How to compare multiple Home Construction
Quotes and Contractor Bids
By: Mark J. Donovan
Deciding to build a new home or home
addition is an exciting time. It’s a chance to finally get the living space
you’ve always dreamed of, and it is also a great financial investment. As with
any major undertaking, however, building a new home or home addition is a
complex process and has many challenges. Chief amongst them is soliciting
contractors for home construction quotes. Obtaining home construction bids can
be challenging in many ways.
Home construction quotes are
rarely presented in the same way, and it is easy to become confused
comparing multiple home construction bids. In addition, determining if the
contractor bids are too expensive, and/or are open-ended, can be taxing on a
homeowner who has limited home construction knowledge. It can also be
difficult even to get home construction quotes from contractors,
particularly when housing construction is strong.
Complete Set of Home Construction
Plans
One way to help simplify the process
of reviewing home construction quotes and contractor bids is to thoroughly
define the home construction project you want performed. This is accomplished
via a complete set of home construction plans and specifications. By having a
complete set of house plans, the home construction quotation process should be
greatly simplified. With a complete set of house plans there are fewer variables
to arise in the construction bid.
Use of a Standard New Home
Construction Bid Sheet
Another simple solution is to use my
New Home Construction or Home Addition Bid Sheets. Each bid sheet includes a
separate “request for home construction quote” section that you can provide to
prospective home building contractors to get consistent and accurate quotes.
They also include a comprehensive cost breakdown table, in Microsoft Excel
format, that allows the home construction contractor to include his projected
costs for every phase of the project in the home construction quote.
Visit Home Improvement Centers
In regards to questioning individual
prices within a construction bid, the best way to determine if they are out of
line is to compare them against multiple home construction quotes. Again, if the
construction bid is itemized for every phase of the project it becomes easier to
make that comparison. For specific material costs, for example doors and
windows, visit your local home improvement center and compare prices. Understand
that the home construction contractor will charge you a premium as he has to
order and take delivery of the material.
In addition, as with any business,
the contractor has overhead costs associated with running his business and will
want to make some profit on his efforts.
With these simple tips, the process
of evaluating home construction quotes and contractor bids should be a whole lot
simpler, and your chances of a successful new home construction project are
greatly improved.
How to Finance your Home Remodeling Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required.
Additional Home Floor Plans and Home Addition Resources from Amazon.com
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