Beyond a shot in the dark

By Jacob Kirst

President & Visionary, Lagois Design·Build·Renovate

Jacob Kirst working on a sketch of one of his designs

Not too long ago I sat a kitchen table with a couple who had already met with three different builders. Each builder had given them a number. One was $280,000. One was $320,000. One was $350,000.

The couple was understandably confused. “Can you just tell us,” they asked, “where this is going to land?”

I paused. I knew the truth would be uncomfortable, even a bit odd.

“I can,” I said. “But it wouldn’t be honest yet.”

In our industry, pricing is often the first conversation. That’s because it feels productive and efficient, even exciting. It feels like something is starting right away.

But in reality, that’s where most renovation experiences begin to unravel. A price, stated right at the beginning, doesn’t take into account the things that matter first: your goals, your home, your constraints, your priorities.

A price without everything in context is just a shot in the dark, an assumption. And that can be not only misleading but expensive.

When builders or renovators give you a number early, they are making decisions on your behalf without fully understanding:

• How you actually live in your home

• What your property allows (zoning, structure, limitations)

• The level of finish you expect

• The long-term vision you’re trying to achieve

• The unknowns hidden behind walls, ceilings, and foundations.

So the number might feel helpful at first glance, but it’s incomplete and sometimes irrelevant. It’s the first step in the loss of trust between you and your contractor, and that’s not a situation you want, to say the least.

What I’ve learned over the years is that homeowners don’t actually want a number at first. They want certainty. They want to know if they’re making the right decision before they go forward. They want to know if they can trust the process, to know if this venture will go the way they hope it will.

A number given too early answers none of those concerns. It just sets forth a path to disappointment and inaccuracy. It can be dangerous (and devastating) when a design is created, you’re happy with it and looking forward to the results, only to get to the end of the process and realize it doesn’t make sense for you.

At Lagois we begin with understanding and conversation long before pricing. From a financial perspective, we guide priorities and solutions with a budget that makes sense to you and your family. This is the critical first step if we’re going to collaborate with you in a way that is honest and trustworthy.

That means:

• Listening before suggesting

• Designing before estimating

• Exploring before committing.

Then when we do arrive at cost, it’s not a guess. It’s a solid plan you can understand and trust.

Our conversation with that couple proceeded on a different track than the one they had started with the other builders. Rather than tossing out a number at them, we asked questions. They told us what they really wanted about how they wanted to live.

Months later, when we presented their project, the investment was higher than any of the early numbers they had received. But the numbers were honest.

The couple had the comfort of knowing they could reject our plan, of course. But they didn’t because they trusted it. They moved forward with the confidence of knowing everything had been considered, starting with their own wishes about their way of life, now and in the future.

Experiences like this always confirm for me that serious renovations aren’t about finding the right price, but about building the right plan. When that’s clear, everything changes the way it’s supposed to.

The right time to have this kind of conversation is at the very beginning, in your earliest thoughts about the possibility of renovation. First comes the discussion, the listening, the understanding between you and your renovator. The possibilities are next.

Only after these steps do numbers become not only relevant but honest.

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