There are few things more exciting than watching your dream home come to life. For some, building a home is a once in a life-time endeavour, for others it could be a stepping stone for the start of a great investment portfolio in the future. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve built a home before or whether you are building new or renovating, there are many ways you can make the process as pain-free as possible.
Stephen Thompson, Managing Director of Allworth Homes said, “Building companies have strict processes in place to make sure your home is built as efficiently as possible. It’s important to recognise this and be patient while you’re waiting for your home to be built.”
“Different parts of the process frustrate people – but it’s mostly smooth sailing if you’re aware. This is why we’ve developed these tips so people know what to expect and work with their builder.”
Allworth Homes provides tips on managing the builder relationship
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Agree at the beginning.
Be sure that everything you want for your house is documented on the contract plan and everything is in writing. It’s crucially important to make it clear up front as once your architect plans are approved by council and construction is ready to happen, it could be very hard to make any changes. If you’ve missed something, go cap in hand to your builder and see what they can do. Sometimes it is possible to rectify the situation.
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Do your research on colour selection.
Choosing the cosmetics of your home can be a huge decision. Make sure you have a vision of what you want before your colour consultation to eliminate back and forth communication. Also, have some back-up selection options. In the case of a supplier running out of stock, which is out of the builder’s control, you don’t want to go through the same process again – plan ahead.
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Communicate with your dedicated contact.
Throughout the process you will be introduced to your dedicated contact. These are the people to help you with any questions or concerns you have. Stick to that person. If you can’t be in contact with them at a certain time, don’t start your story with someone else. Likewise, make sure that you feel well-informed and happy with each stage of the process.
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Organise site visits rather than going onto the site yourself.
It is unsafe to step onto the site without having Work Health Safety training. The best way to visit your site is to schedule visits with your construction supervisor.
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Be reasonable with your builder when weather delays work.
While the setback can be frustrating, building work can’t go on in extreme wind or rain. If the weather does delay your build, have understanding that a builder with multiple jobs on the go will attend to the oldest ones first when the weather clears – they may not be on your job on the first dry day.
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Don’t forget to compliment good work along the way.
Builders take pride in their work and like to feel appreciated. Likewise, if there’s anything you’re unhappy with, make sure you communicate this with your dedicated contact that way the issue can be resolved as quickly as possible without too many people getting involved.
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Have patience.
This is sometimes the most important advice when building a home. Quality work takes time. Enjoy watching the home come to life.