What are Specifications and Allowances?
In this installment of our blogs explaining Synergy Partnership’s contract process, I’ll be explaining what specifications and allowances are. If you missed the first two, Synergy’s Building Process and Synergy Partnership’s No Surprise Contract, be sure to read those as well!
Specifications
If you’ve done research on building, chances are you have come across these terms: specifications and allowances. However, many websites do not take the time to explain them. Specifications, or specs, as they are often called, are specific, named items in your contract. There are two kinds of spec items--those you choose before the contract is signed, and those that the builder chooses and places in every home they build.
A specified item you may choose could be flooring. If you have your heart set on a trendy wide-plank, hand-scraped hardwood, then your builder can (and should) include that in your contract. In this case, choosing the flooring as a specified item eliminates the need for a flooring allowance (which we will discuss later).
The other kind of specified item is what a builder typically puts in every home. For example, Synergy includes Delta Lahara faucets in every bathroom. This is where contracts can get tricky, as I discussed in the last blog, Synergy Partnership’s No Surprise Contract. We only use specified products that we would like in our own home and always show you examples or pictures. This is not true for every builder. They may use outdated or cheap products, then charge you for an upgrade when you balk at an ugly brass door handle. Understanding what items are in the contract can save you a lot of frustration and expense later. Back to our example; if, after looking at the Lahara line, you decide you’re more of a Trinsic fan, we can specify that in the contract so there is no upgrade later.
Allowances
Allowances can be a little more tricky. An allowance is a range of money (say $8,000-$10,000) that you have set aside in contract for your builder to spend on a specific part of your home. This may include faucets, lighting, flooring, cabinetry, or masonry. Synergy works to limit the number of allowances as much as possible, but sometimes they are necessary. During the build, we spend out of this allowance for the allotted items. If there is money left over, that difference is credited back to you. However, many people choose to spend it in another category and may purposefully scrimp in one area so they can splurge in another without paying for it out of pocket. Allowances, when used sparingly, can work out great. They do leave room for surprises, so we try to get as much done before the contract as we can...turning those allowances into specified selections.
I hope this has answered your questions on these terms. As always, please contact us if you have any questions or are interested in building a home!
