Contracting with contractors, home contracting, sub contractors, contracting your house.

Dealing With Home Contractors

   First I will mention again that all home contractors and home subcontractors must have the appropriate home contracting licensing, bonding and insurance. Also be sure to get proof of these things from any of the sub contractors that your home contractors may hire.

   Next I should mention that all agreements you make on home contracting should be in writing, even when with friends or family! This is the only way that you can expect to keep tabs on everything when contracting. To rely on memory will get you nothing but trouble, even if your memory is perfect, because someone else's may not be.

    A wide variety of forms designed for home contracts can be found at most home office supply stores. You just fill in the terms and amounts of the contract. If possible, arrange your home contractors payout schedule to coincide with the inspection schedule of your local building department.

    If you have developed a good and complete plan for contracting your home, virtually nothing should be left open to interpretation of the contracts. Between blueprints, contractor specifications, codes and contracts with dollar amounts, everything should be covered. Each home contractors responsibility should be specified. All materials for the home should be specified. If you are to supply the pluming contractor and electrical contractor with fixtures that they are to install, it should say in the contract that installation of owner supplied fixtures by the contractors is included in the price.

    This also means that you are responsible for getting the correct fixture to the contractor when they are ready to install it. Buying fixtures through the contractor is less trouble but it may cost more. On the other hand, driving to an outlet, loading a bathtub in your car and then delivering it to the site the night before the plumbing contractor is due, may not be cost effective or fun. And if you do not get it there in time, the plumbing contractor will want to be paid for his time while he is waiting for your delivery!

   Work out a payment schedule with each home contractor. Some contractors will require partial payments along the way as you cannot expect them to finance your house to completion. Contractor payouts should be scheduled after inspection by the building department whenever possible. We do not recommend paying any contractors up front, and you should not pay for more work than has been completed by the contractors.

    The amount of each draw should be determined at the time a contract is signed. If a home contractor says he cannot start the job until he has a down payment, just say no and find someone else, or, if you really want to use that particular contractor, go to the bank and open an escrow account in both names with the payment schedule on it. That way you and the contractor protected from loss.

    If you have a home construction loan through a bank, they will determine the schedule for you, and you can be assured that the bank will not pay a contractor for work not done, and they will not pay any home contractor without getting a waiver of lien! Neither should you.

    There are situations when money must be paid up front to a contractor. One may be windows which must be ordered ahead of time and cannot be returned.

    Contractors are reluctant to place special orders without getting a down payment, since the contractors will be stuck with a product they don't need if you should change your mind. After all, home contractors have been taken advantage of as often as consumers.

    When contracting, having the money in escrow should alleviate the problem. If not, perhaps you can place and pay for the special orders yourself. Then you will be stuck with an unwanted product if the project does not go through, and not the contractors!

List of Sub Contractors