Tips to Choosing A Home Construction Company
Home construction companies specialize in taking your wildest home owning dreams and making them a reality, but at the same time this can be a daunting and overwhelming period. It’s important to remember that this should be exciting! Building your own home is an investment and a big decision to make. You want to know that your construction company has your best interests at heart as well as having the experience and knowledge within the industry to execute your vision.
Home Construction Companies That Get It
- Budget: The execution of your building plans will need to be guided by a budget. Your chosen construction company should fully understand the financial implications you’re committing to and therefore respect what you’re capable of spending. Get a pre-approval for a construction mortgage. This will confirm your budget and what you are able to afford. The construction companie’s track record in the accuracy of the cost projection is a good indication of how well they can stick to your budget so that you don’t get any surprises further down the line.
- Needs: Go with a construction company that hears and understands your needs, but most importantly listens to your needs. Decide on what you want for your home and how much you plan to spend. Builders tend to specialize to a certain degree when it comes to type of homes, size of homes and price range as well as residential construction as opposed to commercial construction. Wherever you fall, look for a builder that mirrors your needs.
- Warranties: Just like products come with warranties, so do large investments like houses. Your home should come with long-term written and insured 3rd party warranty and not just a word of promise from your construction company. Should a problem come up that is covered by your warranty and the construction company is no longer in business, you will be compensated through a repair or settlement. No other type of ‘agreement’ should be entered into when it comes to your warranty.
- Time Frames: This goes for their time and your time. Do not feel rushed into any decisions about choosing your builder or getting started with the project. Decisions that you make now will be something you need to live with for many years to come.
- References: The construction company you choose should be happy to provide you with references on previous jobs and projects as well as testimonials from clients. You will want to go with someone that has experience with projects similar to yours and be able to prove this to you. Don’t be afraid to ask the questions that need to be asked. You will be glad you did and you deserve peace of mind as you undertake this type of investment.
Following The Book
Construction companies should have proper licensing in place required by the state such as a license to operate. This is for your benefit as well. They should also have comprehensive insurance in place, to cover the company, employees and you as the customer. It is acceptable to ask for verification of these documents. You can tell what kind of business your builder is running by the way they treat their employees. Behavior towards their staff is a reflection of what they deem as important when it comes to respect and fairness. This includes safety procedures while on-site.
Final Tips On The Road Of Construction
- Ask Questions: Ask all the questions you want to ask. Costing, timing, building materials used, staff contingency should be touched on from the get-go.
- Research: We cannot stress this enough. Take your time and make sure that you have investigated all the avenues of your chosen construction company, especially when it comes to previous projects and client testimonials. Visit houses built by the company and chat to the home owners so that you can hear first-hand what their thoughts are and how satisfied they are with the service of the construction company.
- Transparency: This ties in with your research and asking questions. The construction company should be happy with putting you in touch with previous clients. They should be forthcoming with their strengths and weaknesses, their licensing requirements and business operations.
Do yourself a favor and put in the research required to select the home construction company that works for you and your needs. Consider the investment of building your home. It will take some time to come together but you will most certainly save yourself the headaches further down the line by doing your research from the outset.