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Building your dream Home
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"Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
A good contractor can make the difference between a good building experience and a bad one. A successful contractor can save you time and money, and build a home that is safe and secure. A dream home that will stand the test of time.
To find a contractor in your area you may search these resources:
- Referrals from friends and family.
- Model homes and signs in areas of development.
- Phone book.
- Recommendations from construction insiders such as suppliers, subcontractors, professional organizations.
- Real estate book listings.
- Internet search.
When hiring a contractor it is important to do your homework. Some points to remember:
- Find a contractor that is licensed to do business in your city.
- Ask for references and contact them.
- Contact your Better Business Bureau.
A good licensed contractor will:
- Help you plan the building of your home.
- Review your budget.
- Order supplies and hire sub-contractors.
- Follow through with sub-contractors.
- Be on site during important building phases.
- Check work for quality control.
- Schedule inspectors.
- Make sure your home is built on schedule.
A good licensed contractor will not:
- Be able to avoid all problems.
- Fix problems in an unreasonable amount of time.
- Be on site constantly.
After you have done your homework and are ready to hire a contractor an initial meeting can set the project on track. Here are some questions you may want to ask your contractor before you sign a contract:
- What experience do you have?
- Can I get references?
- What are your methods of operation? (how do they supervise, schedule, communicate, etc...)
It is hard for many people to believe, but using a contractor actually saves you money on your home. There are several reasons that make this so. First of all, a contractor has years of experience building homes and can avoid costly mistakes as well as delays. Second, a contractor has ties with the community. He knows of resources that inexperienced people don't have. Third, the contractor receives discounts on products. Lastly, the contractor knows the best subcontractors that will work for reasonable prices.
Building a home yourself is an overwhelming experience. Things will happen that you can't prepare for. Problems will arise that you will need to deal with. It is during these times that you should turn to someone who can help. Following is a list of resources for you to consider while building your dream home yourself:
- A general contractor
- Sub-contractors
Finding a sub-contractor is easy. Finding a good sub-contractor that you can put your trust in is a little harder. When looking for a sub-contractor, remember the following:
- Ask for references and call them.
- Call the Better Business Bureau.
What you need to know
Inspections are a necessary and important part of building a home. If ignored, things will have to be retrofitted, or even worse, redone. Inspections are scheduled with the city and work must be done properly before the inspector arrives. Not everything in a home is inspected, and even things that should get inspected sometimes aren't. A good general contractor will make sure that even the things that are not inspected are up to code and built correctly.
The easiest way to save money and not compromise your home is to hire a contractor. Contractors receive a discount from suppliers because of repeat business and negotiated prices. A good contractor can also avoid scams and abuse of price, quality, schedule and safety.
To budget the construction of your new home, builders must consider the following:
- Estimate accurately and detail costs for each part of the job.
- Get bids from suppliers and sub-contractors.
- Check each invoice to the original bid.
- Allow for change orders and their appropriate cost.
In order to build a safe house that will withstand man, mother nature and the effects of time a builder should:
- Study the geology of the area.
- Understand structural and civil engineering.
- Know the proper codes for footings, foundations, excavations, framing, backfilling, compaction, reinforcement and grading.
- Have relationships with experts to call when issues arise.
If you ever decide to sell your home you will want to have a good resale value. A good contractor will know what appraisers look at when determining the value of a house. A contractor will tell you what is worth putting extra money into and what is not. A good contractor will also know what is obsolete architecturally, how to make the house spacious, with a good "flow" while being workable.
There is an art to getting a construction project done on time and within budget. Some of the important skills to accomplishing these goals are:
- bidding
- contacting
- scheduling
- rescheduling
- change orders
- negotiating
- supervision
When things go wrong, or you just don't know where to turn when you need help, consider a general contractor. The best bargain is an educated, experienced, on site general contractor with a good character.