Hiring a New Homes Contractor for Your Project

Whether you are looking for a contractor to build a new home or to do a remodeling project you need to find a contractor that you trust. The best way to find one is to look for one before an emergency occurs and you need one in a hurry because a good decision is harder to make when you are under pressure. There are several things you can do to make sure that you find the right person to do the job, but before you remodel or build, take a tour of several new homes in your area so that you can get floor plan ideas and observe the type of work that the various contractors do.

Two different things you need to find a local contractor is a phone book and a computer equipped with an internet hook up. You can put together a list of local contractors that have a good reputation of building local new homes in your area. Sometimes friends and family can help you find one because they have hired one for a past project and may have both good and bad experiences that they can share.

After you have your list compiled, you should call your local Better Business Bureau and Chamber of Commerce as well as your state's Board of Licensing. These resources will give you lists of complaints against the companies and how they were resolved. You can check with them also to see if they are up to date on all their permits.

Then, you need start making phone calls to the contractors on your list and set up interviews with them. Before the first interview, make a list of questions to ask that should include the status of their licenses and insurance, how long he has been in the business, how experienced he is, and what his specialty is. You may also want to include how much money they want for the down payment, how often the payment will be required once the contractor starts the project, and an estimate on how quickly the project will be done.

During the interviews, take note of each part of the interactions with each of the contractors, such as how prompt and courteous the secretary was on the phone, promptness of the representative, was he positive or negative sounding about your project and how knowledgeable he was, and his willingness to provide references. These impressions often determine whether or not you will have future interactions with any of these companies. Now you can interview the references that the contractor provided so that you can find out if their expectations were met and that the contract was followed.

If you do the proper research on your new homes and remodeling contractor and get all your remaining questions answered, you will be able to sign your contract with a trusted company for your home building project.