Chris and I want to share what we’ve learned and our experience working in the home and real estate industry for many years to help you create the best possible experience during your home renovation!
It can be a scary process when you begin a home remodel. There are many emotions that go into renovating your home. Trusting someone with your home and putting it in their hands to bring your vision to life can be nerve wrecking. Placing your hard earned resources into your remodel also adds tremendous pressure. You’ve worked incredibly hard to acquire the resources to even begin remodeling your home, and now that you are here we want to help guide you through two potential problems that may arise while working with a contractor. We’re sharing the top two things that can go wrong when you hire a contractor and how to avoid them to create the best possible experience during your home remodel!
Over the years we’ve have heard some real horror stories from friends that have hired contractors to complete a home renovation project. Most of the problems we’ve heard stem from two primary areas;
1) COMMUNICATION: Many people have felt that the contractor just didn’t listen to their goals. And the contractor did not give clear and consistent updates as to progress and/or challenges.
Communication needs to be more than verbal conversations. Clearly defined goals written on a scope of work document is a must! Without your goals written down it creates gray areas or confusion. From our experience, if it’s not written down, it won’t likely happen. Also, make sure the scope of work document shows a start date and completion date. Confirm how updates on the progress of your home will be communicated so you know if things are on schedule. Over communicating, written communication and getting rid of any gray areas is the key to a smooth renovation!
2) BUDGET: This is by far the most communicated problem of renovation projects. Many people feel like they are being taken advantage of when budgets rise and there is no clear communication that helps them understand why.
The budget also has to be well communicated, clear and concise. Have clear budgets been listed on the contract associated to the scope of work? The scope of work defined on your contract should be accompanied with a firm budget. The only thing that should alter the budget is a CHANGE ORDER. A change order falls under one of two categories; a) the client has determined they want to change something from the original scope of work as defined in contract or b) once the contractor initiated work, there were unknown issues that must be resolved. Meaning things they could not see when providing the budget. This could be things like plumbing issues behind walls, dry rot of subfloor or problems with electrical. The change order(s) should be part of the contract and be signed by you and your contractor.
It is possible to complete a home renovation project and be happy with the experience! Over communicating and having a clear budget will help to make this exciting time less stressful and more enjoyable!
-Chris & Mitzi