How to Find the Right Builder For Your Home
Building a customised home or deciding to remodel your existing residence comes with a lot of responsibilities. For starters, you will need to find a reliable builder to help you turn your rough sketches or concepts into a tangible building or remodelling plan. This way, you can get what you want, build your property according to the regulations in your city, and maximise your budget.
So, what do you look for when choosing your partner in building or revamping your residential property? Let’s get you up to speed on all the factors that a modern homeowner should consider when hiring a builder.
#1. Personality
A home improvement project can last for weeks or months, depending on the scale of the tasks that builders need to work with, your budget, and available resources. So, the last thing you want is to pick a team that you cannot stand to work with.
When hiring a builder to help you realize your renovation or building goals, you want to choose one that has the following qualities:
- Top-notch communication skills – You will greatly benefit from working with a builder that can effectively communicate with you about the progress of the project, complications (building code problems, and additional and unexpected expenses.
- Honesty – Working with an honest builder makes a colossal difference in your project. It reassures you that you can get the best value for your money and that you can put your trust in the team you hired.
- Organised – Because many things can go wrong in a typical construction or remodelling project, you want to pick a builder that works in an organized manner. This eliminates the risks of unwanted delays and unnecessary budget adjustments.
- Friendliness – Get a team that you can quickly get along with. Otherwise, you risk getting yourself into constant arguments or struggle to get your message across.
#2. History
Besides looking into the builder’s personality, we suggest checking out their client portfolio. This would give you an idea of what sort of projects they have handled in the past. Are they similar to your project? How extensive are the updates done, and what kind of improvements did they implement?
If possible, try looking for their customer reviews on their social media pages, Google My Business listing or other platforms. This will help give you a bit of insight into what to expect from the team.
The more information you get about the company’s background and history, the better you can gauge their ability to lend you a hand.
#3. Company Age
Sometimes, the age or total work experience of a builder adds depth to their knowledge and expertise. That’s why it’s common for homeowners to choose firms that have been in the business for a while. Such companies are mostly stable and have access to the best home renovation talents in the market. On top of that,
Hiring a company with years of work experience will most definitely provide you with several advantages such as:
- Background and experience in handling issues on building code and other technical concerns
- Lesser risks for expensive errors and penalties
- Unparalleled construction expertise (comes in extra handy when you’re not sure about what you want)
- Access to top-of-the-line equipment that can get the job done fast.
#4. Price
Every building or revamp project requires some fundamental to advanced financial planning. It gives you an idea of how much you might need to spend to complete everything on your building or home upgrade to-do list. It also helps you modify your plans and pick upgrades that satisfy your current financial standing and preferences.
This is why when you plan your building budget, it’s extra crucial to check the rates of the builder you will hire. How much does your builder charge to build a 150 sqm house? How does it compare to other options near the area?
Also, it would help to look into the type of builder you will hire. Are you going for a general home builder or a specialist firm? Do you prefer working with a luxury builder because you want to maintain specific design standards in your house?
Each option comes with varying costs, so it would be best to compare their rates and set your expectations. Also, it would help to note the market demand because the rates tend to increase by a small fraction as more people hire a builder for their homes.
#5. Program of the job with schedules
Delays are inevitable sometimes, even when for well-established companies like us at Build Me. That’s why when you choose between the available options, it’s important to look into the company’s proposed timeline. How long will it take to finish everything needed? How do they manage delays or disruptions?
It will also help to check potential causes of delays like your builder’s location and your sources of materials for the job. Naturally, it would take longer to transport equipment, materials, and whatnot if your chosen contractor is far from your location.
We are Here to Help You With Your Project
For big or small projects, you can count on us to help you at Build Me. We are the go-to builders in Auckland with more than two decades of experience in building and renovating homes. Let us help you build your dream residence today! You may send us your message at info@builder.co.nz or fill out our form for your queries and concerns.