Questions To Ask Before Hiring Home Builders

According to the National Association of Home Builders, there have been 16,678 new and existing homes sold in all four regions of the United States during the first quarter of 2018 alone. People all over America are building thousands of homes every year. It’s a stable and established industry with experts already existing for years.

Hiring home builders great life choice because of the several benefits it can offer, such as having the chance to own a unique house and getting it for a relatively cheaper budget. But more importantly, building a house is a very personal activity. A house you own can last for generations. Therefore, you’ll want to have someone you can trust to construct your home.

Building a new home is usually a great life choice because of the several benefits it can offer, such as having the chance to own a unique house and getting it for a relatively cheaper budget. But more importantly, building a house is a very personal activity. A house you own can last for generations. Therefore, you’ll want to have someone you can trust to construct your home.

You may have already chosen the right home builders, but to be more confident, there’s a few questions you need to ask before hiring them:

How Do You Work?

Of course, you should analyze your builders’ working habits because this is a factor that can greatly affect what you want to happen to your house. Work ethic has many important aspects, such as time management and organization. Here’s a list of what you should ask:

• Communication abilities

Ask how your communication will work throughout the building period. Ask if they have access to your communication channels in the first place. This is important because, throughout the process, many problems can occur, such as emergency expenses or unwanted design errors. Communication is vital, especially in big, house projects.

• Organizational skills

Your builder will need organizational skills to mobilize the team properly. In inquiring about this, you can ask for previous experience. An example is asking how do the subcontractors usually work around the leader of the group.

• Time management skills

Home builders usually provide a schedule that they will follow throughout the building process. Especially if you’re a person who’s strict with time, you might want to inquire about their time management if you don’t want unwanted rescheduling, which happens often. You can ask this by getting records of their previous projects. Ask if they were able to finish their projects on time, how many project schedules were pushed back, and what are the usual reasons why they weren’t able to follow the schedule.

Who are the people involved?

It’s important to have access to people who will work with the builder. In this way, you will learn how they coordinate together not just in the planning phase, but also during mistakes. Make sure to ask the extent of the roles of each person as well.

• Can I talk to the designer?

Ask if you can meet the designer, and what engagements will they have. Sometimes, mistakes can be made during the process. So it’s practical that you have communication with them. Usually, consultations with the designer happens at the end, but it’s also good to do it within the building period.

• Who will be the supervisor and the project manager?

Try to ask if you can meet with the project manager for clarification. You can also ask who will supervise the entire project throughout the whole construction period.

• Who will be the subcontractors?

It will help if your builder has a list of previous subcontractors. You can ask about their rates and work ethic. Ask if they were able to follow the design and quality within the time frame. You can also ask what companies they would recommend or avoid.

How have you done in the past?

• Can I see your most current resume of projects?

When you look in a resume, you can gauge the level of the builder you’re hiring. You will see his past projects and experience. You will see the scope of his skills and capabilities, previous affiliations with other organizations, and what kind of insurance they give.  

• Do you have any previous clients I can ask for a reference?

You can also ask for client references. It’s much better if you know the person. Some people find companies from their networks. You can also check reviews in online forums, which are a great source of company backgrounds because people can freely comment without bias on such platforms.

• Can I see your track record of similar projects?

With a track record, you will know the details of their previous projects. This is the best reference you can ask to know about scheduling, capacity, and scale, especially of projects that are similar to your house. In fact, it’s now a trend among builders to use data tools so they can easily show their information to potential clients.

• What’s your specialty?

When you scan their previous projects, ask what’s their specialty as well. Are they custom home builders or speculative? Are they luxury home builders or residential? You might want to choose a company that has experience in the type of project you’re doing.

What materials will you use?

You may not be knowledgeable about the technicalities of constructing a house, but that’s what builders are for. Good builders will be open to conversations regarding what kind of water and electrical systems will you have in your house. They will explain how they plan to install insulations and equip heat and air conditioning systems. Especially if you’re the type of person who wants a breakdown of the tasks and expenses done on a project, having a builder who can elaborate all the construction jargon will be a big help.

Do you have the necessary paperwork?

A good builder would provide the essential documents for the construction. Make sure to ask them for the following samples:

• Change order request and description of the process.

• Warranty.

• Draw a request to a lending intuition and description of the process.

• Lien release and description of your rights.

• Schedule of the construction.

• Contract and proposed method of compensation.

• Budget and explanation of how monthly billings are carried out.

People, paperwork, and performance are the considerations you must ask about the people who will construct your house. All builders are most likely capable regarding technicalities, engineering, and architecture, but they differ in administrative aspects. Choose well, or it’s your home that will pay the price.