All right, today we’re gonna be talking about budgets and what you can expect or what you should prepare for when you’re going into different types of projects.

And so, Lincoln, what are some ways that people get hung up or maybe what are some challenges people face, obviously, when they’re starting to look at a project and they’re starting to, what should they be prepared for and what should they look out for when they’re budgeting for a project?

The most important thing you could do is obviously pick the right company because you have to trust that company.

And what I mean by that is you need to go in there and let them know, hey, my budget is $100,000 and you’re not going to have to play this game where you’re going to a car dealership and you’re trying to lowball them and there’s this game going.

No, hey, my budget’s $100,000.

Here’s what I’m trying to accomplish.

Is this possible?

And that’s really what it comes down to because if you don’t have a budget and you think it’s some type of game where you don’t want to give them your number.

You’re not on Shark Tank trying to negotiate something.

Yes.

Yeah, and I think a lot of people are nervous to be transparent about that number because they think it’s going to impact what price they get on their bid.

And granted, some companies would probably do that.

Most, honestly.

And that’s why I think it’s important to understand you have to trust a company before, and it’s how do you trust a company before you work with them?

Well, you gotta do your due diligence.

You gotta understand things.

We’re very transparent.

Our markups are the same.

And whether, it just depends on the project itself, but our markups are the same.

And so we’re not here to gouge you.

We’re here to empower you.

Yeah, because we’re not there to upsell you.

We’re there to say, okay, what’s the maximum you can get done with that number that you have?

And then we’re going to design to that budget.

And there’s nothing more frustrating on our end to design to a project that never occurs, that you never end up doing because it’s out of your budget.

So we call that over-designing.

And the last thing we want to do is work with a customer for weeks and weeks or months and months designing this beautiful project that doesn’t end up coming to fruition because, oh, whoops, it’s an extra two, 300 grand than what you expected to spend.

And there’s two stories about that, right?

You have one story where you have a friend or a customer who’s like, hey, I don’t really have a budget.

Because they don’t want to show your number.

They’re playing the game.

And you’re like, okay, well, that’s fine.

And so what ends up happening is the designer then starts going crazy, the wife designer, go nuts on things, and the design becomes absolutely incredible.

But then we get the bid back, and they’re going, whoa, this is $100,000 more than I thought.

And we’re going, there was never a budget.

So of course they’re gonna run wild with the design and have fun with it.

And there are customers who don’t care about the budget.

We have customers who don’t care.

Like, hey, extra hundred grand does not matter to me.

But to most people, it does matter.

And so it’s really important to understand that if you give them a budget, immediately because of our expertise, we can guide them.

We can direct them, hey, you know what?

That budget’s probably not gonna be for a full remodel, but what we could do is we can do the kitchen, the primary bathroom, we could do the flooring, the baseboards, we could get 75% of that done.

And then we’re able to guide them from there.

And that way they’re not compromising.

Because how many times have we seen, especially in our old, in our history, where we’ve over-promised and under-delivered?

And that is what we’ve learned from the past is you do not want to go to a customer and over-design something and then drop that this is $150,000 more than it should have been.

And that’s a terrible experience.

And that’s why it’s so important to be so transparent with your budget.

Now, and the other end of that coin is realizing that, okay, you might have inspiration photos, and then you have this budget.

And the two are not on the same frequency.

Yes, give an example of a, I mean, there’s stories you’ve gone through this a million times.

Yeah, so the example is, hey, I have a budget of, that’s a very easy number, I have a budget of 100K. Okay, what do you want, what does your Pinterest look like?

What do you want that design and that finished product to look like?

Well, here we go, we’ve got this, this, and that.

And we’re like, okay, this is not a $100,000 product.

This, are you prepared to make some compromises?

And you have to have that, be prepared to do that.

They show you like an inset walnut with marble, and you’re like, whoa, whoa, whoa, this is absolutely incredible.

Or super like textured products and, or high-end products that involve precious stones.

You know, some of these slabs are 10,000 bucks a slab when you start involving these and integrating them within the millwork and, yeah, so you gotta be realistic and you gotta match that project, those finishes to your budget.

If you give us an inspiration on Pinterest, and it is way above the budget that you have, what we do empower you with is we can say, okay, instead of doing these type of countertops, we can do these with the same tones, the same vibe, the same look, the same, and still have an absolutely incredible project, or a product, but at the end of the day, it’s gonna cost you half the price because we can guide you.

And that’s where I feel like Kingdom & Co. is so powerful, is we are so good at guiding the clients towards their budget and giving them a beautiful product.

There’s some people that we know that are all over the country that don’t produce as good of a product as we do because we are able to get creative, and that’s why we have our own cabinetry line, that’s why we have our own flooring line, that’s why we have our own glass line.

Because we have the ability to bring prices down because of our ability to be creative, we’re able to empower our clients to really still have a beautiful product with their budget, and I’m proud of that, that’s something I’m proud of.

Just the other day, we were working on a spec home design, and this is on a lot that has this really commanding view of the city, and our initial designs involved a back wall that had three different multi-panel sliders because there was a jog in the wall, so it kind of went like an L. And so we were going back and forth, and it was not only gonna cost more in glass and windows, it was gonna cost significantly more in engineering, and that’s where we started really looking at it and really, okay, what’s the best bang for buck here?

We’re gonna straighten out that wall, we’re gonna angle this, but we’re gonna slightly adapt our footprint, and all of a sudden, now, we probably saved, we probably saved, I would say, 30 to 40 grand in steel of what it would have taken to do the other model, and I bet we saved another 15 grand in glass just by making a couple tweaks, and I think we have a better presentation of the living room and kitchen.

So there’s so many ways like that where you can capture, you can, it could actually be win-win.

Sometimes it’s not win-win.

It is, you know, there is a loss.

You know, you gotta give something up to get something more that you want, but sometimes it is win-win.

You get something better for cheaper.

Yeah, and that always comes down to the professional you’re using, and that’s why Kineman Co. to me is supreme because, again, when people are trying to budget their projects and they still want a beautiful product, we are the answer because you can go to the, what do you call them, the kitchen and bath guys, you can go to these guys, and they’re burning and churning.

They’re not doing a beautiful custom design.

It’s the same stuff over and over on budget, and if that’s what you’re looking for, then it makes sense, but if you want something that with character, with beauty, with a design touch that takes more time, then we’re the answer because we’re able to cultivate and grab those Pinterest ideas and make them and build them towards their budget, whether it be, it might be a different type of cabinet line or it might be a different type of finish, but the same vibe, and we’re able to empower that, and it turns out just beautiful and it’s something we’re proud of.

I love it.

And the alternative is, okay, hiring the designer who may not be really attached to the execution budget, to what it’s actually gonna cost to do it, and they’re just not a match.

You’ve over-designed it, you’ve paid all this money for that design package, and then the contractor comes in because they’re different parties.

The contractor comes in and says, well, it’s gonna cost X, Y, Z, and you’re thinking it’s gonna cost A, B, C, and yeah, it’s just not a match, and then you gotta go back and pay the designer to redo it.

Yeah, warning, warning, warning.

Let’s get massive warnings here.

If you’re planning on hiring your own designer and then trying to find a cheap contractor and a cheaper structural engineer, massive warning is you’re going to be deceived on your budget.

Your budget is, what happens to you, you’re gonna lie to yourself, oh, this is my budget, and you’re gonna try to piece it together.

You’re gonna pay for it at the end because if you have all these people on different pages, you’re gonna pay for it regardless, and that’s what we’ve experienced from day one is we’ve noticed that you cannot trick yourself into having an amazing design build process unless you have a design build team, honestly.

I don’t know how else to do it.

Yeah, you have to realize that in this instance, you gotta spend money to save money, and then when you try to piece it together, you’ll end up spending more than if you just did it all in-house.

Yeah, I heard a designer that I love, and she says to use this contractor, which is good, and all of a sudden you’re like, my budget was 100 grand and everything seemed great, and all of a sudden they’re like, yeah, it’s 120 grand, let’s say, and then you get into the project, and then there’s change order after change order after change order after mistake, and now you’re spending 150 grand, and now you’re three, four months past your project.

That happens all the time.

Yeah, we just had a project that came across our desk.

We’re about halfway through of it now.

They did hire the architect separate, the engineering team separate, and then they were coming to us to bid out the construction portion, and we were like, look, guys, let us pay a small fee for us to do these plans over again.

Did we do the whole thing?

Yeah.

Just because we wanted to help?

And it was minimal.

We were giving them, I think we were only at, and this is a over a million dollar project.

We’re like, we need to, these plans are missing so much information.

Just pay, we’ll give it to you at a cost.

Just pay the draftsman five grand.

You know, let’s do this, and it’s gonna save you in the long run.

Because we have a checklist of making sure that everything is in there, so that when we hand it off to the field, every guy knows exactly, but they didn’t have this.

Yeah, so they didn’t want to do it.

No, we’ve already spent money here, you know, so we’re like, okay, here’s the number, but with these exclusions.

We want them.

Yeah, they’re over 150K in change orders, at least.

And an extra month and a half to two months, because they wanted to save.

That’s why this whole process.

And I think they’re even surpassed the number that we originally gave them for the all-in price.

They have.

And that’s what’s so crazy is it’s so, and I get it, it’s so hard, because when you have a budget and things are so expensive nowadays, I get it, but to not understand the importance of having a design-build team help you, it just turns into a game, and again, you get burned at the end.

And you always do, and you always will, because you don’t know what you don’t know.

And so, it’s so important to have the transparency, understand that you have a team that’s going to take responsibility.

We talk to our clients.

We’re like, dude, I want to be responsible.

If there’s a mistake anywhere, I want it to be our fault.

And they’re like, what do you mean by that?

And I’m going, well, I want, from design all the way to finish, if there’s any issues, it’s our fault.

Because if not, then you’re blaming your designer, then you’re blaming your contractor, and then you’re trying to find fault with your structural engineer, and then you’re trying to find fault with your architect, and what ends up happening is everybody starts pointing fingers because nobody wants to be responsible.

And nothing gets done.

And your budget becomes trash.

What budget?

And that’s what this conversation is about.

It’s about budget.

You can’t really have a budget if you don’t have the right team.

And that’s what it goes- A single point of responsibility.

Yeah, it goes full circle.

You have to have a design build firm that you can trust.

And if you don’t, then your project’s going to be challenging.

So, for those projects where we are working with an outside designer- It is possible.

Yeah, it is possible, under the assumption that you’re doing the integration process, where you’re going through their design packet and integrating it into the plans that you’re actually building off of.

With checklists.

Hey, the countertop’s this thick.

The edges are this.

And everything’s called out specifically.

And there are designers that we work with that are absolutely incredible that don’t work within our design build team or firm, but they’re outside designers.

We love working with them, like Christie Schneider.

She’s excellent.

She used to work for a design build firm in San Francisco, so she’s easy to work with because she gets the game and the importance of communication.

And so, she’s a great one that I would really commend because of that.

But working with outside designers is powerful.

We’re good at doing that because we have our processes where we meet with them constantly and make sure everything is done.

Yeah, there is that integration process where you’re translating the designer’s visions into the actual executable plan.

And that process oftentimes gets skipped when you’re dealing with separate parties.

And what’s also very, very important is, again, going back to the budget, your budget can get really messed up and plans can get really messed up if there’s lots of changes going back and forth.

That’s typically when communication and mistakes happen because things get lost.

And so, having that checklist, having those policies and procedures in place and being able to work with outside design and within our own design team, when those changes are being made and we’re trying to cater to that budget, we’re the best in the business.

Ultimately, where the rubber meets the road is that scope of work that the client signs.

That is gospel.

And if there’s discrepancies between what the scope of work says and maybe a detail on a plan, the scope of work is something, and they get really long and it gets really laborious, but for anybody doing a project, even if you don’t hire Kingdom & Co., you’ve got to understand that scope of work.

Every detail matters, every detail, because if your countertop is four inches off, it messes up the whole entire kitchen.

If your cabinets are eight inches off, it messes up the entire kitchen.

If you don’t have, if your sconce lights are eight inches off, it can ruin the entire project because then you have to go in there and fix it and bring the drywall guy, the paint guy, and again, your budget starts jacking up.

And so, every detail matters.

So, if you’re looking at plans and there’s not details on every single one of those call-outs, then you’re gonna be in big trouble.

And the alternative would be, okay, on a project where, let’s say I’m an investor, I’m not living in a home, I just want this property cleaned up so I can put another renter in it.

Those types of projects, you know, that- That’s different.

Yeah, you don’t, you’re not really attached to the outcome there, you’re just trying to kind of check some boxes to make something functional, right?

It’s funny, because we’re actually doing a high-end home in Queensridge and we’re doing the same thing.

We’re basically just changing out the surfaces.

Yeah.

And those things do, the design still matters, the details still matter, but it’s not super expensive.

The stakes aren’t as high.

The stakes aren’t as high, correct.

So we are doing one of those, it’s funny you say that.

Let’s talk high-level ranges of ballpark, what people can expect on budget.

I think the big determining factor is, obviously wet areas, kitchens and bathrooms, are more dense in that they take more components, there’s more hard surfaces, and are more cost per square foot to renovate than non-wet spaces.

I would call dry areas or open areas.

You’re gonna spend more price per square foot in a kitchen or a bathroom than you are in an open lot.

So Zion, budgeting for a casita, how do you do that?

Okay.

Give me a quick answer.

It depends, Lincoln.

Is it just a gym, is there a bathroom there, is there a kitchen there?

A casita for my mother-in-law.

Okay, so full living space, on average, I think those are landing depending on how large, how much concrete, two-story, one-story, but it’s somewhere between 350 and 400 foot.

What about, give me a range for, like a high-end kitchen.

High-end kitchen, gosh, it’s north of 100, okay?

And it can, we just bid out one, well, that was for the whole house, but it’s, yeah, I mean, they wanted super high-end finishes, and it’s like an 8,000 square foot house, and I think they’re gonna be three to 350 in their cabinetry package.

And that’s just cabinetry, so then you got countertops, sinks, faucets.

Some of these faucets are now are getting crazy expensive.

But yeah, I think a decent kitchen in a, let’s just say a median income home, with countertops, flooring, are we doing flooring?

Yeah.

Yeah, okay, so I think you’re gonna be close to 100.

I mean, yeah.

Let’s go full remodel.

Let’s say I have a 3,000 square foot home, I wanna do a full remodel, and I’m knocking down a few walls, changing some rooms around.

Like, typically, what am I, what’s, what am I?

Yeah, so I think on the low end, depending on how many bathrooms, how many wet areas, obviously, I think you’re gonna be 125, 150.

I think you’re gonna be closer to 200 foot on nicer product.

It’s very nice, yeah.

Yeah.

And then when you get into add-ons, things like that, where you’re, permitting’s more intense, and engineering’s more intense, yeah, it’s gonna be on that higher end for sure.

Okay, let’s go cost to build a home in, like, the Northwest area, or Southwest area.

Like, somewhere where you get by a half acre on a cul-de-sac, like. 250 to 300 a foot, I’d say.

What about high end, like, where McDonnell Highlands?

Just had a conversation.

So we’re just about to start a spec home.

Just talked to my friend yesterday, who’s building two spec homes in Ascaya.

He’s north, he’s gonna be, like, 450, 500 a foot.

So let’s go Ascaya, McDonnell Highlands.

So what is it gonna cost for a customer to?

Okay, so I think it’s important, at that level, to distinguish between what the contractor’s card costs are, and then what you’re gonna pay the contractor to do it.

Yeah, that’s fair.

So, you’re typically gonna be, I would say, 450 to 500 a foot, and then you’re gonna.

Not including land.

Not including the dirt.

Okay, not including the dirt, okay.

And then you gotta pay the contractor fee.

So, whether that’s gonna be a cost plus arrangement, or if it’s just, like, a guaranteed max price to build it.

So, but yeah, it’s gonna be north of 500 a foot, on that, in that sense.

We’re about to build a spec home.

I think our, just cost to perform, like, without adding any markup, you know, I think we’re gonna be 430, 450 in McDonnell Highlands, okay, and that’s top shelf product.

I mean, that’s a really, really nice product.

Yeah.

And then, yeah, we’ve talked about some homes in the northwest, like, on a typical half acre, you know, with nice finishes, but not super bougie.

Yeah, I think you’re 250, 300.

Yeah.

And then you’re probably gonna have a contractor fee on top of that.

It’s probably 325, 350, if it comes down to it.

If I’m a third party, if I’m just, like, I’m just scrolling, I see, okay, what was it?

Budgeting, how do you budget?

I think the psychology behind the design build is such a powerful thing, that the more we talk about that, the more we set ourselves apart.

You know, like, we really wanna hit home of, like, we’re, don’t be, we’re not a used car salesman.

We’re not, like, that’s so powerful, because it’s scary, man.

If we’re gonna spend a million dollars on a remodel.

If you’re a business owner or a high-paid professional, whatever your craft is, okay, when you start looking at some of these numbers and you have that sticker shock, you also have to consider, okay, what will it cost me in my personal loss of productivity if I try to do this myself?

What type of stresses is that gonna add on to me?

What type of stresses will that add on to my family, my relationship?

And isn’t it easier, ask yourself, is it easier for me, yeah, I’m probably gonna spend 20 to 30% more than if I would just go out and piece it all together myself, but what’s that worth to me?

Yep, exactly right.

I mean, you have to quantify that.

If you are so avert, so resistant to, if that number is just, if it crosses your mind, that number is, there’s no way it should cost that much.

Correct.

Okay, what does it cost you to do it yourself?

Because that does come at a cost to whatever it is you’re doing.

Opportunity cost, yeah.

Now, if you’re retired, or if you’re independently wealthy, and you’ve just got money, mailbox money.

And you know what you’re doing?

Run the guy for you.

Yeah, like, do it, and you’ll learn a lot, and if you enjoy the process, and you don’t mind getting messy, like, yeah, go for it.

You’re gonna learn a ton, and yeah, you’ll save money.

For sure.

I think at the end of the day, when it comes down to budgeting your project, at least with our company, it’s transparency.

That comes back to, we’re full circle again, but being transparent about what your budget is so that we can help guide you.

And what’s funny is, we just got a bad review from a client who just.

I don’t even think they were a client.

I’m sorry, not a client.

An inquiry.

You know what’s funny is, we got a bad review from somebody who wasn’t a good fit for us.

And the bad review, we didn’t even do anything for them.

We literally got on the phone with them, and they said, hey, here’s my project, here’s my budget, here’s what I’m planning on doing.

And we said, yeah, we’ll probably have to company for you because in order for it to do this, this, and this, it’s gonna probably cost around this ballpark or price range.

And she’s like, and we offended her because.

She was very offended.

She was very upset because we weren’t the right fit for her.

And it was like, no, it’s okay.

It’s okay to know that we’re not the right fit.

It’s a relationship.

And our customers are very important to us, and they are special to us, and it has to be a good relationship.

And if they don’t have the budget for it, we’re not gonna waste their time.

And so, we wanna make sure that they understand that.

And so, yeah, she wrote a really bad review, really, really nasty review.

But it didn’t bother me that much because we’re like, no, we were being honest and transparent with you that we weren’t a good fit, and that’s okay.

And she did not like that.

So, it was an interesting experience.

But, again, having designed, built a firm, and knowing our numbers, and knowing who we are, and being confident in what we can deliver to our clients, we know the cost.

And we’re not, you know, our margins are between 5% and 10%.

That’s the reality.

And that’s if we do everything right.

And that’s if we’re right, yeah.

And a lot of times, we make mistakes, and we have to eat those costs.

And so, yeah, a perfectly executed job, we’re making 10%.

And most of our jobs don’t get perfectly executed, and we usually end up eating three to four points.

We’re striving for perfection, but right now, yeah, we’re probably 2% off, two, 3% off of what we wanna make.

And that’s on us.

Yeah, that’s on us.

And so, if we’re making between seven, 8%, that’s our margin, that’s our numbers.

And that’s what I’m saying.

Like, that’s because we know our numbers, and we’re confident with our numbers.

And so, if our clients are like, the way they can trust us is because we’re transparent.

And again, come in with a budget.

Don’t play the game.

Let us perform for you, and let us.

Yeah, the game, it doesn’t serve you.

In this case, it actually works against you.

It works against you.

Yeah.

And I understand why they come that way.

I’m the same way.

When I go to a car dealership or go somewhere, I’m playing the game of trying to get them down, but it just doesn’t work here.

Not in remodels, no.

Not in remodels, yeah.