When selecting a builder, it’s incredibly important that you find someone you trust. After all, they’re responsible for the construction of your future home! You should put adequate time and effort into finding a quality builder who can bring your vision to life.
In order to do so, a little Q and A is necessary. The future of your home is reliant on the kinds of questions that you ask, so you want to be certain that you’re asking the right ones. We believe that there are five key questions that are essential to ask before signing on with any builder.
- Do you have a Builders Contractor License and insurances? If so, what insurances do you hold?
This is probably the most crucial question to ask. You want to ensure that if anything goes wrong during the project, you’re covered. The company you are engaging to complete your building project should be registered with Fair Trading NSW and have a specific building license number. Companies or partnerships who hold a building license must have at least one director, member or full-time employee as their nominated supervisor.This individual will also be given a license number and be registered with Fair Trading. You should always check the Fair Trading NSW website to see if your builder’s license numbers are current prior to signing any contracts. As far as insurance goes, you should always ask your builder to provide you with current certificates of insurance as evidence that they and you are covered for the duration of your building project.
It is necessary for your builder to have public liability insurance and construction insurance in place as well as workers compensation insurance. These policies are designed to protect you, your builder and any employees against negligence, injury and any property damage that could potentially occur while building.
Don’t forget, your builder should have Home Owners Warranty eligibility and prior to any work commencing on site, they should have issued you with a certificate for your project. This safeguards your home during the construction period and subsequent warranty period, should anything happen.
- Are you a specialist in my type of project?
It’s always important to do your own research first. If you’re renovating, adding or extending an existing home, make sure the builder you are engaging is a specialist in this field.If you’re planning a knock down rebuild, make sure your builder has a proven track record for this type of work and find out what their niche is! Some due-diligence and research goes along away in achieving a stress-free project and an end result you desired.
- What are your past projects like?
Again, it’s so important that you are conducting your own research. You should view your builder’s website and social media accounts regularly to get an idea of past projects they have completed. Are they similar to yours? Do you like what they build? A builder with a good reputation and great projects won’t hesitate in pointing you toward their online presence where they will be showcasing past and current projects on a regular basis.A good builder will always speak confidently and comparatively about their past projects in relation to yours and it should fill you with confidence that they have the skills and experience necessary to bring your dreams to life.
- Do you have any testimonials? If so, can we speak to past clients and view the work?
Hearing first hand from past clients is a great way of ensuring your chosen builder is the right person for the job. A good builder won’t hesitate in sharing past clients’ contact details (if allowed) or even offering to set up a meeting to go and view the completed project and meet the client. It’s a great way of knowing how the experience was for the client but also viewing the finished product with your own eyes. This is a great confidence booster in knowing that the builder is the right fit for you and your project.If a builder doesn’t seem interested in showing you their past projects or offering you any opportunity to speak with a past client, then you’ll probably want to steer clear of working with them.
- What are your building processes and values?
When building with anyone, you want to make sure that their values align with your own. Their building processes and values should usually be outlined on their website however, you can also bring these up with your builder to discuss them in more detail. It’s essential that your builder can communicate clearly and honestly with you from the very beginning.
If you’re in the market for an honest and friendly builder who completes projects by the book, get in touch with Jon from iConstruct Building Solutions today.
