hi this is josh with yourbuildingadvsior.com.are you looking to hire a contractor for your home building project? if so, then pay attention,because what i’m about to share with you could save you from countless hours of stressand aggravation, and thousands of dollars of wasted money.in this video, i’m going to share with you a true story about a couple who got mixedup with a bad contractor, and with countless hours of litigation and attorney fees stillahead of them, their end is no where in sight. but then, i’ll show you the 5 steps thatmay have prevented this whole thing from ever happening. so stay tuned.
imagine the thrill of moving into your newlyremodel, or newly built home. that feeling of living out of boxes or in a small spaceduring construction is finally over. your excitement keeps building as you get eachspace just as you want it. and you’re looking forward to getting completely settled in soyou can get back to your “normal†life style. but those thoughts are quickly halted by thesmell of sewer in your bathroom, tripping electrical circuits, a driveway that’s sinking,and a basement that appears to act better as a swimming pool than a basement. remember that excitement you were feeling,it’s no more.
and then imagine the sound of endless ringingin your ear as you keep trying to call your contractor who at this point has no plan onreturning your calls. so you start thinking, how am i going to fixthis? and more importantly, how much is this going to cost me? it was due to this kind of moment, that igot a phone call asking for help. with the collaboration of myself and a few other experts,we uncovered an extensive list of repairs needed to bring this home up to standardssafe for living. to give you some perspective, the originalhouse cost around three hundred and thirty thousand dollars to build, and our estimatedcost of repairs were just over two hundred
thousand dollars. so what should you do to make sure this scenariodoesn’t happen to you? with over fifteen thousand hours of contractingunder my belt, i’ve put together five steps that i recommend when hiring a contractor,here they are. step one, get multiple estimates despite abest friends referral… what this means… is no matter how great the experience wasfor your friend… it doesn’t always translate into a great experience for you. but gettingmultiple estimates helps with a few things. first it helps you to better understand themarket… specially with pricing. next, it shows who is over charging, who is under chargingjust to get their foot in the door, and who
is somewhere in the middle. so for example,a close friend of mine just told me today about 3 very different estimates to builda new home. now one price came in at four hundred and fifty thousands dollars, anotherone came in at six hundred and twenty five thousand dollars, and one more came in ateight hundred thousand dollars. all of these to build the same house. so imagine if theseestimates and all of these differences where to estimates you where receiving for yournew home? how would you even begin to know which one was right? so my rule of thumb isto get a minimum of 3 estimates for projects under a hundred thousand and five estimatesfor projects over a hundred thousand. so as you can see from this example, having oneor two other prices could have really help
you to better understand a three hundred andfifty thousand dollar difference. step two, ask the right questions. now thishas two parts. part 1 is the right questions to ask the contractor. first, how many projectshave you done similar to mine? how is your business ran, do you have subcontractors oremployees? third, what do you like most about your subcontractors or employees? now thismay seem like a strange question to you, but it helps you to better understand how thecontractor sees value in their working relationships. how he/or she values their working relationshipsis exactly how they will value and give you value in yours. next, what type of insurancedo you have? now here this is important, you need to know and understand how their insurancewill protect them and almost more importantly,
you from any possible legal actions. next,what are the possible pitt falls with the plans or ideas i have presented to you? thisis a really good question… because it gives your contractor the freedom to speak freely,and it will allow you to see his/her creativity and problem solving skills. and finally, whatis the best way to communicate with you? this simple but powerful question and it is nessaryto explore with your contractor. because the success of your project is determined by howwell the communication is between all parties. i would highly recommend spending time herebuilding up the skills with your chosen contractor… part two, the right questions to ask yourself.after your meeting is over, site back and ask yourself, do i see myself able to communicateand work well with this particular contractor?
am i more confident or more confused afterthis meeting? what is my gut telling me? step three, ask for references and then, please,follow-up. so no matter what the size of your project is, you need a minimum of five referencesfrom past customers. call each one, and visit at least one of them in person, you need tosee the contractors work. i would go as far as telling you that if you can’t see anyof the contractors work, then don’t even consider hiring them. also, take someone withyou (preferably someone who works in the trades). you might not know exactly what you’re lookingat but someone in the trades sure will. but as a reminder. be professional and consideratewhen looking through someone else's home, your not their to judge their home, but toprivately judge if the work the contractor
did is acceptable to you. and lastly, whatmost people never consider, is for you to contact and visit your town code inspector.these are the people that are out there looking at, and inspecting the contractors work allday long. and remember, your town is there to help you out in anyway they know how. youcan ask the town code inspector questions like… how many projects have you inspectedfor this contractor? are you familiar with the subs this contractor uses? how would yourate this contractor on a scale of 1 to 10? these three are really good questions, andof course you can ask a lot of different questions, but use this resource the town is there foryou, they’re there to help you out. step four, check the contract and understandit. the contract and supporting documents
should include (at the minimum) these 6 things.a description of how change orders are processed, an itemized cost worksheet which includesa contingency price. an allowance sheet that shows you what the contractor is allowingyou (cost wise) for each item in the house. of course, a warranty for the contractor andsubcontractor work, payment schedule… when and how the contractor expects payments, andlast but definitely not lease, a completion date. step five, choosing the contractor. so again,ask yourself this powerful question. which contractor do i see myself able to communicatewith the best? which one of these contractors seems to be the most excited and qualifiedfor my project? and who seems to be the most
passionate about their job? and never, makea decision based solely on money, and never make a decision in a hurry just to meet adeadline. well i hope this training has given you thesteps to get yourself feeling more confident with choosing a contractor. now listen, ifyou follow these simple steps, this will greatly reduce your risk of getting involved witha contractor that is not a good fit for your project, or your check book. if you’re looking now for more in-depth,and maybe more one-on-one help with choosing a contractor or becoming your own generalcontractor, then click the link about right here on the page to get a free 30-minute consultationwith me.
and now, your one step closer to getting exactlywhat you want out of your next home building project.
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