There are many people who want to build their own homes that is unique with styles and functions that meet the needs. But when thinking about the steps and those who must be involved and rely on getting their own home built. Many people give up because they think that they do not have enough knowledge and understanding and after heard the stories about the problems encountered by the deal with contractors. But do not give up on your dream home. In this article, we have suggestions on how to deal with contractors, to get a quality home as needed and completed at the specified time.

1.1  The owner should choose the contractor based on the actual work done.

To see whether the skill is at the level that we are satisfied with or not.  Should consider the work that looks like the style and the size of the house to be built. Which can ask the contractor to show the house that had been built to see the actual work and would be better if have chance to talk to the owner who had used this contractor before. To get the information about the skill and responsibility. Some of you who do not want to hire a small independent contractor but want to hire a home builder company, you can check the list at the Home Builder Association.

1.2  The interest and understanding of the house that we want. Each contractor has an aptitude or different experiences.

When having the opportunity to talk to the contractor, should consider that is he interested and understanding of the house that he is going to build or not. Does he have any questions, or he say he can do anything, this case can be suspicious. Or may ask the contractor whether he has built a house that is like that we want or not for consideration of aptitude and experience.

1.3   Price

Even though it is the main factor in decision making but let's think of our dream home that we will not only for a few years. If you make decision, please consider the a and b as well. When considering the price, should look at both the labor and the value of the assembly as well.

2.1  Must be written to keep for both sides

2.2  Must attach all documents As specified in the contract

• blueprint
  
  
• Should have an account showing the amount of B.O.Q (Bill of Quantities).Quantity, price and product name, brand that will be ordered in order to be clear and accurate according to the desired design. In addition, other expenses must be mentioned. Which is the preparation fee, such as contact fees, temporary utility requests, the installation of equipment, temporary electricity bills. The cost of equipment that must be used whether included in the price or not.
  

2.3 Payment of work

Before signing the contract, have to read the details of the installment payment in detail, Especially the first and last installments.The first payment, depend on an agreement on how much to pay and when will pay. Sometimes the contractor will ask us to pay the first installment at the contract date. Some may ask to pay the first installment after some construction work is completed. If paying before some work done, it is recommended to pay about 5-10% of the total wage. Remarks: The first payment should be paid after the first milestone is completed. If the contractor agrees with this proposal, shows that this contractor has good cash flow, reliable and less likely to abandon the work. For the last payment, if possible, should agree to not less than 10%.


The important is If each stage of construction is not complete, the owner must not pay the payment to the contractor. Because if we paid all the payment until the last payment and work is not finished, some contractors may take the opportunity to abandon the work.
Must have evidence of payment and receipt of each payment. If there is a dispute in the future, we will have document to prove.

2.4   Guarantee

In most cases, there will be a guarantee for the structure of the house in the 2 year period, guarantee the roof for a period of 5 years after the house is finished and delivered. In the contract, there are 2 cases: in the case of the deduction of the guarantee as a percentage of each installment, and in the case that there is no deduction of the guarantee.


If there is a case that contractor have to repair, fix the house and the contractor was responsible according to the contract. At the end of 2 years, the owner must return this money to the contractor. Except that the contractor does not come to repair as agreed, the owner can use this money as an expense to hire other contractors to do the work. After 2 years have passed, if there is money left from this part, it must be returned to the contractor.


In case that there is no deduction of guarantee, will be a contractual guarantee of the contractor that will come to repair for free without any cost. But this case is rather risky than the first case because if repairs are required, it may be harder to find the contractor.

Construction is a job that requires a person with professional knowledge to be an inspector. Homeowners should have a budget to hire engineers or the architect to control the construction to meet the standards and give comments on the progress of the work. And the owner should go to see the work on a regular basis, even though may not have any knowledge but can check on basic issues. Such as construction according to the desired design or keeping clean to not disturb the neighboring areas, use of water, saving energy, purchasing and storing materials correctly. Because it will encourage contractors to continuously work.

Should work with the supervisor and contractor by recording work items that must be modified or updated systematically and set the working guidelines as well as the actual corrective period. For this step, if there is a quality check and the progress of the work update on a regular basis will encounter less problems and can be solved without difficulty.

Finally, if the contractor did a good job with full responsibility and completed the work according to the agreed period, the owner must also act as a good customer by paying on time. Paying just a few days late can affect jobs that rely on workers who receive daily wages. And in the opposite site, many contractors have suffered or even loss from the late payment. Or sometime want to change the design, add, remove some parts or late approval, these all will affect the work and the budget. Therefore, think carefully before making a contract and proceed with the honesty. Both parties will end with Happy Ending.