 HINTS FOR SELECTING A BUILDER:Copyright © 2002 C. S. McMinn1.Finding the wrong contractor! All construction projects come with problems. Some are mere snags- minor glitches we all expect. Others present some real headaches. One of the worst- by far- is to get stuck with the wrong contractor. This can become a nightmare- on a par with the black holes found in space. Astronomers tell us these dying stars are immensely heavy. Their gravitational fields are so powerful, they suck in everything- even light. One bad contractor can have a similar impact on your project. Excitement soon turns to depression; hope is overwhelmed by despair... Finding and hiring the right contractor is absolutely essential to the successful completion of your new home or remodel. More than any other factor, if you skip your homework here, you will pay out thousands of wasted dollars and reap years of frustration as a result. Even with cheesy plans, missing details and nothing but enthusiasm to embellish your ignorance, a great contractor will deliver success- even as a flake will bring misery into your life. I am not trying to be melodramatic. We specialize in finding contractors- any town, country or project. We've had over thirty years experience doing just this. So please, please read carefully what follows, and then apply these essential steps to your project! First: never compromise honesty and integrity for a cheap price. During the process of trying to find a contractor to complete your project, you will hear many promises. Listen to them all, but apply Reagan's excellent advice: "Trust, but verify!" No matter how cheap the bid, insist on three references. You need three independent, completed projects you can inspect. Plus, you need to sit down and talk to each owner. If any contractor's references turn out to be: a "friend" on vacation, someone who's just moved to Alaska, sold their house, is in jail/hospital/went deaf/has been kidnapped by terrorists... smile sweetly and say "I'll be happy to work with you as soon as you give me referrals I can speak with today..." As you look for the right man, or woman, for your project, integrity and quality- the desire for excellence- must be core values. Even though you may be an excellent judge of character, independent references deliver the gold standard of true accountability. In addition, these core values must be coupled with experience. There are simply too many opportunities, even in a small remodel, for people to take advantage, misinterpret, misunderstand or twist things in their favor. Unless you have extensive construction experience, you must learn the process of finding contractors who meet these requirements. I'd like to tell you this is a piece of cake. It's not. In practice, finding good contractors is hard, tedious and often embarrassing work. Your ignorance will be exposed, you have to ask awkward questions and then- you have to do it over and over again! No wonder most homeowners skip this part! It's common to start with a list of twenty or more contractors in order to find just three who are qualified, available and competitively priced. Many don't return calls, or dismiss your requests, or show up an hour late smelling of beer... All in all, it can be demoralizing- even depressing. In the following sections of this article, we'll continue to review and explain this complex process of finding Mr. (or Ms.) Right. How big of a house are you going to build?? Find out what size of mortgage for which you qualify. IndyMac Bank is your best online source for home mortgages. Online applications, quick approvals. Don't let your credit history become a headache in your new home building process. Check your credit. Get your free credit report today Save thousands in interest payments and cut years off your mortgage. No need to refinance. Enroll in a Biweekly Home Mortgage program. Homebuilding Project Management Software for Builders, Project Managers and Owner-builders. Provides all the tools you need to be organized, efficient and in control - in one, EZ to use, expandable and customizable software package. If you are exploring the possibility of building your own home without hiring a builder (owner-builder), this software is a must. Click here to learn more. 2. The Importance of Hiring the Right Builder Before we delve into the topic of choosing a builder - let's examine for a moment what a builder is and what a builder does. A builder is someone you hire to build your house, correct? Well, yes and no. It has been said that when you hire a builder you are really hiring four people: the builder, the builder's crews, the builder's subcontractors, and the builder's suppliers. What this means is that most builders do not build houses by themselves, but hire outside subcontractors to do part of the work--plumbers and electricians are good examples. Except for a few very large builders who have the requisite staff and tradesmen on their payroll to build a house from start to finish, most builders are not only builders, but also general contractors, or GC's as they are known in the trade. That is, they hire and schedule other specialized subcontractors to work for them in the building of your house. There is nothing wrong with this practice, we are simply calling it to your attention so you have a clear understanding of it. Many of the strategies discussed in the House-N-Home-Building Guide for saving money on your home building project build upon the understanding of this practice. With a firm grasp of this trade practice, let's move on to considerations for choosing a builder. The difference between a well built house and a poorly built house is not necessarily the materials being used, though these are important, or the tradesmen working on the house. It is mainly the person in charge of making it all happen - the builder! The builder's job is to schedule the tradesmen and materials, while keeping a close eye on the subcontractors, and keeping everyone on time. No, it certainly is not rocket science; but, it does require experience and expertise in the building process to do it well. The builder you hire to build your house is the expert - you are not! You can and should learn as much as you can about the process of building a house but, ultimately, the builder you hire is YOUR expert on the subject, so you should hire someone with whom you are comfortable, someone whom you can trust and someone with experience. If you do a good job of hiring a builder, things should go reasonably smoothly. If you don't, then you are going to put yourself in the unenviable position of supervising your builder. And, if you haven't been through the building process before, there won't be enough hours in the day for you to learn all you need to know to have a chance of doing this well. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this choice and getting it right. It very well could be the difference between a pleasant dream and a bad nightmare. So, take the time and do it right. 3. The Importance of Hiring the Right Builder One of several steps in the process is to interview the builder. Here is a list of questions that should be asked: 1) How long have you been in business? 2) Have you or your partners built houses under any other names? 3) How many homes do you build per year? 4) How many homes do you build concurrently? 5) How much time do you spend supervising the building process? 6) Do you do the supervising yourself or do you have a foreman or site supervisor? 7) What work will you do with your own crews - what work is subbed? 8) Do you have contracts with your subcontractors? Can I see a copy? 9) Can you provide us with a list of all of your subcontractors, including name, address and phone number? 10) How long has each sub worked for you? 11) Can you provide us with a bank reference? 12) Can you provide us with a copy of your insurance certificate? 13) Have you had any suits brought against you by any homeowners for whom you built? 14) If yes, why, and what was the outcome of the suit? 15) How many change orders would you consider "average" in the process of building a home? 16) Are there charges or fees for initiating change orders (other than the obvious costs for the change - some builders charge a flat fee of say $50, plus the construction charges)? 17) Can change orders be initiated by the builder? 18) If a mistake is made during the building process, who pays to fix the mistake? 19) What kind of warranty do you provide? (some States may mandate warranties) 20) Do you do the warranty work on your houses or is it some third party? 4. Useful Links The following are useful links relating to the housing industry that may be of interest. The Permit Place - This website is all about permits. It has permits from 1309 county and 2913 cities online. It contains links to more than 4000 local planning and building departments. http://www.permitplace.com/ House Values.com - If you're planning to sell your home in the near future, this FREE service is designed to help establish your home's current market value or suggested listing price.http://www.housevalues.com/HomePage.aspx 5. Thought For The Day Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but, great minds rise above them.  Are you thinking about remodeling your home?Hiring the right builder is the most important decision you make.You will be living with your decision for many years to come, so you must find the right builder who understands every aspect of your project (from budget and design right down to the dirt work and up to the finished job). Your builder also needs the know-how to coordinate and orchestrate the utmost of results from numerous trade contractors and countless suppliers. Hiring the right builder presents a dilemma for some clients. How can you put the project out for bids if the builder is already hired? Isn't competitive bidding the way to ensure a fair price? No, and here's why: The 3 bid myth Some people select a builder by soliciting three bids after their plans are entirely complete. The homeowner will generally discard the high and low bid, confident that risk is minimized by dropping both extremes. The bid price drives the selection, but is that really the best way to hire a contractor? Are they really the company who will build the best quality project for the best price? Look at it this way: When you purchase a new car, you're purchasing a product. You can see what it looks like and take a test-drive to see how it feels. With a building project, you're purchasing a "design concept" and you don't see the finished project until well after the contract is signed. Remodeling is not remotely like car buying This is the reason why bid shopping works well for automobiles, but is a high risk for a building project. You can ask three dealers to price a specific make and model car, and be fairly certain you are comparing the same products. But with a building project, the products and quality of workmanship differ significantly. There are many reasons for low bids including incomplete or vague scope of work, shoddy materials, poor craftsmanship, slow production (a hidden factor that can increase the cost of your project), inadequate safety precautions, lack of insurance and licensing, and/or miscommunication about your expectation of quality. Remodeling quality never runs dirt cheap nor should it If in-depth research to find the right builder may seem like a headache, you must remind yourself that you are probably spending more money in one transaction than you will ever spend again, just short of your mortgage. It's true when they say that the bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten. What's the best way to make your decision? A thorough interview As no job interview begins by negotiating salary, hiring a contractor should not be any different. Before you get to compensation, you want to be sure you have a qualified applicant. Right? We encourage you to interview three builders. If the builder passes the interview, ask for a list of references. Then keep the following criteria in mind and ask past clients alot of questions! Criteria to consider when hiring a builder Your judgment of quality workmanship and the builder's experience plus past client referrals should account for 65 percent of your decision on whom to hire. Another 25 percent of your decision should be based on the builder's "contracting ability". Do projects run smoothly while accommodating the inevitable changes and surprises in construction? Does the builder have good communication skills and rapport with his clients, suppliers and tradespeople? The last 10 percent of your decision should be based on cost. Questions to ask past clients
If you get positive and enthusiastic response from past clients and you have the same feelings about this builder, then this is when and how you should make your decision. Add it all up and you will be choosing an excellent contractor, who will build a quality project for you -- at a fair price. After all, isn't this everything you want? An easy way to check a contractor's license and insurance You want to be sure the builder you are considering has a valid Queensland & New South Wales State contractor's license. This is very easy to do via the Internet. Go to www.bsa.qld.gov.au and enter the pertinent information to confirm the license. Additionally, be sure to verify if the builder has workers' compensation and liability insurance which is vital protection that every homeowner should want during their building project. The above article is very good advice and at 4C Construction we are confident that we will pass the above tests with flying colours! We look forward to meeting with you to discuss your building project. Below is 4C Construction's Satisfaction Guarantee. Read through the following and you will realise you will always have piece of mind with their guarantees. Satisfaction Guarantee!An example of their Bathroom Renovation GuarranteeYour full Satisfaction Guaranteed in Writing "You will be fully satisfied with the workmanship. If not, I will work free of charge until you are. That's a guarantee in writing ! " Claus Sievers 4C Construction Managing Director I guarantee that any premature deterioration due to faulty product or workmanship will be fixed free of charge for a period of (5) five years from project completion. I could try to explain in detail and all sincerity the processes we use to prepare and produce a quality result but I think this guarantee says more briefly...... it means, I am willing to stand behind our services and you have a right to feel confident for years to come. I guarantee to arrive on time every time. If I'm running late I'll call you and make arrangement so you won't be ringing your boss or reorganizing things first thing in the day because your waiting for a tradesman to arrive. I guarantee to use only premium quality materials. Your project will continue to look good year after year with quality products designed to last. I guarantee that your project will be left clean and tidy at completion. Have you ever been left with the mess? I guarantee that all due care and respect will be taken of all of your things. Plastic sheets over furniture and ground sheets over floors. Care will be taken where we place our ladders and feet in the garden, moving through the home, etc. So don't worry. I guarantee that all work performed will be done so under an active full $5 million public liability and accidental damage policy. 1. Did you know that if I dropped a can of paint on your next door neighbour's cat (God forbid ) they could sue me, but if I didn't have this insurance their solicitor could try you! 2. And if I dropped that same can of paint from my ladder onto your hand spun Persian rug, then through your 18th Century stained glass window and onto your new car ( really having a bad day), do you realise I haven't got that sort of money, that's why I have this insurance. The Insurance company will pay up to $5 million on your property damage. That's peace of mind for you and for me. I guarantee that our workers are covered by workers compensation insurance. If I don't cover myself and co-workers then the increasingly complex legal system may find it's way back to you. With this guarantee you are protected. Back to top |
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