Stop Secret Keeping

Have you ever been to an auction?
I have not and honestly, I'm not super inclined to seek one out. Sounds stressful with all the shouting and rushing, i.e. not my ideal environment. But it comes to mind when I think about how some homeowners go about choosing a professional or company to work with for their home remodeling work.

The rules of bidding tell us to always start with our lowest offer and, if possible, never reveal how high we can go. The name of the game is basically to keep a secret. A really boring secret... and sure, this make sense at a fine art auction but we have to say, in the home remodeling or new construction process, withholding your true budget as a means of control never works out.
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​Combining a detailed scope of work with a fixed budget and waiting for someone to say yes is one of the most common (and our team would argue, riskiest) approaches homeowners take.

​It's a Trap: Why the "Auction Strategy" Doesn't Work for Your Home
Homeowners don’t remodel houses for a living; professionals do. And this gap in experience matters because when you define both what should be done and what it should cost, you need to have the full picture of the process, which includes labor, sequencing, hidden conditions, and real-world complexity.

These are details that service providers can predict more realistically than anyone who isn't doing this as their 9-5. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that all service providers will give a realistic response when asked if they can do something for a certain price.

If you ask enough providers if they can work with your initial budget, someone out there will say yes. That doesn’t mean it will go well.

Here's an Idea: Start With the Problem
If sharing your real budget with a professional you're meeting for the first time feels too uncomfortable, remove scope from the equation entirely and lead with what isn’t working in your home, how your space currently makes you feel, and what needs to change for your life to function better.

When you've communicated the why behind what you want, share something like this:
“This is the amount I’m comfortable investing. I need help finding solutions within it.” This shifts the conversation from approval-seeking to problem-solving.

Why This Builds Better Outcomes
When professionals are invited to solve problems it invites them to propose smarter alternatives and align design, cost, and experience from the start.

Most importantly, it protects you from unrealistic expectations and false confidence driven by TV portrayals of remodeling timelines and costs. We're looking at you HGTV...

Control Isn’t About Withholding Information
Many homeowners hold onto budget because it feels like the only control they have but in reality, control comes from transparent conversation, understanding the costs & benefits, and being able to make informed decisions. 

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​​Tune in to TJ & Katie's "(Talking About) Talking About Money" Episode
on Designed Happy: The Podcast