How To Hire The Right Builder
Finding reliable, responsive and quality trades for your projects is one of, if not, the most common challenges new and experienced property investors and developers face.
The challenge has intensified recently with the property market booming in the UK, following the coronavirus pandemic. Builder's are in high demand and the cost and availability of building materials have skyrocketed which doesn’t help the price and timescale of your development.
So how do you find a good builder?
In this blog we are going to share our tried and tested vetting system, T.I.P.S for hiring trades. Follow this process to help you find the right builder for your next property development project.
Our T.I.P.S. system has evolved from our experience of managing difficult, poor quality trades and conversely, having really positive experiences with trades who make refurbishing a property a much better experience
There are four steps to our system, let's break them down:
STEP ONE: THEIR EXPERIENCE
First and foremost you need to find a builder and trades with a great deal of experience carrying out the type of build you are looking to complete. What type of refurbishments do they do, day in and day out? Do they specialise in dormer and loft conversions? How many HMO refurbishments have they completed and how many are they currently working on? Are commercial conversions to small flat schemes (1-10) their bread and butter? Make sure your build type, whether its standard buy to lets, HMOs, big or small flat schemes, extensions, or dormer and loft conversions, is right down their fairway.
Next, ask to speak to some of their clients (past and present) to understand their experience dealing with the builder. Here are some key questions to ask:
Did the build run on time? What were the delays?
Were the builders tidy on site?
When variations to the schedule of work and price came up, how were these communicated and dealt with?
What came up during the snagging process? i.e. messy paintwork, leaks
Have any issues come up after the build? If so, what were they and how did the builder rectify them?
What was the builder like with administration and paperwork? i.e. invoicing, issuing safety certificates at the end of the build.
STEP TWO: INSPECT QUALITY
The best way to check the quality of the builder's work is to see their projects. Firstly, go and see a completed project so you can inspect the quality of the finish. Decoration and carpentry play a big part in the quality of the finish. Check for patchy walls and paint drips. Are the skirting boards and door architraves neatly mitred? Run your hands over the bathroom tiles, are they flat and level. Are the grout lines even?
All of these small details add up to create a high quality finish.
Secondly, see a project that’s in refurbishment so you can inspect the bones of the property. Are electrical cables neatly laid? Is the stud work straight? What insulation is being used? Is health and safety being taken seriously? Once you are happy with the quality of their work at different stages of a refurbishment, progress to step 3.
STEP THREE: PRICE POINT
In our experience, you get what you pay for. If you pick the cheapest builder to save costs, you will end up paying the difference later on in remedial work, endless maintenance or in the worst case, having to pull them off site and get new trades in. Similarly, you don’t want to be overpaying for work, pricing yourself out of deals or risk your refurb budget spiralling out of control during the build.
When you're starting out it's hard to know what a fair price is. Asking advice from a more experienced investor in your network or working with a mentor is a great way to help you avoid making such mistakes.
You also don’t want to be comparing apples with oranges so be sure to provide a detailed schedule of works and drawing package to each builder so that the quotes you receive are like for like. Before you start comparing the price, ensure the scope of work, specification and finishes are the same. If you don’t have a project for a builder to quote on, ask them to send you a quote from a recent project they’ve done that is the same build type and schedule of works you’d expect your next project to be.
STEP FOUR: SHARED VALUES
The last step of the process is understanding if the builder shares the same values as you and is someone you know, like and trust. We rely heavily on the build teams we employ to deliver a quality product. You don’t want that relationship to go sour because you aren’t singing from the same hymn sheet from day one.
Knowing their values and true personality is hard to grasp from your first meeting as everyone is on their best behavior. Pay attention to your first impression though and what your intuition is telling you.
How do they present themselves?
Are they clean and tidy?
Are they wearing company branded attire?
Get a peek inside their vans, are they organised or a complete mess?
If professionalism and quality are important values to you then these are all indicators to look out for.
On your second and third meeting, dig deeper into their values. What is important to them? Speed, price or quality? Do they take pride in keeping themselves, their vans and building sites neat and tidy? Or are they less concerned as long as the build and their team are progressing through the work.
Shared values are important because when challenges crop up you want a builder who is more likely to handle and resolve the issue in the same manner as you would. It reduces frustration and friction which can occur when matters aren’t resolved in the way you’d expect or like.
So there you have it. Four easy to follow steps to help you find a builder for your next project.