5 Tips for choosing a builder

You have made the decision to build a new home or extend your existing home. Congratulations, what an exciting time ahead.
Choosing a builder is one of the biggest decision you are going to have to make and one of the most important decision at that.  If you have decided to get your plans drawn up by an independent architect or designer and you would like to tender your job to several builders, you need to be aware of the hidden costs that may not be included in the quote.
Below is a list of 5 things to look out for and what to be aware of when comparing builders.

1.       Ensure your builder is licensed and registered
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This may seem obvious but there are several dishonest people out there that are operating illegally and should not be building your home or renovation. In Western Australia, any tradesman doing works worth over $20,000 should have a builder’s license, if they do not, then you as the home owner are not going to be covered if something goes wrong with your build.
 
Search for a builder here to see if they are registered.

2.       Aim to only speak with one point of contact at the building company

It is important that you get on with the staff member you are dealing with from the building company. In a perfect world, you would ideally like to deal with just one or two staff members at most and build a relationship with one person throughout the whole build process to ensure you are on the same page and that communication lines are clear.
 
Some builders will have several people you speak with throughout the process from initial consultation right the way through to completion. At Distinct Renovations, we pride ourselves on being a small personal builder, therefore you only deal with our builder who is also the supervisor on your job site.  We keep our build numbers low to ensure our customers get the most personal experience possible.  After all, you are building a home or making a huge improvement to your existing home which should not be taken lightly.
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3.       Be aware of hidden costs in building quotes

Builders are infamous for marking their quotes down low to win the business, then increasing prices later through provisional sums and prime cost items. This article has a great description of what provisional sums and prime costs entail. These cost types cannot be avoided completely due to the nature of building, i.e. there is no way to know what certain things will costs for example what it will cost to clear your block and prepare for the slab, there can be unforeseen costs in these situations. It is a builder’s job to ensure they cost these items as accurate as possible. Further to this not all fixtures and fittings may have been decided upon before the contracts were written up.
To avoid any surprises later we recommend our clients decide on their fixtures and fittings before requesting an accurate quote. If you are not sure of what will suit, we offer the service of an interior designer which allows you to be confident in your decision-making process.
This will be a big transformation to your home or possibly a brand-new home, therefore you want to make sure you make the right decision to prevent any cost blow outs.

4.       Don’t let build contract variations break the bank

This leads on from the point above, variations can really hurt peoples budget and if no buffer is allowed for here, you really can experience budget blow outs. Variations are changes to the build or renovation that were not factored into the original contracts plans and specifications.
 
Make sure you ask your builder before signing the contract what the administration costs are for making any variations to the building contract.  After all it may be hard to picture things until you start the build. These variations to contract can be very costly, some builders will charge up to $1,000 for an admin fee on a single variation!
 
At Distinct Renovations, we do not charge fees for the administration cost for variations this is done free of charge, we understand that you may make changes throughout the build, however we do recommend being overly prepared and specific on what you want to avoid extras on top of your contract price.
 
Variation can be avoided by ensuring the builder himself reads over your plans together in detail before approval and contract process to ensure that you are happy with the design and do not want to make any adjustments, this process will save you in the long run and is a process we follow at Distinct Renovations.
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5. Check past customers of the builder are happy

This is important, you need to be able to speak with past customers of the builder to make sure they were happy with the builder and their workmanship. Testimonials on websites are not good enough, you need to physically speak with the customer yourself to get their honest opinion. If the builder will not pass on names and numbers of past customers willingly then this is a sign to back away.
 
Remember this is a very important decision you are making by choosing your builder so make sure you go to a lot of effort initially to select the right one to save any heartache in the long run.
 
Contact Distinct Renovations now if you want help on you next timber frame extension, granny flat, renovation or new build. We are here to help and make the process a pleasant one.
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