There is nothing more exciting than building your own home! After having an architect design your custom home, or selecting a plan you like from a website like Southern Cottages House Plans, the next step is finding a general contractor to build your dream house.
The best way to find a good contractor in your area is word of mouth. Ask neighbors or a local realtor if they know some good residential builders that you can contact. You can also call local residential architects and ask them for some contractors they have worked with before.
When talking with a prospective builder, ask for several references that you can contact. Then call the references. This is to help you be confident that you will be working with a reputable contractor. Here are some questions to ask: What are their thoughts about the company in general? Who was the superintendent they worked with (the representative of the construction company who is consistently on the jobsite) and how did they like him? Did they have any problems with the contractor and what were they? How did the contractor resolve the problems and was it in a way they were happy about? Did the contractor stay on budget and finish their home on time? And most importantly, do they love the way their home turned out? People are usually happy to share both good and bad information. Remember, this is your dream home and you do not want a negative experience while it is being built. Checking references is the best way to try to avoid that.
Once you have decided on a contractor, ask for a construction quote based on your construction document set. This will tell you how much they think it will cost to build your home. Be sure to do this before signing a contract with any general contractor or sub-contractors. If you are happy about the quote then sign a contract. If you are not happy with the quote then you are free to take your plans to another general contractor for another quote. Then you can compare two quotes to get a better idea of your construction costs.
Once you have signed a contract it is only a matter of (construction) time before you can begin living in your dream home. Good luck!
Let us help you create a building to serve your needs at www.mcleodarchitect.com.
View our architect designed house plans at www.southerncottages.com.
Let us help you create a building to serve your needs at www.mcleodarchitect.com.
View our architect designed house plans at www.southerncottages.com.
Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteGeneral contractors, commercial or residential should have a very personal touch with their customers to increase their popularity which will eventually lead to better returns. They should be able to envision a person’s building wishes, no matter how big or small, and bring them to reality.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the additional information, James. Your comment makes complete sense!
ReplyDeleteWhen you start laying out the plans to build a new home or to renovate an existing home the question will arise as to whether or not you will have to hire your own general contractor or if you decide to become your own general contractor.
ReplyDeleteremodeling Portland OR
Thank you for the great post. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is perfect for me, because I'm exactly planning to renovate my house and I need to find a reputable contractor that will do my plan for my home. By the way, if you have time, you can visit here the site that I saw earlier about KB Homes and I think they have a lot of home builders and contractors there.
ReplyDelete