Over the years, the construction industry has adopted many terms and rules that sooner or later every investor dreaming of building a home will encounter. While the process of obtaining a building permit and the other procedures gradually immerse the investor in these issues, in the case of individual recreational houses up to 35 m2 the road from decision to construction is much shorter. So not everyone will have the chance to catch up in time. On what should you pay attention when choosing a holiday cabin? What standards are included in the base price? And what borrowings from the construction industry are also applied here?
Almost-final price
Differences between net price (still excluding VAT) and gross price (with VAT) are understood by everyone, but not everyone knows that in the classic construction industry this first value is usually used in price discussions, even though the amount due will be the second. Unfortunately this approach has been widely adopted in the small construction sector as well, something investors are rarely told about directly until the final stage of the project, i.e., the settlement. It is always worth asking about this right from the start, because the amount of tax that must be paid can reach several or even tens of thousands of złotys, which will be not only an unpleasant surprise but may ultimately exceed the maximum budget allocated for the investment.
For our company, all prices, both for the products themselves and their optional add-ons, are quoted in gross amounts. These are therefore the actual amounts to be paid, with no hidden extra costs.
The cabin is almost complete
The next industry remnants concern the cabin’s finishing standards. You’ve probably heard of an 'open bare shell', a 'closed bare shell', or a 'developers’ finish'. An average person with no prior building experience, however, can feel lost in the trade terminology. Here too you should stay vigilant, paying attention to what is included in the base price. Quite often the components that must be purchased as extras are items that buyers treat as standard – doors, windows, stairs, as well as painting or roof covering. It also happens that they are replaced with economical substitutes, still requiring extra work from the buyer, e.g., painted only with a clear primer or covered with roofing felt.
Of course you won’t encounter this problem with us either, because even the basic version of a given cabin offers all the elements needed for immediate use – doors, windows, shutters, wood preservation, painting in one or several colors, a roof membrane, bituminous shingles, and also a wind protection membrane on the inner side of the walls, serving as a base for any insulation (heating).
Who asks, won’t go astray
The bottom line? Only one – those who ask won’t go astray. In conversations with potential contractors and when comparing offers, ask as many questions as possible, because many important issues are not always clearly resolved in the product description. In our case, however, transparency of the offer is as important as the quality of the realizations, so you can be sure that we do not blindly adopt controversial standards from the classical construction industry. Instead, we set our own.