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The_Jazz · 02-03-2006, 06:04 AM

First of all, congratulations! I hope that you'll enjoy your new home for years to come!

First you need to figure out exactly what it is you want - # of stories, # of bedrooms and bathrooms and a basic idea of the layout that you want. You can either take these to an architect and have them draw up plans to take to a general contractor or you can find a design/build firm that will take care of everything. You might also find a contractor that has already has designs that you like and that would put in any customizations that you want, but this may be difficult to do without having to get new drawings stamped by an architect. Finally, you can just hire a contractor to use plans that they already have on hand that are acceptable to you that don't need any alteration.

Just so you know, ever time an architect has to redraw things or recertify the changes, it's another few thousand dollars in the bucket, so knowing exactly what you want up front is pretty important if you're working with a tight budget.

Once you've decided what you want, you need to decide who is going to build it. With a design/build firm, that decision is already made for you, and that can take some pressure off and might also save some money. If you are hiring a general contractor yourself, make sure to get recommendations from around the area before you start interviewing anyone. They will most likely subcontract out most if not all of the work, so you need to know what they will be doing with their own crew and what will be subcontracted out.

Here are contractors that I would stay away from - your buddy down the street who used to be a carpenter but is now an accountant, a fireman who moonlights as a contractor, anyone who is new to the business and will be subcontracting everything out. Contactors that are not going to have a supervisor on the job site for most of the build are going to cause you big headaches down the road, and while I'm sure that there are exceptions to these examples that I've listed, they'll be few and far between. A good general contractor is going to be doing this as a full time job and won't be distracted by non-construction issues where they'll be away from the jobsite doing nothing construction related. Don't be afraid to get references and discuss the quality of the work.

You also need to make sure that not only is your general contractor insured but that every single subcontractor that comes on to your property is insured with absolutely no exceptions. You need to make sure that the general is carrying general liability insurance including products/completed operations coverage with no residential exclusion, especially if you are in CA, NV, WA, OR, AZ, TX, FL, SC, NY or CO. If they build something correctly, you want to make sure that they will have the ability to pay you for any damages that are not corrected. If the GC has any employees, you need to make sure that they are carrying Workers Compensation coverage. If they don't have any employess working on the site, then you need to require that all of the subcontractors carry WC coverage. Finally, you need to ask for builders risk coverage, which will cover the house while it's under construction if a fire breaks out, a storm comes up, etc. How do you find all this out? It's pretty simple - ask them for evidence of coverage in the form of a certificate of insurance. It should be no problem at all for them to produce this for you. While you're at it, you should probably also ask to be named as an additional insured on the general liability and workers compensation (if any). You should also ask for all of this to be inserted into the contract that you sign with them.

This should be enough to get you started! Good luck and enjoy it!

02-03-2006, 06:04 AM	#4 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	First of all, congratulations! I hope that you'll enjoy your new home for years to come! First you need to figure out exactly what it is you want - # of stories, # of bedrooms and bathrooms and a basic idea of the layout that you want. You can either take these to an architect and have them draw up plans to take to a general contractor or you can find a design/build firm that will take care of everything. You might also find a contractor that has already has designs that you like and that would put in any customizations that you want, but this may be difficult to do without having to get new drawings stamped by an architect. Finally, you can just hire a contractor to use plans that they already have on hand that are acceptable to you that don't need any alteration. Just so you know, ever time an architect has to redraw things or recertify the changes, it's another few thousand dollars in the bucket, so knowing exactly what you want up front is pretty important if you're working with a tight budget. Once you've decided what you want, you need to decide who is going to build it. With a design/build firm, that decision is already made for you, and that can take some pressure off and might also save some money. If you are hiring a general contractor yourself, make sure to get recommendations from around the area before you start interviewing anyone. They will most likely subcontract out most if not all of the work, so you need to know what they will be doing with their own crew and what will be subcontracted out. Here are contractors that I would stay away from - your buddy down the street who used to be a carpenter but is now an accountant, a fireman who moonlights as a contractor, anyone who is new to the business and will be subcontracting everything out. Contactors that are not going to have a supervisor on the job site for most of the build are going to cause you big headaches down the road, and while I'm sure that there are exceptions to these examples that I've listed, they'll be few and far between. A good general contractor is going to be doing this as a full time job and won't be distracted by non-construction issues where they'll be away from the jobsite doing nothing construction related. Don't be afraid to get references and discuss the quality of the work. You also need to make sure that not only is your general contractor insured but that every single subcontractor that comes on to your property is insured with absolutely no exceptions. You need to make sure that the general is carrying general liability insurance including products/completed operations coverage with no residential exclusion, especially if you are in CA, NV, WA, OR, AZ, TX, FL, SC, NY or CO. If they build something correctly, you want to make sure that they will have the ability to pay you for any damages that are not corrected. If the GC has any employees, you need to make sure that they are carrying Workers Compensation coverage. If they don't have any employess working on the site, then you need to require that all of the subcontractors carry WC coverage. Finally, you need to ask for builders risk coverage, which will cover the house while it's under construction if a fire breaks out, a storm comes up, etc. How do you find all this out? It's pretty simple - ask them for evidence of coverage in the form of a certificate of insurance. It should be no problem at all for them to produce this for you. While you're at it, you should probably also ask to be named as an additional insured on the general liability and workers compensation (if any). You should also ask for all of this to be inserted into the contract that you sign with them. This should be enough to get you started! Good luck and enjoy it!