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Most renovation disasters don’ t begin with fraud, they begin with misaligned expectations, poor communication and rushed decisions. There is a general lack of trust around the building industry, with homeowners worried about choosing the right architect or builder who have likely heard horror stories about cowboy builders or renovations going thousands of pounds over budget.
They are also worried about being able to understand or trust tradespeople’ s information and quotes, and even then the slightest issue on the building site can lead to a breakdown of trust. Builders meanwhile are worried that their clients may decide not to pay or hold back payment, unfairly affecting their cashflow and ability to run their businesses properly.
All of this is backed up by countless TV shows highlighting these problems, which do make compelling viewing, but the reality is that there are many great homeowners and many great builders just looking to connect to deliver projects on time- and in budget- with a minimal amount of stress.
The solution? There are three key areas which help reduce risks: preparation, information and communication.
PREPARATION
Taking your time at each step of the process is very important. Using downtime to prepare for the next step can keep things moving forward when you feel the project is on hold.
For example, are you waiting for your architect to get the drawings ready for planning submission? Use the time to work on your priority list for the build … What are your must-haves? And what are just your nice-to-haves?
Waiting for the builder’ s start date? Use this time to make sure your budget covers all finishing items. You can also use this waiting time to prepare the house for the impending disruption by packing up boxes for storage or getting a temporary kitchen ready. At every point you can be thinking about the next step; you will regularly be required to make decisions and being prepared for those is key to making better ones.
INFORMATION
Architects, builders or tradespeople need the right level of information to do their job properly, and the homeowner needs the right level of information to make the best possible decisions.
Take the builder that’ s quoting for your project. Too little information means they don’ t have the information they need to quote for everything, which will probably mean several items are missing, not clearly defined, or have provisional sums next to them. And without clear definition, it’ s very hard to know whether this allowance will cover what you’ re thinking of or not. This is one of the most common causes of budget overruns.
On the flip side, too much information can also cause problems. For most builders, time for quoting is limited and being presented with pages of detail can be incredibly hard to process within normal timeframes. This could lead to a preferred builder being put off or quoting higher prices just so they know they are covered. Again, this doesn’ t help you know what your build will cost. By presenting the right level of information, you can give the builder what they need to provide a thorough quote, without it impacting on their time.
COMMUNICATION
Communication is an often overlooked factor when it comes to your working relationships with the people delivering your project. Generally, a huge number of issues throughout the process could have been avoided with better communication.
As we saw in the project quote example above, communicating the right amount of information to the builders means they can be confident they are providing a quote that covers the project you have in mind. And what about the information you get back? This needs to be communicated to you in the right way, so you understand everything in your quote and both parties are fully aware of the expectations at all levels of the build.
Another key area is the on-site communication when the build starts. It is always worth discussing with your shortlisted builders how they do this- will there be regular site meetings? Who is the point of contact for questions? Understanding how a builder operates and making sure they understand your requirements should be sorted before you start.
IN A NUTSHELL, WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
• Don’ t rush anything- bad decisions are often the hasty ones.
• Work on your priority list- building is always about compromise so prepare for making choices by knowing your priorities.
• Know your project- asking questions and being clued up on your project helps with making decisions.
• Have your information prepared and if you’ re missing anything, ask for it.
• Make sure you have an open, constructive dialogue with everyone. Take note if you are not getting clear communications back from tradespeople when you’ re making your hiring decisions.
• Trust the process- it is very easy for working relationships to fall apart at the first sign of a problem and for panic to set in.
The best renovation projects aren’ t the ones without problems, they’ re the ones where expectations, budgets and communications are aligned from the outset. People often think successful projects come down to luck. In reality, they come down to preparation.
Build Budget Expert Owen Gartside is speaking at the Homebuilding & Renovating Show, Sandown Park, 27-28 June. To claim two FREE show tickets visit: homebuildingshow. co. uk / pr-generaloutlets. Join Owen’ s online community at skool. com / the-build-budget-collective.
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