14 Questions to ask your building contractor's clients

Will you want to hire your building contractor after speaking to their clients?

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Over the last few weeks we've looked at a number of serious building defects which have left home owners distressed, out of pocket, and sometimes without a home. Many home owners face the prospect of lengthy legal battles to recover money spent on fixing building problems. This included the horror story of a major UK builder who delivered hundreds of substandard homes. Another article on an  Australian apartment that cost $1.7 million which isn't fit to live in  a year after completion, and more. In other articles I've discussed how you can ensure you are hiring the right building contractor. These articles include Read this before selecting you home building and renovation contractor and Before employing a building contractor ask these questions. 

To ensure you employ a reputable building contractor it's important to ask your contractors for a list of references of past clients and projects. What building projects have they worked on? Are these similar to the work you are asking them to execute? Were these projects completed successfully - finished on time, without fuss and of good quality? But don't just take the contractor's word for it, rather talk to these past clients and ask them these important questions:

• What was the scope and size of the project that the contractor completed and when was it finished?
• Were you satisfied with the work?
• Was the quality good?
• Did they finish it when they said they would?
• Did they communicate regularly with you?
• Was the contractor's management frequently on the project?
• Were there problems? What were they and how did the contractor handle them? Were the problems sorted promptly? (Remember that almost every building project will encounter problems and there probably will be an error or two along the way - but it's not so much about the problem, rather about the solution and how quickly and efficiently the contractor dealt with the issue.)

• How easy were they to contact? Did they return phone calls and emails? Were they responsive?
• Did they work safely?
• Did they keep the project site tidy?
• Were there extra costs? Why? Did they advise you ahead of time that you would incur these additional costs? Were they fair and reasonable?
• Was the contractor helpful? Did they provide good advice?
• Did the neighbours have any complaints about the contractor?
• What advice would you give me if I was to hire this contractor?

It's vital that you employ the right contractor for your building project. Take the time to thoroughly investigate them to ensure that they will be the right contractor for your project. Knowing some of the issues that previous clients encountered with the contractor will make you more prepared to manage them should you employ them. Knowing their strengths and weaknesses will enable you to quickly deal with problems before they occur, and it will often give you confidence to deal with the contractor.

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​This is an extract from my new book 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses: Volume 1 Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home' which also contains lots more valuable information to save you money and ensure that your home build or renovation project is a success. Click on the image to read a preview on Amazon. The book is available in paper or ebook form from Amazon and other online stores, or ask your local bookstore to order a copy for you. For tips on designing your new house as well as renovation ideas read Volume 2 - Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home 
​© 2019 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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