What does your contract say? If you haven't contracted yet, maybe he is determining how much the allowance should be, which is a good and responsible thing to do. What makes you think there is a kickback?

If your kitchen is an allowance it will be in the contract.

Builders will try to get money from every part of the build. I would say that in most instances, he would expect some "commission" from your kitchen budget.

Each contract is different but, in my experience, the most common takes a percentage of each dollar spent. And there is some logic and some justification to it.

If you are putting a $20k kitchen in, there are only a few variables. If you are putting a $100k kitchen in, everything is more complicated, the warranty concerns are increased, the potential out of pocket costs for mistakes is increased (ie something the builder would eat).

I have always had these conversations very early in the build process. The time to clarify this was perhaps a earlier time.

"I asked my builder what allowance was set for the kitchen to determine the extra we would pay"

Yet again unfortunately another reason that allowances should be kept to an absolute minimum, especially on potential large dollar items. And when allowances have to be used they should be spelled exactly and clearly what the dollar amount is and what you can expect for that allowance. No one likes surprises.

Was he going to use this showroom?

Typically I use a specification in our contract, not an allowance. Its important for job planning that we know up front how cabinets are being handled, sourced, etc. so we budget the related time and costs.

You are “looking to build”... you fast forwarded on the kitchen. give him a chance to go to the designer then. If I were you I’d backtrack a bit and say you were concerned about delivery times and sourcing w covid And thought you’d start work on kitchen plans. You ought to allow his normal procedures/ sourcing to enter the mix Of options. On the other hand maybe he is keen to know about your inquiry and if it fits into his business model as everything is quite disrupted of late. Maybe get some knowledge and a look at kitchens that he does in typical scenario. That would have been my first action. I’m sure it will all work out.

Builders have an industry standard markup on all provided products in a build. You have to pay for their services some how. The homeowner who wants to provide all of the subcontractors on a project is called an owner builder, and assumes the responsibility and cost for all of their snafu selections. Any builder who doesn’t check out a potential new supplier before agreeing to use them would be foolish. They may not meet his levels of quality or communication. Or a dozen other standards that a lay person never thinks about.

Many thanks for the advice, it is appreciated. We paid our builder for a lot hold and to design a house. We have a total build price and for upgrades but not for the kitchen. We have not signed a contract as we wanted to make sure we knew the total with the kitchen as thought that might be expensive. We are happy with the quality of the homes he provides, really nice finish. We would chose a kitchen from a local supplier as there was no spec kitchen as such. The same for a bathroom from a local showroom. I think I may be rushing the process. Once we know the $ difference we will sign a contract, it’s purely to see how expensive it will all be. Appreciate your replies, this is helpful as I’ve never built a home before.

Check your contract with your builder. For example, our contract with our builder gives him a flat number for "profit." It doesn't float on other numbers that may change as we get further in the build. So I know the answer to your question if we were under my contract, but it's unanswerable unless we read yours.

Thank you, when we receive the contract we will check that out. Thanks for pointing this out and your reply.

"We paid our builder for a lot hold and to design a house"

So you paid with no contract? Just a thousand bucks or something?

Design/Build is a thing.

I suppose the scope of the kitchen needs to be fully explored. When you say "kitchen", it is not a completely separate entity.

Do you need a gas line, 240V, both? to a range.

What are your ventilation needs? KDs probably don't pay for ductwork (or should I say budget for them). Do you need MUA because of the increased ventilation.

Did the KD specify certain lights that are not in the kitchen budget?

Does the kitchen showroom cover install costs?

So lots of variables. He needs to clarify what the showroom is including. Saying "Kitchen" isn't limited to cabinets/countertops and appliances in a vacuum.