Selecting a contractor is the most important step in building your home. You can find a perfectly calibrated project, purchase expensive materials, but if the team does not know how to build, then you will not get the home of your dreams. And you'll be wasting a lot of money. We invite you to figure out with us how to avoid this and choose the right construction company.
How to check a construction company?
1. COLLECTION OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Carefully study the company’s website. Colorado custom home builders website has all information you need. There are the contact details up-to-date, does it contain information about the objects built, does this company build houses from the material you need. Call the numbers provided, use the feedback form: this way you will see the response speed of managers and understand how convenient it will be for you to communicate with them in the future.
Then check the availability of basic documents: charter, registration certificate. Compare the basic data from the documents with those indicated on the website: make sure that you are not being deceived, for example, about years of work experience.
Read reviews, look for ratings of construction companies. We understand that it is difficult to find real customer comments. But if an organization has a lot of bad reviews, this is also an indicator.
2. VISITING THE OFFICE
A construction contractor must have an office. Call and make an appointment. If you are offered to meet in another place, for example, in a cafe or on your site, then there is a chance that this is an intermediary. Accordingly, prices for services may be higher and there may be fewer guarantees. In the office, look at and copy the originals of title documents and, of course, ask the manager all your questions:
- find out the details about the guarantee: does the company provide it, for how many years;
- request a draft standard contract to study it in detail later in a calm atmosphere and show it to lawyers;
- specify the start date of work and its total duration until the completion of the project;
- discuss what stages the work is divided into and how they are paid for;
- find out whether the company performs the entire cycle of work or delegates some of the responsibilities to subcontractors;
- inquire about the qualifications and specialization of the workers and the experience of the foreman.
After discussing such points, form your opinion: are you satisfied with these conditions. If everything suits you, do not rush to conclude an agreement - it would be a mistake to skip the next stage of verification.
3. INSPECTION OF OBJECTS
A complex but important process. Do not hesitate to ask builders for the addresses of houses they have built or contacts of previous customers. In this case, serious companies always have the opportunity to show their objects: finished or at the final stage of construction. If there are several teams in the organization, then it is better to look at cottages built by those workers who will be assigned to you.
The second option, less preferable, is to visit the demonstration site. If a company has such a place, this confirms its reliability and shows that this is not a fly-by-night company. However, these are no longer real objects, so it is difficult to judge the quality of construction work from them.
An additional way to view the construction process is through video and photo reports, which should be requested from the office. Such materials will help form a more complete opinion about builders.
Selecting a construction contractor based on recommendations
If possible, talk to acquaintances and friends who have recently built a house. Will they recommend their builders? Even if yes, you still need to check:
Go on site with a professional and inspect everything from the foundation and roof to the plumbing and wiring.
check with the people living in such a house how warm it is, and whether you have to overpay for heating due to the unscrupulous work of the builders.
Find out about other company properties and inspect them - not from photographs and descriptions on the Internet, but in person. Talk to customers. Pay attention to the points that are mentioned most often - perhaps this will be a weak point in your future home.