A Brief Guide About Hiring A House Builder

Building your own house is anyone’s dream come true. Everyone wants it to be just picture perfect. So, when you get the opportunity, do not be quick and inconsiderate in choosing a contractor or a house builder.

No one wants that their dream house to be built on a weak base and its interior designs to be poorly crafted. A lot of money and trust is put on the builder, so you need to be sure of all the things before choosing a contractor for your house.

Get Multiple Estimates

No matter how great the experience was for your friend or any relative, it does not always translate into a great experience for you.

But getting multiple estimates helps with a few things. First, it helps you to better understand the market, specifically with pricing. Get a minimum of 3 estimates of projects under 100k and 5 estimates of projects over 100k.

Ask The Right Questions

Here you need to ask the right questions first from your house builder and then to yourself:

Questions you first need to ask the contractor: 

• How many projects have you done before which are similar to mine?
• How does your business run? Do you keep subcontractors or employees?
• What type of insurance do you have?

Now, this is important as you need to know and understand how their insurance will protect them and most importantly, You from any possible legal actions.

• What are the possible pitfalls with the plans or ideas I have presented to you?

This question would give your house builder to speak freely, and it will allow you to see his or her creativity and problem-solving skills.

• What is the best possible way to communicate with you? Sometimes, in mails many home building companies send their proposals and templates. But you need to visit them physically to get your house ready.

Questions you need to ask yourself: 

• Do I see myself able to communicate and work well with this particular contractor?
• Am I more confident or more confused after this meeting?
• First and foremost, even before all these, you must consider what is the total amount of money that you have, and how well can you distrubute and invest the total amount most effectively.

Ask For References 

No matter what the size of your house is, you would need a minimum of five references from past customers. Call each one, and visit at least one in person, you need to see the contractor’s work. Also, take someone with you, preferably someone who works in the trades. These are the people out there looking at, and inspecting the contractor’s work, all day long. 

Check The Contract And Understand It Well

The contract and supporting documents should include a minimum of 6 things:

• A description about how the change orders are processed
• An itemized cost worksheet which includes a contingency price
• An allowance sheet that shows you what the house builder is allowing you, cost wise; for each item in the house.
• A warranty for the contractor and sub-contractor work
• Payment schedule; when and how the contractor expects payments
• A completion date

When choosing a house builder, be sure to ask – which contractor do you see yourself able to communicate with the best? Which one of these contractors seems to be most excited and qualified for your project? Who seems to be the most passionate about their job? it is always good to hire some house contractors who have done large-scale commercial and very often, also major government projects. With the right tools and technology, along with quality materials, they can give you the ultimate resale value for your home, or allow you to build a new dream home.