10 Mistakes to avoid when choosing a residential building construction company
One of the biggest concerns for anyone building a new home or renovating their existing home is selecting the right residential building construction company. Leaving it to luck, fate or guesswork however, isn’t a good idea, so here are the ten most common mistakes made by homeowners when they select a residential building construction company and how to avoid them.
- Get good advice: Most people tend to ask around their network of friends, relatives and workmates for a good builder. It’s a fair bet that someone you know has used a residential building construction company in the past year, so ask if they would recommend their builder to you. A much better idea however, is to ask your architect to recommend a builder, because they only work with the best companies.
- Are they licenced and insured? Your builder must have both Public Liability Insurance and Home Warranty Insurance, as well as being a licenced builder in Queensland. You can check the Housing Industry of Australia website for licenced builders.
- Do they have the right experience? Some builders specialise in building new homes and others in renovating older homes. Some do both, but it’s important to make sure that a builder has the right type of experience for your building works.
- Ask for references: You can check their website for testimonials, but nothing beats talking to their customers. Their opinion is valuable, so always ask for a list of clients who are willing to talk to you, making sure that at least one is a client whose building works have not yet been completed.
- Identify the scope of the work: This is an outline of the work required of your builder, which you need to give to them before they can provide you with a quote.
- Engineering and soil tests: Your builder will need to have these reports to hand, so they can give you an accurate quote for the work.
- Fittings and fixtures: Let your builder know all the fittings and fixtures you need included in the work. Any changes after building has commenced will add to your costs.
- Obtain an itemised quote: Using the information in points 5, 6 and 7 above, the residential building construction company should give you a very detailed quote. This must include the costs of labour and materials at all stages of construction. It’s this quote that you can use to compare builders, but remember that the cheapest quote doesn’t always equate with the best builders.
- Check the itemised quote: Does it include roof insulation, garage doors, driveways, fencing, landscaping, all power points and light fittings, window locks and flyscreens? These are some of the most common issues between clients and builders, but if it’s not included in the itemised quote, it won’t be included in the final work.
- Get legal advice: Before signing any building contract you should ask a lawyer who is experienced in construction contracts to make sure that it’s written with your best interests in mind. Don’t skip this step because you will be investing a sizable chunk of money in your new home or renovations, and you don’t want any complications.
JEB Built are a licenced and fully insured residential building construction company with years of experience in building new homes and renovations. Call us on 0431 065 019 or send us an email to discuss your requirements.
