How to Spot a Professional Builder
If you’re confused about which building company you should be speaking to, this could be the most important message you ever see.
Why?
Because it could make the difference between a smooth building experience, where you end up with the exact home you’re looking for at an agreed price that is delivered on time and on budget, or dealing with a builder that ignores your emails and delivers a substandard home months after the agreed timeframe … and way over your budget.
The bad news is that there are some cowboys in this industry. Some builders don’t create a plan for their jobs, don’t communicate with their clients regularly, don’t have quality control checks in place, and some don’t even price up your job correctly!
But the good news is, there are professional builders in this industry too. And there’s a simple way to avoid using one of the cowboy builders in disguise!
Here are 3 key things to look for in a professional building company:
1. Building Schedules
A building schedule is a detailed plan of the timeline for completing a construction project on time. It’s the key to a smooth and enjoyable building experience for both the builder and the client.
With something as complex as building your dream home, failing to plan comes with serious consequences—cost escalations, delays, construction mistakes, and poor-quality work!
Typically, a builder that operates without a schedule lacks attention to detail. They’re also a poor communicator and are unable to give a specific date for completion—because, how would they know?
A builder who has not accounted for every day during the construction period and budgeted accordingly will start losing money as soon as delays occur. When that happens, they will look to recoup those costs by either passing them on to you or by cutting corners elsewhere on the build. Either way, you lose.
Never sign a contract without first seeing a job schedule. It may not make a lot of sense to you, but it will demonstrate how the builder plans to complete the job on time. If they refuse to provide a schedule or tell you they don’t need one, this is a big red flag!
2. Reputation
To check out a building company properly, you need to go online. If a building company is ‘invisible’ online, they may have something to hide. Companies with poor customer service tend to avoid online exposure where possible because the reviews expose what is happening inside their businesses.
The building companies with a strong presence online are normally the ones with great customer service and are happy for their clients to review and rate their performance.
Things to look out for are:
Reviews
Information on the company owners
Contact numbers
Recently updated website
Facebook page
YouTube channel demonstrating previous work
3. Prompt and Professional Communication
Chasing builders is one of the biggest complaints people have when building, so test them out and see how they respond. Do they return your calls and reply to your emails promptly? Are they courteous, friendly, and professional?
Ask about their preferred method of communication—email, phone, or text—and how long you should expect to wait before they respond to a message. The most professional building companies use online client portals you can log into to see everything about your project, including all of your communication, selection choices, progress on the job, and any new photos from onsite!
While these may sound simple, asking your builder these questions will quickly establish their level of professionalism, their expertise, and their ability to communicate with you throughout the job.
There is a tendency to rush the process of finding a builder, but don’t. There’s a reason business owners do reference checks on staff before they hire them, and you should follow the same methodical process with your builder, as the wrong choice can cost far more.
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Click on the link below to discover everything you need to know to ensure you engage a professional builder without making any costly mistakes.