Selecting a Good Contractor

Building a new home or remodeling can be a stressful project, so it is critical that you select the right contractor that you are able to communicate well with so you don’t end up with a negative experience. In addition to not being happy with your contractor, you might also not get what you thought you were going to get as far as the end result of your project. Here are a few helpful tips to help you get the most out of your relationship with your contractor.

Establish General Contractor Relationships

Whenever anyone is going to be doing any kind of major remodeling or construction on your home, you should get to know who he is and what kind of work he does. You always want to make sure that he is insured, and that you ask for a firm price in writting before starting the project.

It is critical to make sure that your contractor has insurance and that will help avoid any legal issues if something major came up, and then you also want to make sure the contract is very detailed as to what exactly is included in the price. It is always better to have the extra money set aside, since you will most likely go over budget to some degree.

What Else Has Your Custom Home Builder done?

Besides making sure of some basic questions, you should also find out more from your contractor concerning the ‘who’ and ‘what’ of the project. For example, who is going to be in charge of the job? Getting to know the foreman and building a working relationship with him will help ensure that the project goes smoothly and according to your wishes. It is also important to establish how often the contractor and the foreman will be visiting the project and determine if that is daily or every other day?

In addition to when the foreman will be around supervising, how many people will be actively working on the project each day? This will give you a better estimate of how fast it will be finished. Moreover, has the general contractor completed a similar project before? See if you can visit the site of the latest project that the general contractor handled, or ask real estate professionals if he knows of this person and their company. Do your best to get references before hiring.

Not only is it important for your contractor to communicate well, but it is also your responsibilty to communicate your vision and your desires in detail to the contractor so he knows what your expectations are for the project. For instance, if you want it to be as green as possible, figure out whether you can use local materials or sustainable materials like reclaimed wood. Also, find out how the payment schedule will go, especially for long-term projects like building a new house.

There are lots of options for selecting a custom home builder and remodeling contractor, so it is important to look around your community to see who other people are using.  If you live around the Indianapolis area, there are lots of great custom home builders Indianapolis has to offer.   It is also wise to check the surrounding communities to see what custom home builders Carmel Indiana has to offer as well.  No matter who you choose to build your project, just make sure that they communicate well and return your phone calls promptly in the beginning.  If they don’t do that up front, it isn’t going to get any better as you move through the project.