.
• With our database of recently completed projects, from basement apartment renovations all the way up to 5000 square foot new home construction projects, we will be able to give accurate pricing based on previous projects with a similar scope of work.
• Having great relationships with sub-contractors, vendors, and material suppliers allows us to make quick contact with industry professionals that can help determine the exact cost of their specific activity in the scope of work.

Whether the proposed renovations are a legal basement apartment renovation, home addition or extension, or new home construction, all of these types of renovations and everything in between can be priced using this method.

In which scenarios would a ROM budget or renovation consultation be completed? 

We think the simple answer is “every time!” but let’s dive into this question a bit further. There are many ways that ROM budget pricing adds value to a home renovation process, even before the design of the proposed home renovation is underway. If you are a smart homeowner/landlord/architect/designer, which you are if you are reading this, you understand that it is unwise to design a renovation that you or your client can’t afford. Unfortunately, we have seen this scenario happen, where the homeowner gets a home renovation, home addition.extension, or new home construction designed for their home with no input from a General Contractor or Home Builder. This leads to a scenario where the homeowner has a set of drawings that may be $50 000, $100 000, or more over their budget. This not fair to the client because when they tender out the design to local General Contractors/Home Builders the price is too high and the following decisions have to be made:

• They pick the lowest quote and hope that the company can actually follow-through with the work (not a high-percentage strategy)
• Have to get the home redesigned to accommodate their budget, which will cost extra money.
• Have to wait to build or renovate the home until they can afford it, which might be 1-2 years or even 5-10 years down the road.
• Have to wait to complete certain portions of the renovation scope (i.e. not finishing the basement).
• Have to lower the quality of their finishes (IKEA versus custom cabinetry, vinyl versus hardwood).

In order to avoid this scenario, and to ensure that the homeowner/investor/landlord has a complete understanding of the cost of their proposed scope, ROM renovation budget pricing is used. BVM Contracting has used this concept in the following areas:

• A client would like a renovation consultation at their primary residence or investment property to determine what the cost of a certain type of renovation is. This consultation is important to be completed on-site since for almost every renovation (with the exception of new home construction/infill projects) you are working with the existing footprint of the home.
• A client is looking to buy a property (either as an investment pr primary residence) and would like some input into the cost of renovations to update the home. This allows the client to properly budget the renovation in with the cost of the mortgage/home price so that they have room to complete the renovations once they take possession of the home. BVM Contracting would visit the project site to determine the costs of the proposed renovations.
• A client is looking to take advantage of the purchase plus improvement mortgage and need a renovation budget to submit to their mortgage lender and mortgage default insurer (if less than a 20% down-payment is made). BVM Contracting has helped past clients quickly complete budgets to submit to the necessary stakeholders so that they can obtain funding through their mortgage for renovations to their home. These budget quotes can also be completed quickly enough so that usually the client can have the cost of the proposed renovations in hand before they put an offer in on the house, which is great news for the prospective buyer!
• A client has just started with preliminary designs for their proposed home renovation or new construction project and would like to get some input about the cost before submitting the plans for getting building permits. BVM Contracting has helped hundreds of clients at this stage in getting an accurate budget for their project before making any further investment into the project. This allows clients to make adjustments to the design before it is too late to change the design without getting hit with large redesign fees.

What is the cost to complete these renovation consultations and ROM budgeting for (your) clients?

Contact us to learn more about this service. Many times the consultation fee is waived for properties in the GTA! Think about this consultation in the same way as a home inspection or home appraisal, even if it costs a bit of money to complete it is worth the investment to get industry experience about doing your proposed home renovations or construction project. It is important to realize though that this service only supplements a home inspection, it doesn’t replace it. If you also need a recommendation on a home inspector we can recommend the right company for you! Together with a home inspection and a renovation consultation you will be ready to make the most educated decision about the property of interest as possible! Additionally, talk to us about our home-buying retainer program specifically tailored for prospective home buyer clients looking at multiple homes at once. We provide volume discounts for visiting and evaluating multiple homes so that you can save money and also evaluate each home as efficiently as possible!

Conclusion

This concept is very simple but very powerful; get to know the renovation costs for your proposed scope of work before you make the investment in the design and submission of building permits. Let BVM Contracting help you with your home renovation or new home construction journey! Start the conversation today!