2 years ago
Building your home is not something you can easily redo, it’s a lifetime thing and your family will live in that house for quite some time, forever even, so it’s best to get it right the first time.
In this post, we’ll look at the mistakes most people make when hiring a contractor and how you can avoid them for your next project.
It’s okay to cut costs when possible, but cheap things are not necessarily cheap. You get exactly what you pay for. A cheap contractor mostly cut prices to push a sale, but they sacrifice quality in return.
They end up using cheap material, which will not last long. This also means they will hire cheap labor and sometimes unqualified workers they will do poor work and move on to the next project. This will cost more in the future.
A contractor that gives you a fair estimate has confidence in their work and will do a quality job because they can hire the best labor and use high-quality materials.
Before you allow a contractor to work on your house, you should know how they have handled previous projects. Ask for referrals and previous projects. Call them and ask for their experience working with that contractor. Ask to see the finished work they have done.
Do some research of your own. Look at their website, their social media. Only when you’re satisfied then you can continue. Of course, you can have faith in a new firm, but it’s your house. Don’t say we didn’t tell you.
Most people get just an overall estimate. You want to have a descriptive estimate, listing every aspect of the work: the materials, the labor, price. If you can get them to break it down, that is great. A lot of contractors won’t do that.
A lot of contractors give you one blanket price for everything. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s nice if you can have it broken down because this way you can see what the materials and the labor are going to cost. You can use that to measure against other estimates that you may have.
A mistake most people make is to continue with a verbal agreement. The project you are hiring a contractor for, is something you will live in your whole life. Therefore, it requires careful planning and no room for mistakes.
When you don’t have a written agreement with your contractor, you may end up having problems in the future. In a written agreement, it will be clear who does what, and when. The contractor should set clear expectations and timelines, so you know what to expect.
Before you sign any contracts, it’s best to ask your contractor for a detailed timetable. It has to be clear when each milestone is expected to be done.
Of course, there are some things that can delay a project, but it’s best to set a clear understanding of how your contractor plan to handle delays.
It’s also best to agree on the payment schedule. Most contractors require payment after every milestone, for example, after backfilling, at window level, etc.