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5 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring a Contractor

by on February 15, 2012 in home additions, Home Construction, Remodeling

Photo Credit Shutterstock - Couple in front of House

Building a new home can be one of the most exciting events you’ll experience. It can also turn into a huge nightmare if you don’t choose the right contractor. When we say ‘right’ we are talking about a reputable contractor who will build you a quality home at the price agreed upon, and on time.

1) Ask for Client References

You know how the three most important elements of buying a home are location, location, location? Well, determining if you are going to hire a stellar contractor must be preceded by references, references, references.

Get at least three and then followup and ask the clients your questions. Don’t be shy, the follow up is essential.

You’ll want to ask:
• If they were happy with the quality of the work.
• Was their home completed on time and within budget.
• Did the contractor spend enough time on the job for their satisfaction.
• Was contractor easy to reach for questions or concerns.
• Would they recommend the contractor to family and friends.

2) Ask for Business References

Here you’re looking for the contractor’s banker, title company, material suppliers, sub-contractors.

The number one question for all these references is: Does the contractor pay on time? And for the suppliers and sub-contractors, ask if they’ve ever had to file a lien for non-payment, and if they still conduct business with the contractor.

3) Ask to see the Contractor’s License

You also want to see the general liability and workers-compensation insurance policies. Some states do not require or even offer a special license (such as Texas) but if your state does, obviously you want your contractor to have it.

4) Ask for the Contract

You’ll want to see the contract you’ll sign in the event you hire them. How much wiggle room is there? The more detailed the contract, the better protection you’ll have. Specifically you want details of the work to be done (with full materials allowances), the estimated start and finish dates, and total cost, and payment schedule.

Before you actually sign the completed contract, it’s not a bad idea to have an attorney review it.

5) Ask for Protection Clause

Ask if you can insert a clause that you’ll be compensated if they go a certain amount of time over schedule. Remember, time is money.. your money.. and the longer the building process takes, the more interest you have to pay on the construction loan.

You might ask for your interest payments to be paid by the contractor for every month they go over schedule. Now, you might agree to at least 30-45 days grace time past the schedule, and generally you allow for delays due to ‘acts of God’.

Along with these five questions, you’ll want to check with your state’s consumer protection agency along with your local Better Business Bureau to make sure the contractor doesn’t have a history of disputes with subcontractors or clients.

Guest Post by Dee, who builds homes in the Texas Hill Country. You’ll find her hanging out at SmallHouseLife.com where she writes articles like the 5 Biggest House Plan Mistakes and also reviews floorplans. She’ll even have a look at yours if you ask her!

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5 Stages of Home Remodeling

by on January 2, 2011 in home additions, House Plans, Remodeling

With another year over, now is great time to think about starting a remodeling project or a full home addition. No matter what size project you plan on tackling, you can expect to go through five distinct stages – planning, budgeting, demolition, construction and cleanup.

If you stay involved with each stage (even participate if the project allows) particularly product selection you can ensure your project stays on track, on budget and that you get exactly what you want. You can learn more about each stage in 5 Stages of Remodeling a new article by The House Designers.

You’ll want to check out the 12 Top Remodeling Trends for 2011, which was the results of a recent poll by The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

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Inspiring, Affordable Home Additions

by on November 10, 2010 in home additions, House Plans

Building an addition is a very exciting project, especially if your home was bought, rather than built by you. This is your chance to create a custom space with your personal touch. Besides providing your home with more living space, building a home addition can be a terrific investment and a satisfying project for you and your family.

Before you actually break ground on a home addition, your first have to have a plan. You need to determine what you are looking for in terms of additional living space. For example: How many square feet? What type of rooms do you want? What is the primary function of your new space? Once this has been determined, then it is important for you to find out the market value of homes in your area with a similar sized addition. For example, you don’t want to spend $50,000 on a new home addition that will only increase the market value of your home by $25,000.

We recently added a new collection of home additions featuring family rooms, kitchens, master suites, porches and sunrooms to help you get started. Each blueprint comes with everything you need to build your addition, a cost to build estimator and free modification quotes so you can confidently design and afford your new living space.

Our most recent issue of Home Ideas features helpful articles about how to build a beautiful home addition, stages of remodeling and the latest green building products.

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A rear addition, allows for a new, functional kitchen space that adjoins the family room. The new kitchen now includes a pantry, serving buffet and stylish angled snack counter. The dining room gains a few feet in length and the new rear wall features a stylish half-round window.

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