Page 15 - What You Need to Know to Find the Right Builder
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that usually means that they just didn’t do their homework before the contract.
Sure, weather, or the schedules of the subcontractors, may hold things up on
occasion, but usually those delays are minimal and if the overall schedule is done
properly, the project should proceed on time. A quality builder with spend 60% of
their time and effort in the background work that gets done before the first
shovel of dirt is thrown, 30% of their time overseeing the actual construction and
another 10% of their time communicating between the client and the crew. The
bad builder will spend 20% of their time before the contract and 80% of their time
chasing their tails, trying to fix problems, and trying to find ways to cut costs so
they don’t lose their shirt on an underbid. With the proper people and systems in
place the quality builder can run the job like clockwork while the bad builder gets
stressed out and confrontational.
It’s up to you to do your homework, start with the right builder who you
can trust, and understand that the initial price given to you by a quality builder
may be higher than the price given from the other builder, but if the job is done
right, cost overruns will be substantially less, and you’ll have a much better home
when all is said and done. The cheap builder will almost always have high
overruns which typically end up costing as much or more than the quality builder.
You end up with the same or higher expense, for an inferior product, and who
wants that?
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