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What does it really cost to build a home in Vancouver today? Realtor Scott Dempster sits down with general contractor Brian Rantz to break down the true price of construction — from rising material and labor costs to new city regulations, soft costs, and the hidden expenses most homeowners overlook. A candid, practical conversation about what it takes to build right in one of Canada’s toughest markets.
Talk with Scott Dempster anytime about all things real estate.
Direct Phone: 604-808-6050
Email: scott@scottdempster.com
Website
Instagram
Talk with Scott Dempster anytime about all things real estate.
Direct Phone: 604-808-6050
Email: scott@scottdempster.com
Website
Creators and Guests
What is The Real Estate of Things: Vancouver real estate, real stories, real insight?
The go-to listen for anyone passionate about buying, building, or investing in Vancouver’s housing market.
Whether you’re a first-time buyer trying to decode what a teardown is really worth, planning your first laneway build, or chasing an investment property in a city where prices never sit still, this podcast unpacks the real costs, curveballs, and call-it-like-it-is advice you won’t get at an open house. From hidden costs to hyper-local strategies, every episode helps you navigate Vancouver real estate with your eyes wide open.
Hosted by Vancouver realtor Scott Dempster, this podcast gives you the keys to the truth about Vancouver real estate; sharing insider stories, lessons, and laughs from builders, designers, and industry pros who know what it really takes to make it here.
Blending insight, humor, and hard-earned local experience, The Real Estate of Things is your trusted guide to one of North America’s most dynamic (and most misunderstood) housing markets.
From East Van character homes to West Vancouver luxury builds, The Real Estate of Things dives into every corner of Vancouver’s housing market. Expect conversations about rezoning, permits, strata living, laneway houses, condo flipping, market trends, and more—plus tips for navigating real estate in neighbourhoods like Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, the North Shore, the Fraser Valley and beyond.
New episodes drop the first Tuesday and second-to-last Tuesday of each month, brought to you by The OWL Group, a Vancouver-based real estate team known for their expertise, integrity, and dedication to keeping the process fun, informative, and professional.
Talk with Scott Dempster anytime about all things real estate.
Direct: 604-808-6050
Email: scott@scottdempster.com
Web: owlgroup.ca
[00:00:00] Scott Dempster: The house we're in, it's, it's too small and, you know, we, we want to buy a piece of dirt, or you know, a lot and we want to build a house. Right. I've never had a home built by you or another builder or anything like that. I think there's a huge disconnect or a misconception with a lot of people when they think we wanna build a house.
[00:00:17] The majority of people still think that you can build a house for like a million dollars, right?
[00:00:22] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:00:22] Scott Dempster: And. That's absolutely not the case. When you look at, you know, basically logistics of trades coming from different parts of the lower mainland, when you look at the building costs, uh, the material costs, all these kinds of things, you gotta run into that all the time.
[00:00:35] Brian Rantz: I run into it all the time. Yeah.
[00:00:39] Scott Dempster: Everyone's got a real estate story. Some are wins, and some are total nightmares. We are here to give you the keys to what's really going on in Vancouver real estate. From what it actually takes to become a real estate agent, to what it really costs to build a home and all the stories in between. This is the real estate of things where nothing is off the table, and everything is negotiable.
[00:01:02] Alright, well, here we go. My guest today is my good friend Brian Rentz, general contractor here on the North Shore, and, uh, lives in the same neighborhood as me in Pemberton Heights, and I've known Brian for probably, I guess about 10 years or so here in the neighborhood. And he's been very gracious to come on today's podcast and be a part of this. And thanks for coming in today, Brian.
[00:01:28] Brian Rantz: Yeah, no problem. Happy to be here.
[00:01:30] Scott Dempster: Yeah, yeah. So, what, what was the morning like today? What did you have going on?
[00:01:34] Brian Rantz: Uh, I just visited a couple jobs and then I'm building some stairs myself actually.
[00:01:39] 'cause there's, I didn't have any guys for
[00:01:41] Scott Dempster: Oh yeah. How many stairs? Five. Oh, okay. Did you start from the bottom?
[00:01:46] Brian Rantz: I actually started from the top, believe it or not. It's a little, yeah, it's a funny set of stairs. We started from the top.
[00:01:51] Scott Dempster: Oh man.
[00:01:52] Brian Rantz: Doesn't sound right, but we did.
[00:01:53] Scott Dempster: For those of people who don't know, and most people may or may not know how, how long you been, uh, building houses and how'd you get into it and kind of what's your, what's your, what's your background?
[00:02:04] Brian Rantz: Well, my dad actually started Rentz construction, well in 1973. I kind of took over in 2000. Fully took over, but he's helped. He still did like the books and stuff, but
[00:02:16] Scott Dempster: yeah,
[00:02:16] Brian Rantz: not anymore. But, uh, I got into framing around, you know, the last couple years of high school and I did that for 15 years before kind of taking over and starting to build my own houses for, for clients.
[00:02:29] Scott Dempster: How many houses you figure you've built, you know, in Vancouver would you say?
[00:02:34] Brian Rantz: From scratch? Probably, maybe I would say 30. And, but a ton of renos as well. Some of them are new houses in the end, so, but you can't call it a new house, I guess, but it's total jobs over a hundred for sure. But,
[00:02:49] Scott Dempster: and the framing, you started doing that, right?
[00:02:51] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:02:51] Scott Dempster: Like when you guys started the business?
[00:02:52] Brian Rantz: Yeah. Well, he had been at it a long time already 'cause he started it when I was basically a baby. So yeah, I started when I was in my teens helping the framers strip forms and move lumber and yeah. Uh, that kind of thing.
[00:03:07] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:03:07] Brian Rantz: And then I got, uh, the framers hired me, so then we would, I used to build all the stairs.
[00:03:13] Scott Dempster: Oh yeah.
[00:03:13] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:03:14] Scott Dempster: And there you're building stairs still.
[00:03:15] Brian Rantz: Yeah, I know. Wow. Very good.
[00:03:21] Scott Dempster: Your dad started in 73 and I, what's funny is that, uh, when you and I, like you've come along with, with clients of mine, know we've looked at houses and stuff like that, and then we'll be, uh. You know, Upper Del Brook or you know, Canyon Heights or something like that, you're like, oh, I think my dad built that house.
[00:03:37] And it, it's always interesting to see like, he, like you said, he started in 73 and he is built a ton of houses before you. But I think that's pretty cool, like the lineage of the amount of houses you guys have done here on the North Shore and Vancouver too, obviously. Right? Like different areas and
[00:03:50] Brian Rantz: there's a ton. We were in Whistler for a while too. That was fun. Furry Creek. Uh, so yeah, there's a, uh, so many houses and we've, yeah, we've reno'd some that like, uh, we've built years ago. And then, or I'll go there with the plumbers and they're like, hey, we plumbed this house. We just did one on Keith recently. And they're like, oh yeah, I remember doing the rough in here 25 years ago and now we're renoing it.
[00:04:14] So it's kind of, yeah.
[00:04:15] Scott Dempster: That's cool though. That's really neat. Um. The funny thing is, like in our industry, and you and I have had this conversation a ton, is that a lot of people, they're, they say, you know, the house we're in, it's, it's too small. And, you know, we, we want to buy a piece of dirt, or you know, a lot and we wanna build a house, right?
[00:04:34] I've never had a home built by you or another builder or anything like that. I think there's a huge disconnect or a misconception with a lot of people when they think we wanna build a house. 'Cause I think the, the majority of people still think that you can build a house for like a million dollars, right?
[00:04:49] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:04:49] Scott Dempster: And that's absolutely not the case. When you look at, you know, basically logistics of trades coming from different parts of the lower mainland, when you look at the building costs, uh, the material costs, all these kinds of things. But do you, I mean, you gotta run into that all the time.
[00:05:05] Brian Rantz: I run into it all the time. Yeah, for sure. I mean, the first house I built in 2000, it was a fixed price contract in Edgemont Village. It was 339,000 bucks.
[00:05:15] Scott Dempster: 339 grand. Yep.
[00:05:16] Brian Rantz: Fixed price. It's everything. Everything.
[00:05:18] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:05:18] Brian Rantz: Yeah. Three story house
[00:05:20] Scott Dempster: stairs?
[00:05:20] Brian Rantz: Yeah. There was an extra actually there. There was my one little extra, I had to rip a set of stairs out and redo it for the client.
[00:05:26] Scott Dempster: Yeah. So, I mean,
[00:05:27] Brian Rantz: they're still there actually.
[00:05:28] Scott Dempster: And that was in 2000?
[00:05:29] Brian Rantz: Yep.
[00:05:29] Scott Dempster: That's not even that long ago. It was 25 years ago.
[00:05:31] Brian Rantz: I know. Yeah.
[00:05:32] Scott Dempster: If you were to, you know, just off the top of your head, same exact house, same lot, if you started there today, what, what would something like that be roughly? I mean, probably.
[00:05:42] Brian Rantz: just put a two in front of it.
[00:05:44] Scott Dempster: Just put a two in front of it.
[00:05:45] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:05:46] Scott Dempster: Holy shit.
[00:05:47] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:05:47] Scott Dempster: Really
[00:05:47] Brian Rantz: 2 million more.
[00:05:48] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Yeah. That's crazy. Um, but do you, do you find that, like, when you get called by, you know, Bob and Sue and they say, Hey, we want, we got your name from, from so and so, and we'd love you to quote on this house. Do people kind of fall outta their kitchen chair when they get the estimates a lot?
[00:06:04] Brian Rantz: Yes. They always do.
[00:06:05] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Yeah. And where, where does the, the majority of the money go per se? Is it, is it that materials have just gotten so crazy? I mean, labor, you know, is increase with cost of living and everything like that. But where, where's most of the, the dough going?
[00:06:18] Brian Rantz: Well, everything has gone up pretty much, but, uh, the district and city have added so many new rules on building envelope and energy requirements. You know, insulation has gone up so, so much because of their requirements for that outside insulation and just using lots of spray foam, and we're doing storm water management for the city now. I mean, that could add $90,000 on some of these things.
[00:06:45] Scott Dempster: So, what is that exactly? Because you and I have talked about it and I just, my eyes kind of glaze over because it's basically, it's kind of like putting a diaper on the basement of the house and it pushes the water that would otherwise be pumped away on a, on a sump pump system out to the storm sewer. But they don't want the water in the storm sewer.
[00:07:02] What goes on with that?
[00:07:03] Brian Rantz: They send it to a retention tank first, and it's supposed to seep into the ground. Back into the ground. It doesn't always work that way though. So, there's an overflow on it, which they will then allow into the storm system, but they're thinking of going no basements now. There's some new rules that are gonna be proposed where basements are gone and you're allowed to actually build higher.
[00:07:26] Scott Dempster: So,
[00:07:27] Brian Rantz: and closer to the street. There's some changes coming apparently in the next year or so.
[00:07:31] Scott Dempster: So, let's say a house costs, just for round figures, and it doesn't, let's say a house costs $2 million to build today with a basement dugout, with the water infiltration system and the, and all this kind of stuff.
[00:07:44] Let's say they, they get rid of basements and now you're building a three level home and pardon my, what is likely a dumb question, but is your home gonna go from a built cost of $2 million that would've had a basement to. 1.6 'cause you don't have to do the digging. Like I think there's still gonna be like engineering and all these kinds of things that they're gonna implement that your house is probably gonna still end up costing $2 million, but it's just gonna be these tree fort looking houses that are way taller, right?
[00:08:09] Brian Rantz: They'll be way taller, closer to the road. Um, there should be some saving excavations are very expensive now and groundwork and so. You know, I haven't actually done any of the numbers because it's not through yet, but yeah, I imagine there might be some savings.
[00:08:26] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Circling back to your dad, started the business in 73 and then, and then you came in and really picked up, like when you, when you started running Rantz Construction solo, around what time was that?
[00:08:40] Brian Rantz: Around 2000.
[00:08:41] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. And what's cool for I think some people that don't understand is, you know, you and I have been obviously really good friends, and you've renovated a ton of our house, which we absolutely love. Even the room we're sitting in here. I think what's one of the coolest things about your company is a lot of the trades, the sub-trades that work with you. A lot of the guys and gals, they worked for you and some of them even worked for your dad. It's always the same guys. And what I say to people when they're talking about having a home builder or renovations things, things like that, is that a lot of the guys that, and girls that work for you, you'd have coffee with them and it's very non-disruptive.
[00:09:19] And they're very polished and they knew right what they're doing. There's not a lot of this, oh, the electrician's gonna be there on Wednesday and then he doesn't show. And oh, he got a flat tire, and you know, he might be there Thursday. There's far less, I think of the bullshit. And I think the main reason is probably because you know what your dad started and then you carried on with and respecting them, paying them on time, and in turn they show up on time. And they're loyal to you guys too, right?
[00:09:42] Brian Rantz: Oh yeah. Absolutely. It's, and they know each other, so you know, the electrician can talk to the plumber directly and if I need something done quickly somewhere else, I, I get good service from them. They'll come do it. Their pricing. Once in a while I'll still kind of check, just, you know, keep everybody honest, but I'm getting good pricing from these guys. None of them are the cheapest, but they're, they're really good. So
[00:10:03] Scott Dempster: Who's is your favorite sub-trade?
[00:10:06] Brian Rantz: Oh, my favorite. I like Cassidy, my painter a lot.
[00:10:09] Scott Dempster: Yeah, she's really good.
[00:10:10] Brian Rantz: Um. My plumber, I would say I like him, but he's also more old school 'cause he is older. So, they were used to doing lots of spec houses and things and they get mad at designers here and there for some.
[00:10:21] Scott Dempster: That's ed?
[00:10:22] Brian Rantz: of the stuff. Ed, yeah.
[00:10:23] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:10:23] Brian Rantz: Yeah. He Paul's better. Ed's a little, he's a little
[00:10:26] Scott Dempster: old
[00:10:26] Brian Rantz: senior. Yeah.
[00:10:27] Scott Dempster: Senior.
[00:10:28] Brian Rantz: Yeah, he's a senior. He is a senior citizen. Yep.
[00:10:30] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:10:31] Senior citizen plumber. Huh. That's pretty cool.
[00:10:32] Yeah. No, I, I think it's awesome. And like I said, we've always just been really happy and it's one of those things too, where you pay for what you get in terms of the quality and things like that.
[00:10:40] 'cause you know, going back to people thinking they can build a house for a million dollars, well, you absolutely cannot build a house for a million dollars, but you can probably build a house for 1.5, but it's gonna look like a,
[00:10:50] Brian Rantz: you can
[00:10:51] Scott Dempster: cross side pigeon or something.
[00:10:52] Brian Rantz: Yeah. I mean, yeah, I don't wanna get involved in those. I always tell people because I'd rather spend my weekends hanging out with my family or friends than going over to fix something. 'Cause they bought crappy stuff, or you had crappy trades.
[00:11:06] Scott Dempster: Yeah, totally. And, and it's the same, it's a similar thing I should say with our, you know, real estate pricing of when we get pulled in for, um, a listing presentation.
[00:11:15] Someone wants to sell their house. Say we see the value at $2 million, and they make the comment and say, oh, we had another realtor. And then they said, we can get 2.6 or 2.5 million. I think that we always wanna sell homes for the maximum amount of money, but at the same time, we're not in the business to, you know, stack up listings.
[00:11:34] We want to Right. Make sure the home sells. And because if it sits there, you know, the price reductions come and before long you'll end up selling for less than you thought you would've. And that's the same, with talking budget. Another thing I've always said to people about your work is that the budget that you provide, um, it may be, you know, higher than others, but what you're getting is obviously quality, the trades, on time service, things like that. But you're more or less, it's gonna be on that budget unless the homeowner starts adding gold faucets and you know, this kind of stuff to, to the build. Right?
[00:12:08] Brian Rantz: Yeah, definitely. Very important to have a good budget going in. And it has to be realistic. I mean, I get prices on pretty much everything so I can back it up. Sometimes people will try to find something that's cheaper, but usually, or something, there's a reason why it's, yeah.
[00:12:23] So I like to be on budget 'cause I sleep better that way.
[00:12:27] Scott Dempster: Yeah, totally.
[00:12:28] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:12:28] Scott Dempster: You know, there's. Obviously the, the build cost and all these kinds of things, but I think a lot of, one of the things that some people think of whether they built a house or, or they haven't, more than, more than the case if they haven't.
[00:12:40] Soft costs. What? What are soft costs and what can people kind of expect if they're building a new build home on the North Shore in greater Vancouver? Like what are the soft costs? And
[00:12:50] Brian Rantz: you need surveys. You need all the consultants. Energy consultant, envelope consultant. Uh, you need engineers. Structural engineer, Geotech engineer.
[00:13:01] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:13:01] Brian Rantz: A civil engineer for the stormwater. And all of that. You need all the district costs, which can be very high. They've raised everything.
[00:13:09] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:13:10] Brian Rantz: Um, they can vary quite drastically. It could be, could be a hundred thousand dollars to get your services capped and put, new ones put in, depending on how far away they are, how deep they are, how many other services they have to cross going across the street. There's a lot of soft costs. Your designer. Your plans, your interior designer? Uh, insurance. It's a long list.
[00:13:33] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Yeah. And, and that's something, um, you know, I think a lot of people don't think about, or maybe not, not most people, but some people don't realize that how much goes into that, the, the paperwork and planning side of things.
[00:13:44] It's not just the lumber and the tile and the
[00:13:47] Brian Rantz: No.
[00:13:47] Scott Dempster: The roof kind of thing. Right.
[00:13:49] Brian Rantz: Absolutely.
[00:13:50] Scott Dempster: A lot of clients, I've had a lot of clients you've had, they have the conversation if they're in, you know, say a little bungalow house or something like that, and they say, you know what, we're gonna tear it down. We're gonna build new Right. Or they say, should we renovate it? What are the, I guess, the benefits of each and what are kind of the, the drawbacks of each in terms of a drastic reno on a house, which I know you've done several of, even here right in Pemberton Heights for friends and clients of ours. But what are the kind of the, the benefits of doing a drastic rental as opposed to a new build?
[00:14:23] Brian Rantz: Oh, I guess with the new build, you're getting exactly what you want. Yeah. Uh, or you should be, everything's brand new, you have a warranty. We have done a lot of renos. Some of the requirements from the district are relaxed, a little bit to do with envelope or, uh, energy and storm water management sometimes.
[00:14:40] But now pretty much every reno has that as well. And of course you're usually have your structure already there, so you're gonna be saving money, even though some of them have gone down to
[00:14:49] Scott Dempster: pretty much nothing. There's nothing left but a chimney sometimes.
[00:14:53] Brian Rantz: That's right. Yeah. So, uh, you're supposed to keep,
[00:14:58] Scott Dempster: was it 20% or something like that?
[00:15:00] Brian Rantz: It, yeah. Yeah. I, I don't know what the exact rules are. A few of them have gone a little bit, uh, a little more, it's gone away then.
[00:15:09] Scott Dempster: It's crazy.
[00:15:10] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:15:10] Scott Dempster: But you also get, like, if so you have a house and at a wood-burning chimney or, and the people say, ah, we just love this. You wanna keep it, can't you keep that in a reno? Do you have to convert to gas or, I mean,
[00:15:23] Brian Rantz: I'm not sure. I, uh, I've never actually run into that. We have; we just recently put a wood burner in though.
[00:15:30] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:15:30] Brian Rantz: In a reno, Woodburn Stuv fire. So
[00:15:33] Scott Dempster: you're still allowed that?
[00:15:34] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:15:35] Scott Dempster: Oh,
[00:15:35] Brian Rantz: I hope so.
[00:15:36] Scott Dempster: Oh,
[00:15:37] okay. So, you give someone a budget, they say you're gonna build this house for us, Brian.
[00:15:45] What, how long does it take to build a house before you're putting your feet up and cracking your first beer on the couch on a Saturday afternoon, day one to You're moved in. How long?
[00:15:57] How long is it?
[00:15:58] You know, that's a hard question to answer.
[00:15:59] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:16:00] Scott Dempster: Because there's so many variables, like size of the house and the finish and stuff, but let's call it a three-level house that's 4,000 square feet with a detached two car garage, sort of cookie cutter. Like what, what kind of a timeline are you looking at for something like that?
[00:16:14] Brian Rantz: I mean, I did my own house in 10 months. We moved out at in January and moved back in in December.
[00:16:21] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:16:21] Brian Rantz: But I didn't wanna pay too much rent. But usually, you know what, 12 to 14 months is pretty,
[00:16:27] Scott Dempster: pretty standard.
[00:16:27] Brian Rantz: Pretty standard. Yeah.
[00:16:29] Scott Dempster: But the delays that can come from that are obviously, if there's changes in the design, if there's.
[00:16:35] Brian Rantz: Changes are a killer. They, they take up time and money. Changes or not getting decisions made or not having a good, you know, everything figured out beforehand. It can slow everything down.
[00:16:47] Scott Dempster: What are some of the changes that you see and what are some of like the wild ones that you're seeing?
[00:16:52] Brian Rantz: Just completely different layout of the bathrooms and plumbing. Uh, and
[00:16:57] Scott Dempster: they kind of get in there and they're like, oh, I thought the toilet would be farther over. Or they thought, yeah, oh, I'd have more counter space.
[00:17:03] Or, what, what goes on there?
[00:17:05] Brian Rantz: Uh, yeah. Or moving windows or changing out materials is one that can be a real pain in the neck, uh, when they see something up and it's not what they thought.
[00:17:16] Scott Dempster: Because if you wanna move a window, let's say it's from one side of the bathroom, four feet over kind of thing, that has to then, like, what's, what's the course of events with that?
[00:17:24] Brian Rantz: Well, if it's done early, it shouldn't be too, too big a deal.
[00:17:27] Scott Dempster: Let's say you're standing in there and it's, you know, at
[00:17:30] Brian Rantz: the end you wanna be moving a window.
[00:17:31] Scott Dempster: No, not, yeah, but like, say you're roughed in, you haven't put the countertops in, you haven't put the shiny towel in. It's kind of like the, you know, it's still framing, so, so to speak.
[00:17:40] Brian Rantz: Then it's not, that's not, yeah. It's better to get what you want. Right. So, if it's doable and you know, not a crazy number to switch it all out. And when you're ripping plumbing and electrical out, which we've done because of changes of the whole layout of the bathroom, then it, uh, those costs actually add up pretty quickly.
[00:18:00] Scott Dempster: Pretty quickly. And you touched on it like kind of the soft cost earlier. Um, you know, engineers and planners and, you know, all these different things. Interior designers, I think they add tremendous amount of value when it comes to the layout and the planning. And like our interior designer that we used here, Erica Winfield, also a really good friend and
[00:18:22] Brian Rantz: she's awesome.
[00:18:22] Scott Dempster: Yeah, and I didn't, I didn't actually know or fully understand how and what they did. I guess prior to kind of being in the industry and then also doing renovations here on a, on a pretty big scale, um, I always thought that interior designers were picking the couch and the fabrics and the tile colors and the wall colors and things like that.
[00:18:42] But when, you know, um, our interior designer got going on things she had CAD drawings of all the cabinetry that you used for your, you know, millwork, subtrade and things like that. And it just allowed us to see a layout of the entire room or house and that you go, oh, okay, well there's gonna be enough room there for that couch, or this'll work, or that won't work. How important do you find having a good interior designer is to the process of a builder renovation?
[00:19:08] Brian Rantz: It's invaluable. You have; I encourage everyone to get one.
[00:19:12] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:19:12] Brian Rantz: It makes our jobs so much easier.
[00:19:14] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:19:14] Brian Rantz: And they catch things early on that don't need to get changed later. Moving a window.
[00:19:19] Scott Dempster: Exactly.
[00:19:20] Brian Rantz: Moving a wall.
[00:19:21] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:19:21] Brian Rantz: Bathroom layout stuff like we were just talking about. Making sure there's room for everything. Room for furniture. And just having all their drawings, it makes it so much easier for the electricians, the plumbers, anyone who's in there doing work to get everything, you know, where it has to be.
[00:19:36] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:19:36] Brian Rantz: Heights, you know, positions on the wall for everything. I encourage everyone to get one.
[00:19:41] Scott Dempster: And when you say, I mean, and again, talking soft costs and people are kind of going like, oh, where can we save money and where me, you know, do things ourselves, let's say kind of thing. I, I think some people think, what I had thought previously to being in the industry where they say, oh, you know, interior designer, like we can, you know, pick our own towel and pick our own wall colors and things like that. But let's say, let's say an interior designer on a 4,000 square foot house costs. For round figures. I, I don't even wanna put a value on it, but let's say it's 50 grand and the people go, oh, 50 grand. But wouldn't you say that they?
[00:20:13] Brian Rantz: worth every penny?
[00:20:14] Scott Dempster: It's worth every penny because when it comes to the coordination with you as the builder, there's, you're not waiting on things. Things are specked, things are organized, and then that's gonna make. Your trades work far more efficiently and then pay back that value of say, the 50 grand or whatever that interior designer is. Yeah, the prep planning and preparation process. Right.
[00:20:34] Brian Rantz: Yeah. And I mean, you have to let them know your budget as well, if it's, uh, so that they can pick things within your budget.
[00:20:40] Scott Dempster: Yeah,
[00:20:41] Brian Rantz: I usually try to give. Pretty good budgets for them. Lighting is one that seems to always go over, so I'm allowing a lot more for that now.
[00:20:49] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:20:50] Brian Rantz: Lighting, tile and then plumbing fixtures are, are a big one. Everybody wants a steam shower. Everybody wants some.
[00:20:57] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:20:57] Brian Rantz: Uh, really nice stuff. So
[00:20:59] Scott Dempster: what, what is, um. What's like the number one thing that people, you know, on new build, or call it drastic renos, what's like the number one thing that people are asking to put in their house? Like anything wild or like crazy?
[00:21:13] Brian Rantz: I mean, not, everybody wants AC. Uh, a lot of people want a steam shower. Lots of saunas now. Pantries, I mean, I didn't get one. I really wish I had one. A good media room, a lot of the guys love that.
[00:21:27] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:21:27] Brian Rantz: You know what, it just varies. There's a hot button for every different client it seems. Yeah. But yeah, I would say AC is a big one, especially now. I wish I could turn mine on.
[00:21:38] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:21:39] Brian Rantz: Yeah. Tina doesn't like it.
[00:21:41] Scott Dempster: Some of them always have the doors open.
[00:21:42] Brian Rantz: Yeah. She likes the door open. Getting so hot.
[00:21:46] Scott Dempster: No AC
[00:21:48] Brian Rantz: very once this year we turned it on.
[00:21:50] Scott Dempster: What?
[00:21:51] Brian Rantz: Yeah, it's not good.
[00:21:52] Scott Dempster: Oh my gosh. Yeah, that
[00:21:54] makes sense. Never really knew why the doors are always open.
[00:21:56] Brian Rantz: Mm-hmm.
[00:21:57] Scott Dempster: Oh,
[00:21:57] Brian Rantz: that's why.
[00:21:58] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Okay, gotcha.
[00:21:59] One thing that I would love to have in our backyard, but it's never gonna happen, what would be a pool? And I think most people, love the idea having a pool and I, I just, I think of Chevy Chase and Christmas vacation.
[00:22:12] Brian Rantz: Yes.
[00:22:12] Scott Dempster: Right.
[00:22:12] Brian Rantz: Putting
[00:22:13] in a pool,
[00:22:13] Scott Dempster: I mean, I think everyone does, but we're putting in a pool.
[00:22:17] Brian Rantz: That's the gift that keeps on giving all year round.
[00:22:20] Scott Dempster: What I mean, again, it's kind of like building a house for million dollars. I think some people, or most people still think that you can build a pool and maybe you can, maybe you can, maybe it doesn't work after two years, but some people still think you can put a pool in the backyard for say, a hundred thousand dollars. What goes on with a pool and how much does it cost to put a pool in the backyard like you're putting in one right now on the other side of our neighborhood? Like what's involved with it and why does it cost what it costs?
[00:22:45] Brian Rantz: Their pools are expensive. You get the pool price, and it doesn't include excavation or gas work or electrical work or a pool house.
[00:22:53] Scott Dempster: It's kind of like a boat, right?
[00:22:54] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:22:54] Scott Dempster: Don't buy a boat if you can afford to buy the boat. Buy the boat. If you have like four times the value of the boat kind of thing.
[00:23:00] Brian Rantz: Uh, pretty much, yeah. I mean, a pool is. The bill for the pool is likely 150-240 depending on what you put in, you know, if you tile the entire thing. Yeah, that costs a lot more. If you want the automatic cover, that's another 15 to 20 if, and everybody wants all these options. So, you know, a really nice in ground pool on its own is call it 140 and then add on all the options and you're up over 200 and then you gotta put a pool deck around it.
[00:23:31] That's 200 for the pool guy. And then all the other costs, gas from the house. You gotta get, you know, build that pool house. Like I say, you need electrical, you need water, you need a sanitary drain. You need, uh, you need to fix the yard after you obliterate it as well. And you gotta dig a hole.
[00:23:51] Scott Dempster: Yeah,
[00:23:51] Brian Rantz: it's not cheap to dig a hole. 15 to 20 to dig a hole for an average size pool Now.
[00:23:56] Scott Dempster: No way.
[00:23:56] Brian Rantz: Getting rid of dirt's not cheap. Yep.
[00:23:58] Scott Dempster: Where's the dirt go?
[00:23:59] Brian Rantz: We usually put it in the ocean. No, we don't. It goes, it goes out to Maple Ridge or to Squamish. There’re dumps in both spots or. Someone needs dirt around North Van, you can get lucky and dump it at their house.
[00:24:13] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. Yeah. No,
[00:24:14] Brian Rantz: that's true.
[00:24:15] Scott Dempster: Yeah, no, I, I, I didn't realize how much, how much a pool cost until, you know, seeing it 'cause it your best friend and, and client next door to you. You're doing one for him right now. And you know, once you see the process. I love to come by there and poke my nose in, in on the process. The amount of equipment and planning that goes into it, you're kind of going, huh? You know, I'm surprised sometimes that it doesn't cost more with the amount that goes into that thing.
[00:24:41] Brian Rantz: Right. There's a lot, uh, a lot to it for sure.
[00:24:43] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's pretty cool. Talking about, you know, the, the plumbing fixtures and you know, the cost of lighting and, you know, all these things that can be very expensive in the home building process.
[00:24:53] Have you seen, or, you know, it's more your clients that you're building for and things like that. Have you seen the tariffs play a role yet? Like a dramatic fashion in terms of building materials, copper, you know, I mean, all these things. Have you gone, holy shit, like that's gone up 30% or anything like that? Or what were you, what are you kind of seeing?
[00:25:12] Brian Rantz: There's been price increases, so you have to. Try and investigate that a little bit.
[00:25:17] Scott Dempster: For sure. I think any job, any industry has hard parts of it, and I can think of what the ones are for me being a real estate agent, but what's probably the least favorite part you have about being a general contractor? So what's kind of the hardest thing where you just go, oh, you get up in the morning? Oh shit, I gotta deal with this, or something like that.
[00:25:36] Brian Rantz: I mean, I don't like waiting for inspectors or them to come up with some silly stuff that I, in
[00:25:42] Scott Dempster: a window of time. Why don't, there's no time.
[00:25:45] Brian Rantz: Uh, actually the inspectors are pretty good. They'll usually phone me, which is actually, I appreciate that, but. Yeah, there's a lot of inspections. There's engineers, consultants and all. We spent a lot of time waiting and having meetings with those guys. I, I don't love that part.
[00:26:00] Scott Dempster: What's your favorite part about it?
[00:26:01] Brian Rantz: When the foundation's in and it's backfilled and you start framing,
[00:26:06] Scott Dempster: I would've thought that it would've been, you know, seeing your. Your work, your plan, your, your craft kind of come together. I mean, you must love that too, but that's a, that's a different part of it, right?
[00:26:17] Brian Rantz: It is fun at the end to see it all done.
[00:26:19] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:26:20] Brian Rantz: And, uh, working out. Right.
[00:26:22] Scott Dempster: And you obviously have a lot of repeat clients, but I remember you telling me this story a couple weeks ago and you're. You and I were sitting there and, uh, you were texting someone, I was like, oh, who you, who are you texting? It was an elderly lady. I think you had built a house for a million years ago or something like that. And she was keeping you up to date on what was kind of going on in her life and all these kind of,
[00:26:42] Brian Rantz: she always text me as she's lovely
[00:26:43] Scott Dempster: and just thought that was the coolest thing, like I really did. And I, I came home and I told Sam about that and, um, I, I think it's just a testament of, um. People, like I say, going back to the Ferris thing and talking about this, this story of people enjoy the process with you and you have repeat clients because of, you know, the work you're putting out. And I don't think that's true with everyone 'cause you hear these horror stories in the industry too, of like, oh, the house built and this is broken and this is this and this is that. But
[00:27:10] Brian Rantz: yeah, I've heard them. Yeah.
[00:27:11] Scott Dempster: But I think a, a big part of that is just you being out front and honest with people and saying like, this is what it costs. It's gonna be quality and I stand behind it because like you said, on Saturday or Sunday when we're watching football and hanging out, you don't want your phone to ring and someone calling at you going,
[00:27:24] Brian Rantz: if it does though, I'm there to fix it for sure.
[00:27:26] So,
[00:27:26] Scott Dempster: yeah.
[00:27:27] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:27:27] Scott Dempster: No, it's good. So like I say, I think it's just a huge thing and a huge component that so many people who I know, clients, friends, are repeat clients and, but you take care of 'em, like you say, you know, with that,
[00:27:39] Brian Rantz: definitely
[00:27:40] Scott Dempster: a little old lady, right?
[00:27:41] Brian Rantz: Like 8,000 square foot house for her and her husband.
[00:27:44] Yep.
[00:27:44] Scott Dempster: 8,000. Mm-hmm. Is there a bowling lane?
[00:27:46] Brian Rantz: No bowling lane. Elevator for her though. Yeah.
[00:27:49] Scott Dempster: Oh, it has its ups and downs having an elevator.
[00:27:51] Brian Rantz: It has its ups and downs,
[00:27:53] Scott Dempster: just the crickets. Oh man, that's funny. If you weren't doing what you do now, and you've been in it for a long time, what would you, it would be another career.
[00:28:04] Brian Rantz: I'd probably be a realtor.
[00:28:05] Scott Dempster: Would you really?
[00:28:06] Brian Rantz: I don't know. Maybe
[00:28:07] Scott Dempster: really? I think you'd be a great realtor.
[00:28:10] Brian Rantz: I think it could be good.
[00:28:11] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:28:11] Yeah. Yeah. I think he could too. Yeah. It's more or less just putting out open house signs and the house sells.
[00:28:17] Brian Rantz: I could do that. I'd put my own signs up I think.
[00:28:20] Scott Dempster: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:28:20] Really
[00:28:21] Brian Rantz: Like post, I think so. Probably hit a sprinkler line.
[00:28:24] Scott Dempster: Yeah. I thought about getting some of those metal signs where you just stick 'em in the lawn myself.
[00:28:28] Brian Rantz: You'd hit a sprinkler line.
[00:28:29] Scott Dempster: Yeah. I I'd have to call you!.
[00:28:30] Brian Rantz: No, not good.
[00:28:34] Scott Dempster: Oh man. Um, so. Going back to square one, Bob and Sue, let's call them, they, they buy a lot and you know, with me and Colin and you or whomever, and they, they call Brian Rantz, Rantz Construction. They go, you know, we're, we're thinking about building a house. We wanna get a budget. So you get a budget. You know, some people say, you know what, do I have to hire a general contractor to oversee and run quarterback on this entire project? For where do you add the value on this? Like, on, on being a GC for, for a new homebuilding?
[00:29:05] Or renovation of it.
[00:29:05] Brian Rantz: Yeah, no, that's a good question. Uh, yeah, people do try to do it themselves. They've done it. Uh, I think one of the main ones is the home warranty, right? Uh, so that's a big one
[00:29:16] Scott Dempster: because do you not get one, obviously, like even if you pass all your inspection,
[00:29:21] Brian Rantz: I think you can do a homeowner one. I don't know. There's some kind of, you. Do it on your own, but
[00:29:26] Scott Dempster: Wayne's warranties or something.
[00:29:28] Brian Rantz: Yeah, Franks.. But I think the biggest thing is just getting the trades when you want them. Yeah. And good trades. Yeah. Because there's horror stories of they're not gonna be loyal to a one-time homeowner builder. They're gonna be, you know, loyal to the guys that use them over and over again, so they're not gonna get the service.
[00:29:46] Scott Dempster: Yeah.
[00:29:47] Brian Rantz: Uh, that I would get. But yeah, I mean, if they, people want to try it, I, it's always entertaining to watch, but I think anyone that I've ever built for has realized that the value add is worth the worth, the money. So, on timing too, just how quickly you can get it done is an, is another one.
[00:30:05] Scott Dempster: Yeah. The, the, the schedule exactly right.
[00:30:07] Brian Rantz: Yeah. And then not forgetting. You know, inspections are forgetting something in the along the way that should have been done, that then you're going backwards.
[00:30:16] Scott Dempster: People who know you personally, you know they're gonna use you, but the majority of your business is, is word of mouth true referral.
[00:30:23] And the trades, like you say, if, if Bob and Sue Bill in the house say, you know, we're gonna find a plumber, well they're gonna go on Google and they're gonna find a plumber.
[00:30:31] Brian Rantz: Yeah.
[00:30:31] Scott Dempster: And you know they're gonna have a shiny webpage and they might be great.
[00:30:35] Brian Rantz: They might be. Yeah,
[00:30:36] Scott Dempster: they might be. Right. Yeah. Or they could be not great. A lot of your trades are kind of like ninjas, like they don't have websites either and, and their business works alongside of yours and they're just reliable. They're the best at what they do, and that's a huge component. Just adding on what you said of, of why people hire someone like yourself as a GC, because you have it dialed in, it's squared away.
[00:30:59] You have all these guys and girls ready to go and it's a seamless process.
[00:31:03] Brian Rantz: Yeah, and I don't share my trades, or I do with some people.
[00:31:07] Scott Dempster: So, the old man started in 73. You've been in it for a bajillion year too. Uh, very experienced. There's a lot of things that you've seen time and time again. You see it coming kind of thing, but what would you say is a mistake within the general contracting that maybe you made minor or little thing that just kind of stuck with you, or a major one or something like that?
[00:31:27] Some, there's gotta be some, there's way,
[00:31:29] Brian Rantz: right? I have a long list, and they always cost me money to fix, of course. But I remember one Friday night, going home and I was like, an order pizza. I was having a nice night and then I thought, holy crap. I just tiled those three bathrooms. There were supposed to be floor heat below them.
[00:31:45] That one was awful. So, I went to the job then. Yeah, that night I went and ripped them all out and then phoned my tile guy and we need floor heat under these, they're all, anyways, it was.
[00:31:57] Scott Dempster: Did you get the tiles?
[00:31:57] Brian Rantz: I got them up. They were before they, before, before the, yeah, before they set. I was able to go rip them out, but I remember that was awful. So that wasn't fun. The guy did three-bathroom floors in a day. So, I had You got all the floors. I got 'em all out. Yeah. So that sucked. I mean, there's, there's a lot You, mistakes happen. Mistakes happen. It doesn't matter how good anybody, is that gonna happen and no, I know. Yes. They have to be fixed. So.
[00:32:22] There's, there's a number. The tile one was good, but it, it turned out fine. He got the heat in the next week.
[00:32:28] Scott Dempster: There we go.
[00:32:28] Brian Rantz: Tile guy. I had to pay him twice though. But yeah.
[00:32:31] Scott Dempster: Feet are toasty. Yeah.
[00:32:33] Well, I think we mentioned it earlier, but I always, uh, I always like to give, come people a shout out and say, where can the people find you? You don't have an Instagram account. Where can the people find you? If they reach out to me, they'll reach out to your kind of thing.
[00:32:44] Brian Rantz: Yeah, exactly.
[00:32:45] Scott Dempster: We'll find,
[00:32:46] Brian Rantz: you'll find me.
[00:32:47] Scott Dempster: Well, this, this has not only been informative, but absolutely hilarious and fun. Fun. And I appreciate you coming on. This has been awesome.
[00:32:54] Brian Rantz: Yeah, no problem. Thank you. Yeah, yeah,
[00:32:57] Scott Dempster: Done. Thanks for hanging out with us. And remember in Vancouver Real Estate, nothing's off the table and everything's negotiable. Subscribe now to the real estate of things wherever you get your podcasts.