When you’ve found the perfect piece of property for your home or real estate investment, the next step is to find the right construction company. It’s essential to select the right company in order to ensure your initial investment is protected and to give you the best possible future outcome for the project. There are lots of different construction companies out there, but they definitely are not all equal.
Look For a Construction Company With Relevant Experience
First, you should choose a construction company that specializes in the kind of work you need to be done. Construction styles vary greatly between commercial and residential. They also vary greatly between materials used. If you’re looking for a construction company for a commercial steel beam building, you wouldn’t hire a company that’s only done wood residential projects. Similarly, if you have a pole building to construct, you’ll want to hire a construction company with that exact kind of construction experience. Read more here. You can easily narrow down your choices by reviewing the project portfolios of construction companies in your area. Once you find some that do similar work, move on to the following list of seven key features you need to look for when choosing the right construction company for your building project.
1. Longevity In Business
In the construction world, companies come and go. The good ones survive and the other ones go out of business due to poor quality. When choosing a construction company for your building project, look for one that has been in business for as many years as you see fit. It bears repeating that the longer a construction company has been around, the more likely it is that they know what they’re doing and they do good work.
2. Financial Stability
Another key feature to look for in a construction company is financial stability. Construction companies have quite a few expenses to take care of in order to complete a job. They have to payroll, tax payments, equipment lease payments, travel expenses, and all sorts of miscellaneous costs. This all comes out of the company account – or it should. Some nefarious construction companies that aren’t financially stable may rely on the latest client payment to fund older projects. Companies like these don’t manage their finances well and end up using your money to finish off another customer’s job. Meanwhile, when it comes time to start on your project they come up short until they can find yet another customer.
3. Sound Management
The construction company should have a sound management system in place that includes a general contractor, site security personnel, assistant managers, crew supervisors at a bare minimum. Construction companies that try to operate with a skeleton management system often end up disappointing customers because there isn’t sufficient supervision on the job site.
4. Sustainable And Eco-Friendly Work Practices
If eco-construction is important to you, then you should seek out a construction company that is LEED-certified or at least tries to use sustainable materials and eco-friendly construction practices. If you’re going for a building that you ultimately want to be LEED-certified, you will be forced to choose a construction team that is also LEED-accredited. If eco-friendly construction isn’t important to you, it’s safe to not worry about this feature. If you don’t, however, you should realize that there may end up being a lot of material and hazardous waste from the project. Disposal of these materials will most likely come out of your pocket.
5. Insured
Your building permit from the town may be contingent upon you hiring a construction company with a certain minimum insurance coverage. Liability insurance is an important consideration when hiring anyone to work on your property. Typically, a two million dollar liability policy is standard. Be sure to ask for and retain a copy of the certificate, which should name you or your building project company as the covered party.
6. References
Most construction companies will have a website and an online portfolio of completed projects for you to review. However, you should also ask for some references along with contact emails or phone numbers. Contact a handful of past clients to find out how the construction company was to work with. Specific questions to ask include, was the project completed on time, was the budget adhered to, and if there were any issues, did the company satisfactorily take care of them. If the company rep can’t supply at least three references for you to contact, this is a sign that you might want to continue looking elsewhere for a construction company.
7. Good Rapport
Most importantly, you should be able to have a good rapport with any construction company you plan to hire for your project. Communication is the foundation of a successful construction project. Without it, there can be misunderstandings, intimidation, and mistakes that cannot be rectified. Be very certain that there is trust and respect between you and the construction company representative. It’s important that you feel that your opinions are being listened to and that you have input as to how you’d like the final project to come out. Finally, pay attention to how the subordinates at the company respond to the company rep. Do they appear confident in their job? Or do they seem intimidated or frightened of the boss? Frightened workers can be afraid to speak up if they see something wrong on the job site, which is not conducive to a safe work environment.
Once you’ve found the perfect property, the best construction company for the job will be one that meets all or most of the above features. Don’t be afraid to take your time choosing which one. Before going ahead with any home renovation work, we always recommend getting multiple quotes so you can compare the service and price. You’ll be working with whomever you choose for the duration of the project, which could take many months. You’ll be glad you chose a company that you can rely on to do the job right.
