iCowboy
So you want to find a reputable builder.
GOOD LUCK!!!!
The residential sector is one of if not the greatest scams currently. They will lock you in with promises and words and take a pocket full of your money. Because you are afraid to lose that deposit you will continue with the process because you feel obligated and well they have your money. Listen to your gut and walk away from that $5K plus. They are sales men, the more they sell you the more you want it because we all want the best but are rarely able to afford it. Manage your expectations.
The system is not designed to deliver on time, within budget, or to a high standard. You are extremely lucky if you tick one of these boxes. If you are successful, please let us know. What we all need to consider is many of todays building contractors were those once employed builders who were responsible for building many of the leaky homes. Those homes leaked because the designated fasteners were “too dear” and replaced by fasteners not fit for purpose combined with a “we’ll give it a go attitude.” It was not a skills shortage, it was an expectation to “get it done” issue. If you think that’s changed, book yourself mental health services three years ahead of time as there is currently a waiting list of 2 years for mental health services and generally takes a year end to end to build your house. Don’t forget inflation, supply chain issues, and building contractors charging higher prices for labour but still baying apprentices $20 an hour to build your house when they charge you $70 plus hourly to $120(“labour shortage”) for that $20 apprentice the government ends up covering with their apprenticeship programme that pays an employer $300 or so a week to develop and train the apprentice.
A failure to manage expectations, a race to the bottom, and a non-litigious society holds builders/contractors to very little, if any to account. Your best protection is protecting you from yourself. Your second best protection is to hire a lawyer who’s ‘specialty’ is construction law and third you may want to hire your own project manager. It cost $$$, but home building budgets are being blown out on average of $100K. And that is not an accident. It is by design. They work on commission.
The odds are stacked against home owners because we are very trusting, we don’t like to make a fuss and complain, we don’t know contract law, we don’t know the process, builders will stack the odds in their favor, and the government stacks the construction disputes process against home owners.
Residential building companies know this and they capitalise on this. It all comes down to the wording in the contract and eventually enforcement as they attempt to use substituted material in Covid times and cheap labour. Most of us are not qualified to interpret building contracts, and a large number of “professionals” are not either. Maybe take up religion and pray as well.