Choosing a General Contractor to build your new home can feel like picking lottery numbers. You close your eyes, cross your fingers and hope your choice is the right one.
Your choice of General Contractor (GC) can make or break your new home project. The right one can deliver the home you visualized within the projected budget. The wrong one can cost you thousands in change orders causing you to make concessions to the finishes or increasing the budget, sometimes both.
Let’s focus on choosing the right GC by looking for the personality traits mentioned below.
Their references are glowing. Ask for references when you first make contact with a potential GC. This will be the easiest way to separate the right ones from the wrong ones. Call every name provided. These past clients have agreed to be contacted by you so ask your questions but be mindful of their time.
They respect your time. If you have a meeting scheduled, they will show up on time and prepared. Unexpected problems can throw a wrench into anyone’s schedule. The right GC will get in touch to push the meeting back or reschedule it. The wrong GC will leave you sitting in your car for 45 minutes wondering if they’re coming or not.
They keep distractions to a minimum. Their phone is out of site and you have their attention throughout your meeting. There will be times that they have to answer a specific call. If that’s the case they will let you know at the start of the meeting and keep the interruption to a minimum. The wrong GC will answer five calls cutting your actual work time in half then complain that you have to leave without getting everything accomplished.
They listen more than they talk. When you finish any interaction with a potential GC you are confident that they listened and understood what you wanted to get across to them. This falls under the “I know it when I see it” category. The wrong GC will answer a question with, “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll take care of it.” Every question you have deserves an answer. Just make sure you’re not asking the same question multiple times. Keep good notes.
They refuse to give you a square foot price. The best bid is a hard bid. This can take a few weeks but it’s the only way to end up with a solid budget. They will review the bid with you and explain any pricing that may increase based on site conditions or weather. The wrong GC will give you a square foot price during your initial meeting. It’s a rare GC who can offer a solid bid after a sixty-minute meeting with you and a night to review the plans. There are too many moving parts to a new home and they each require attention.
Now read each personality trait again but put yourself in the place of the right GC. If you as the homeowner and the general contractor share these traits you’re setting a good foundation for a successful relationship.
You should make this post like into a definitive guide or something. I bet a lot of your new readers that come to this site would want to be able to find this post. It’s too good to keep secret!
Thank you for your kind and positive suggestion! I’m still getting used to the blog world and will consider creating a guide in the future!
I like that you said that I should choose a general contractor that listens to me intently and answers every question that I have. My parents plan to have their home renovated soon since my youngest sister moved out a few months ago. I’ll share this with them so they would know how to choose the right general contractor for their renovation project. Thanks!
Thank you for liking and sharing!
Comparing choosing a GC to picking lottery numbers made me chuckle. It’s so true. i wish more in the industry would pay attention to this because this is what consumers think and it gives everyone in the industry a bad name. Ah well… I guess it just means I’ll keep taking the business from those who act like this.
Thanks for the advice to call ever reference that you receive from a potential contractor. I think that it is smart to make sure that others have been happy with the work before you hire that person to do work on your own building. It would be smart to consult with a few different contractors in your area so you can be sure to get someone who is the right fit for you.
Thanks for the comment!
Yes, yes, yes! Interview multiple contractors before choosing one so you know you have the right fit. :-)
I liked that you said that you must choose a general contractor that listens more and keeps the interruption to a minimum when meeting them. My mother is planning to have the damaged brick walls of her house repaired this Friday. She does not want the damage to escalate. I will surely ask her to consider your tips on hiring a brick repair contractor that will prioritize to complete her project efficiently.
My boss is having her kitchen remodeled before the holidays since her family’s coming over to celebrate together. She asked me tp help her look for general contractors since planning a kitchen remodeling is a stress in itself already. Thank you for saying that the best approach to tell the good general contractors from the bad ones is to ask for references when you first get in touch with a possible general contractor.