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Getting a customer who has a very tight budget can sometimes be a little challenging to deal with and a lot of times, I get that a new homeowner won't really know how much the renovation will cost, so they just throw in an amount they are most comfortable with as their budget and then just try their luck and hope that the budget will be feasible, but as someone who has seen a dozen different homeowners and know how much it actually cost, I can't help but get a little annoyed.





Well, I met one such customer yesterday and so the first thing I asked him was how he actually got to that minuscule figure for his budget, $20,000 to renovate a 5 Room Flat, $20,000 that's also meant to include doing tiles for the entire living room and 3 bedroom, that's very very low, he laughs at my question and then tells me...

"I understand the budget is a little low, so I am willing to go up to $35,000, but really nothing higher than that."

... when a customer tells me he doesn't want to go higher than a certain amount, I just find it really fascinating that they would tell me that, because how high the renovation figure will go really depends on how extensive your renovation requirements are, I am not someone who will charge an exuberant amount for the renovation works, all my projects have dangerously low profit margins, so telling me you want to keep within a budget won't equate to me charging you lower because I already charge lower than most of my colleagues.



But anyways, the consultation starts and having told him that his budget is very tight, I was under the assumption that he will hold back on his requirements and just do the bare minimum, so when we were discussing about the layout of the kitchen,which is the first area I always ask my clients about, I was pleasantly surprised when he told me...

"I want to do kitchen cabinets on just one side, we will leave the other side untouched."

....I thought, well, this guy is being realistic and really going for just the bare minimum, maybe his budget will work, definitely not the $20,000, but $35,000 feels really possible.





And then everything went to shit when he goes...

"I plan to hack the wall on the other side of the kitchen, just a half height hack and do a folding glass door, and then introduce a counter top for dining."

... that was when I realize he is anything but realistic, and his unrealistic ideas doesn't stop there because after the kitchen is done, he proceeds to the living area and starts requesting for a butt load of carpentry that only customers with a generous budget will opt for, and it was honestly just completely mindblowing hearing him go on and on about how he wants to do this and do that, it is insane just how far he thinks his $35,000 can stretch.




When the living room was done, and I know for a fact that his requirements have already gone WAYYYY over budget, he brings me to his master bedroom and tells me...

"I want to do a walk in wardrobe area, but I want it to be completely enclosed in glass, so it will be like a separate room."

...I don't know why, but I was just getting really annoyed after a while because it feels like he is wasting my time requesting for items he won't be able to afford, like AT ALL. So I just told him ...

"Honestly speaking, the items you have requested has already exceeded your original budget."

... like are you serious about the glass walk-in wardrobe right now?  Have some sense, please, and he goes...

"Yeah, but I would like to know how much all this items will cost, so later I can see which items I want to remove and move on from there."

... Well, I have calculated his final figure and not surprisingly, it has exceeded his budget by at least 2 folds.




Needless to say, seeing how he has such unrealistic standards, scheduling a second appointment with him just feels really pointless, in the end, he is just going to takeaway EVERYTHING and then stick to the bare necessities, I really don't see myself running his project for him and if budget is really his main concern, than it is safe to say that I won't be one of the designers that he will shortlist.


I charge a low price, but my contractors are not cheap, so in the end, even though I don't earn much, my quote is still not the lowest in the market, which is a pity, but it also eliminates really cheap homeowners, which I guess is a good thing.



When he told me he would be willing to pay more if the design is good, I can just tell it's complete bullshit, when he tells me he is willing to pay more, I don't think he knows how much "more" actually refers to.



Design and a Tight Budget are not requirements that go together, if you want design, you better be prepared to pay more, otherwise, settle for the basic if budget is really an issue for you.



When I see the requirements as...

"Design Centric, Cost Effective."

.... it automatically gets labeled as a waste of time in my books. I will still meet them if they request for it, but I won't take them seriously, like this client, I couldn't even be bothered to scale the floorplan, just created a quote base on estimated measurements because there's just no point putting in so much effort for a client with so little potential.