Buying the wrong type of building

This is by far the number one mistake most people make. Before you buy any building, you need to answer some basic questions about how you plan to use the building. Many people forget that the building is there to serve their needs. If you don't define your needs, you don't really know what will work for you.

Consider some basics:

What's this building going to do for me?
What size building do I think I need?
How tall do I need the building?

 

Not figuring your total cost
 

Buying a steel building kit and putting it up yourself can save you a lot of money. You still need keep in mind that the actual kit is just one part of your total overall cost. If you see an ad or talk to a salesman about a such-and-such size building for some ridiculously low price, be prepared to spend more than that. You will have additional expenses for:

 

• concrete foundation

 

• doors

 

• permits

 

• land (if you don't have it already)

 

• land prep

 

• delivery of the building

 

• erection of the building

 

• taxes on the purchase

As everyone's situation will be different there's no hard and fast rule about these additional expenses that is going to apply to everyone in every case. Analyze your situation and sit down with a pad and paper and list your expected expenses.

 

Trying to buy the cheapest building

If the first question you're asking the salesperson is how much is it, you may be guilty of focusing on the price instead of the cost. Depending on how you want to use your building, the cheapest purchase price may not be the cheapest overall cost.

 

After you've done your comparisons, you'll find that in most cases the prices will actually be very close. The key is to get a level playing field to insure you're making a true comparison. If a company has been in business a good long while they must be providing some sort of value at a fair market price or they'd be long gone.

Buying on the spur of the moment

Buying on the spur of the moment is usually only a problem if you're dealing with a pushy salesperson. You need to find an enlightened salesperson, one that understands that times have changed. The best salesperson will work with to help you decide what's best for you. The worst salesperson will simply work on you to get you to buy his product.

On the other hand, remember that many companies do occasionally offer legitimate promotions and sales that might, in fact, save you some of your hard earned cash.
When you get down to it, after you've done your research it's going to boil down to a matter of trust, you need trust the company and its salesperson. And you need to like the building at the price it's being offered.