pricing question

[Billabong]

I know this isn't really suppose to be talked about openly but if anyone could pm me with some answers it would be really great.

 

I have some appointments with some Real Estate Developers in about 3 weeks. I need to know what is really the standard on pricing for a few things. here is the list of pricing i need.

 

1. Residential houses-modeling, rendering,of interior and exterior and animation walkthroughs. Interior, exterior, walkthroughs, all priced separately.

 

2. Commercial buildings- All the same as above

 

Like I said, I know its kind of Taboo to ask these sort of questions. I also realize the price would vary depending on the size of the project. I just need some kind of base price to give these guys for each one. I'm in the southern part of the United States, I really would appreciate any help on this.

Thanks again for any help.

 

Brandon

[ahmon]

Yes it is not talk about at all really. I am still trying to figure it out myself.

 

What is did was try to come up with a pricing standard:

 

Residential

Exterior

Interior

 

My standard for residential would be for a small building and a percentage increase for medium and again for large. Example:

 

Small 0 S.F. - 1000 S.F.

Medium 1001 S.F. - 2000 S.F. (Small price plus 10%)

Large 2001 S.F. and up (Small price plus 20%)

 

And did the same for Commercial

 

Animations

Exterior

Interior

 

$(What ever number comes to a good price for a 30 sec animation) per second

 

There should also be a good percentage increase for interiors because the will take a lot longer.

 

You're gonna have to come up with your own numbers, and make it what ever keep you fed and some to save. LOL. You really will not have a real standard till you have done a couple of them. It is always better to be a bit higher in the beginning, cause you can negotiate with the client.

 

Hope this helps.

[mbowers]

Figuring that out will take some time and some completed projects.

 

After a while you'll be able to gauge your own time and commitment on the spot and be comfortable with it. On occasion i decided i was gonna charge x amount of dollars per square foot when it came to renderings of houses or commercial work. I often found that this was costing the client too much and i ended up giving him a cost break and then went back and readjusted my fees.

 

On the other hand your a professional and it is a service. You set your fee the way you want but be respectful. After all, you can't expect a doctor to charge you $20 an hour for a brain surgery can you...?

[Billabong]

Thanks guys for the replies. Up until now Ive mostly done product modeling for companies, which is pretty easy to give an estimate for. I have had some archi jobs, but I was always given the price.

I just didn't want to go into these meetings looking like a fool, but it looks like that may happen regardless. I'll just wing it the best I can. I appreciate all the help that was given

 

Brandon

[ronll]

FWIW, I usually consider residential, especially single-family, to take way more time than commercial, mainly due to the lack of repetition of elements. When bidding a project, I usually put some time in trying to discover how much repetition or pattern iteration there is and bid accordingly. Usually a highrise commercial building will take less time to model than a single family house, so square foot guidelines aren't really that helpful.

 

Also I would generally bid interiors higher than exteriors. Usually the furnishings and lighting are far more complex on interiors.

[Narada]

You need to work out a survival plan. Add up all you're monthly outgoings at home, including what you think is a decent salary. Then if you have offices add up all your monthly outgoings there. Add the two together multiply by 12 months then divide by 48 weeks ( you need a holiday ) then divide the weekly total by the number of hours that you want to work ( but it's never that way ) say 40. What you get is a base hourly rate, what you need to charge to break even. How you build your margins etc from there is up to you.

[brianzajac]

I like Narada's suggestion - know what your expenses are and gauge your potential income before offering the quote. Also, keep in mind that the residential U.S. housing slump is in full effect right now. So, you'll need to adjust to market standards. As for commercial, I would suggest charging more because they are in less of a slump than residential and typically have a bigger budget.

[Billabong]

great suggestions, thanks guys

[Narada]

No Problem, glad to be of help.

 

The Banks here in the UK won't entertain you unless you produce a survival plan, break even analysis, 2 years Cash Flow analysis and a Profit & Loss Forecast. It scared me to death when i first did mine, but it's a useful tool to guage how the business is performing against forecast and is also a good measure of 'personal stress' LOL

[Matt Sugden]

My suggestion from a simplistic point of view would be;

 

Forget what everyone else is earning.

 

Work out how long you reckon this work will take you to do a decent job of it, and work out how much you'd be happy to get paid on an hourly or daily basis, then do the math. You might want to add your overheads in if you have any idea what they are, but it sounds like at this stage you are starting out so probably not.

 

Getting your price right is a tricky business, but one thing I have found is that if you under price, you always resent doing the work a little bit and there's always that temptation to rush the job. If you over price, and then start discounting to get the work, clients may think you were taking the piss in the first place. Give an honest price and stick to it, and make sure you do your best work.

[Narada]

Actually Matt, i'm not starting out, this is my third year. I'm not particularly interested in what other people charge, i know my costs and i know what i'm comfortable with price wise to make a decent margin. I'm merely passing on experience.

[Matt Sugden]

woe their!! take it easy Narada..!!. .

 

Don't know why you think I was directing my last comment at you specifically? or why you seem to have taken offense to it from the tone of your reply.

 

I was replying to Billabong's original question!

 

Merely passing on advise like yourself mate.

[Narada]

No, wasn't offended at all, nor did i think you were addressing me directly.

[shaneis]

No, wasn't offended at all, nor did i think you were addressing me directly.