By S Matthews

Whether you’re remodeling your bathroom, refinishing the basement or redoing your entire house, getting a good general contractor is imperative. He or she will not only make sure you have the result you want, but also get the right materials and keep you within your budget – and time frame.

Most of us don’t have the experience, skills or expertise required to do the work ourselves, which is why we hire a professional else to do it for us. But without this knowledge, how can we make sure we’re getting the right person – someone with not only the right talents and skills, but who also won’t rip us off?

Here are a few tried-and-tested tips to ensure you’re not only not out of pocket, but also that you are satisfied with the results of your project – and don’t pull out all your hair in the process:

* Prepare in advance as much as possible. You’ll avoid untold misunderstandings if you’re able to carefully explain to a potential contractor exactly what you want. Having vague ideas can mislead the people you want to work for you, and cause myriad potential problems in future. Do your homework and know what you want done, your budget, what type of materials you want used, and an estimated time frame in which you want the job completed.

* Shop around. Interview at least three candidates, either from happy customers, reputable firms like the Better Business Bureau, or online sources. Word-of-mouth is an excellent way to make sure you’re getting the right person. While Bob may sound as experienced as Mort, you may find that he has a reputation for being less than trust-worthy, honest and reliable. Be wary of contractors who seem desperate for work, who go door-to-door looking for jobs, or who offer you materials that are ridiculously cheap.

* Insist on seeing credentials. Not only should you ask to see a potential contractor’s license, you should also make sure they are insured for worker’s compensation, property damage and personal liability. Certain states have certain requirements: in Washington state, for example, general contractors submitting bids or advertising in the state must be registered with the L&I, or Department of Labor and Industries, carry general liability insurance and post a $12,000 bond.

You might also want to make sure that your contractor is up-to-date with what’s going on in the building world. Someone who is continuing their education by participating in seminars and courses to keep up their qualifications may be more on the ball than someone who last sat in a classroom way back in 1933.

* Check references. Try to get them from their suppliers as well as past customers, and learn about their payment history. Ask also how many similar types of jobs they have done in the past, and what potential difficulties they encountered. You may even want to view some of their work to get an idea of their style and how they do things – if they are reluctant to pass on names, you should be equally reluctant to hire them. Also, ask if they have the necessary permits required to do the job.

* Discuss potential problems in advance – and how your potential contractors will deal with them. Think about what will happen if you go over budget or experience clean-up problems, and see how they will act. Also, ask if they will use sub-contractors and what their general style is when they come to managing others. Insist that everything be as transparent as possible to avoid any nasty surprises. You might want to put an agreed-on plan for resolving disputes in your contract.

* Get involved in a bidding war before finally committing. It’s always recommended to have at least three bids for each project. Insist on formal, written bids and not informal, verbal ones, and go over the fine print carefully before agreeing to anything.

* Go with your gut instinct. When all is said and done, there is nothing like going with your gut. If the two of you have wildly different tastes or just plain old don’t like each other’s personalities, stay far, far away. A great guy who just doesn’t shut up or who has an offensive body odor, for example, may not be someone you want in your home every day for the next six months. Even if you think they wouldn’t do a bad job, do you really thin you could stand having them around?

Hiring a good contractor isn’t brain surgery, although at times it may feel as difficult and even more tricky. Find someone whose style you think you like, then look into the details. If your do your homework properly, investigate a myriad of options and have everything down in writing before you begin, you’ll encounter far less problems than if you jump into the proverbial bed with the first contractor you meet.

Sarah Matthews is a writer for Yodle, a business directory and online advertising company. Find a Healer at Yodle Local or more Health & Medicine articles at Yodle Consumer Guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=S_Matthews

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by Gavin J. King

The hardest part about building your home may be choosing your building lot. Things like location, price, applicable taxes, zoning and density laws and building permits may be just a few of the issues you will be dealing with in getting your buildsite approved for construction.

Construction Loans

Banks, credit unions, and mortgage lending companies will give you finance options for your home. Prices range depending on the type and size of home you are planning to have built. Using an architect to draw up your plans will help you get the base price down. Your money lender will always want to see the home plans before lending you any money.

Find An Architect

From California to New York to Arkansas, home plans include foundation, framing, siding, plumbing and electrical details, and can range from as little as $600, to as much as several thousand. Hiring the wrong architect can cause you several severe problems, so don’t do it hastily. Then take these plans and prices to your lender, and see what they will offer you in terms of financing.

Don’t Be Too Rigid

Having a custom home built is an enormous project. Expecting the unexpected will help you deal with the inevitable weather delays for contractor disputes so be prepared. You need to be flexible and patient, and know that in order to have your dream home built, it will take time.

Following through to the end of the project is the goal, so don’t take your eye off the ball. As with so many other things in life, you just have to keep pushing and step by step you will reach your goal and complete building your dream home. If you don’t spend time doing this you may wash out at some phase, and that can cost you thousands of dollars.

Utilizing this outline will keep you focused. Spending your time learning about construction and improving on your own knowledge base will help you understand what is going on in each phase, and keep you in the know on your home construction.

About the Author:

The author enjoys writing articles about realtor in boise idaho & boise idaho real estate. Click on the above links to learn more about these topics!

When ready to start your construction make sure to learn how to submit your material lists to receive the best possible bids from suppliers.

by Tom Sawyer

Recessions may mean hard times for businesses, but they also are mothers of invention. Entrepreneurs head for their garages and workshops, and business types get busy thinking up new ways to compete. Frederick Cann, a residential and light-commercial contractor based in Medford, N.Y., has done that, and came up with www.BidForMaterials.com, a kind of dating service for contractors and suppliers.

“During this recession, all us contractors have done nothing but scramble for work, and the way to get more work is to be more competitive and manage money better,” says Cann, now president of the enterprise he and two partners quietly launched in October. “I started thinking about construction materials and pricing, and I reached out to the Internet to see if there was a buying program. I found buying programs for cars and appliances, but I found nothing for the general construction industry, so I developed the website. All it does is connect suppliers and contractors.”

It is a simple concept and the business model seems to be simple, too. Contractors pay $50 a month for an annual subscription to join the system. Suppliers use it for free. Contractors post their bill of materials and invite suppliers to bid. Suppliers and contractors can open a dialogue through the site to exchange additional information. When they have a deal, the contractor clicks a button to “accept bid” and then conduct the rest of the transaction as usual.

But the business plan behind Cann’s project is a good bit more elaborate. The goal is to line up a sales agent for each state and divide each state into regions, with a subagent for each region. The plan is to sign up at least three suppliers for every major building product category in each region to ensure competitive bids. “We have 37 states covered,” Cann says. “But we are still looking for salespeople, and we are open to subagents in any region. The more the merrier.”

Cann now has four partners: a developer, a real estate agent, a commercial contractor and a plumbing contractor.

In the first three months 728 suppliers have signed up, Cann says. The company plans to launch its marketing program to contractors at the International Builders Show, in Las Vegas, on Jan. 19. But even without marketing, 42 contractors who happened upon the site have signed up for the service, says Cann.

Long Island-based BidForMaterials.com welcomes experiences contractor Mark Seiden into its
partnership.

Long Island, NY November 13, 2009- An exciting new player in the field of
construction supplies has grown yet again. Only months into its operation, Long
Island-based BidForMaterials.com has seen rapid expansion in its field, and
recently added a wealth of experience and know how by welcoming Mark Seiden
as a new partner.

Seiden brings 25 years of experience in general contracting and construction
management to BidForMaterials.com. His understanding of the value of the
company to both suppliers and contractors alike is a boon to the newly launched
company. He describes a recent experience using the site, which led to his interest
in the partnership. “I had to find an expensive fixture for a local job. Since I was
able to search out-of-state suppliers, I ended up finding it for half the price of a
local supplier.”

BidForMaterials.com allows contractors and suppliers from all over the country to
use their website to contact one another, in an effort to lower prices for contractors
and help suppliers to reach new customers. A contractor can post a supply request
on the website, and suppliers from all over the country can bid on the request,
encouraging competition and increasing contractor’s bottom-line. Mark Seiden saw
the site’s potential right away. “As a contractor, I immediately saw what
BidForMaterials.com could do,” he said. “Before, contractors were ‘locked-in’ with
local suppliers. Now, our company helps to free them by opening up a much larger
group of suppliers.”

Seiden’s personal experience in the field led him to the discovery of the website’s
greatest feature: competitive pricing. “The greatest cost for contractors is the
supplies we use,” says Seiden. “Most contractors don’t have the time of the
resources to solicit multiple bids. With BidForMaterials.com, a contractor can
quickly and easily post one proposal and very quickly, up to 40 suppliers will offer
up their bids. This is invaluable for contractors who want to save both time and
money.”

For more information, please refer to the company’s website,
www.bidformaterials.com, or contact Mark Seiden.
Contact:
Mark Seiden, Partner
Bid For Materials
516-790-5959
Mark@bidformaterials.com

Ron Gold President
Marketing Works
631-441-0176
Ron@marketingworkspr.com

by Nataly Andrews

It is not a simple thing to trust an outsider for the renovation of your house. Hence it is extremely important that the contractor is wisely chosen before the renovation is started. There are heaps of building contractors so making the right decisions will stop you experiencing another house renovation horror story. Here are some top tips to help you make the best decision as quickly as possible.

Before you appoint a contractor for your renovation project, list out all your requirements, as it is essential to take this decision cautiously so that the project proceeds precisely as you want it to. The following guidelines will help you through the process of hiring the best contractor for the task.

The best way to start is by talking to your friends and relatives. Ask for referrals and find out if the jobs done by those contractors are similar to the project you have in consideration. You can look for a contractor by consulting the Yellow Pages or use a good online search engine to look for contractors in your particular city. However, these sources must not be relied upon without cross checking their credibility.

The next move would be to discuss your renovation plans with the contractor. You should convey and clarify all your needs at this stage to ensure smooth work in future. Gauge your degree of ease with the contractor according to how responsive and committed he seems to be. If you are not very satisfied with the level of involvement he shows in the job or in your creative suggestions, it would be advisable to look for another contractor.

Go ahead and check out the houses he has renovated in past and talk to the people he has worked for to get a clear picture of his quality of work. The renovation projects he has done should reflect his talent and acumen and must live up to your expectations, so that you can depend on him and believe in him to properly renovate your house.

After you have found someone who perfectly fits your requirements, the next step is to negotiate a good pricing, for which you should have some idea of the existing market prices. Once this factor is successfully dealt with, you can look forward to an excellent home renovation project.

About the Author:

Discover more about Interior Design and discover how property renovation increases the net worth of your property very fast.

Virtual marketplace lets suppliers bid to win construction jobs

By Ambrose Clancy

Nobody understands the concept that time is money better than a contractor.

Just listen to Frederick Cann, a veteran contractor of 20 years based in Huntington: “Sometimes it takes two days to get a lead for a job, two days to prepare a proposal and then three days to get the prices of the material you need. Finding the right price takes only one thing, which is time. But time today is not easy to come by.”

Cann found himself going to different suppliers, asking them if they could match the last quote he got. Often a supplier would tell him he could give him half of what he needed cheaper than other suppliers.

“Eventually you’d get your order from three different people,” he said, which complicated and lengthened the process.

Cann figured out a way to shorten the process of finding materials prices to just  a few keystrokes.

Along with partners Tom Costarelli and Allen Weinstein, Cann created Bid For Materials, a national online service which allows contractors to post a detailed request for materials needed for a job. Suppliers then quote prices on the materials, creating, in effect, a bidding war.

Launched just two weeks ago, the online company has already signed up 300 suppliers across the country and is now lining up contractors. Suppliers are listed free of charge, and contractors – involved in all trades – pay a $50 monthly fee.

New ideas are welcome in an industry which has been hammered by the recession.  Recently the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that workers in the construction industry accounted for one-third of the jobs lost this past summer.

Keith Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said that since the beginning of the recession, 1.4 million individuals in the construction trades are out of work. Nationally the industry unemployment rate is 16.5 percent, compared to the overall unemployment rate of 9.7 percent.

“While most Americans are experiencing a recession, construction workers are being forced to cope with depression-like conditions,” Simonson said.

Bid For Materials works simply, Cann said. An example would be a contractor getting a job requiring 10,000 square feet of acoustical tile. One the Web site he would post what was needed and registered suppliers would bid to supply the tiles.

There is also a comment section for the supplier to ask questions about the materials and the job. The contractor can then pick and choose among the bidding suppliers.

Scott Boerckel, a contractor and owner of Bethpage’s East Coast Dormer, which is involved in modular construction, said even though the cost of materials has been going down due to weak demand, he believed Cann’s idea would be successful. “[Bid For Materials] seems like a really good idea,” Boerckel said.

Mark Levine of Freeport’s Green Art Plumbing Supply said the only downside of the new online service is that a personal relationship with the individual contractors would be lost. Green Art has been in business more than 60 years and has developed strong partnerships with contractors, going out of their way to get prices quickly for strong customers.

“Guys come in and have a three-page list and say they need an hour to get their bids in on a job, we’ll work with them,” Levine said.

But benefits outweigh any drawbacks. “This will create new customers for me if my price is right and I’m competitive,” he said.

“If you’re a contractor still in business, you know you’re making it through the storm,” Cann said. “This site will help ensure you’ll survive because it’s guaranteed to save you time and money.”

Cann is already measuring his success by the number of calls he’s received from major manufacturers. And someone is already interested in buying the Web site, he said.