Size Matters: Choose Your Builder Wisely

By Jon Solomon

The low-bid, small, budget builder will cost you more in both dollars and frustration than you realize.

The survival rate of builders is the lowest of any small business category.  Everyone has a friend or has personally experienced the “horror stories” about building a new home.  If you dig deeper into these failures and stories, you'll gain insight on some key red flags.  Sometimes size matters when it comes to builders, but more important are the people and processes needed to deliver a successful custom home.  Here are some builder stereotypes to avoid.

• The Jack-of-all-Trades Builder:  This builder doesn't have their staff in clearly defined roles with understood processes.  Like the saying goes, they are masters of none.  Without appropriately focused resources, a complex custom home becomes an endless fire drill with constant chaos.
• The Lone Builder:  This builder typically talks about their nimbleness and the personal attention they supposedly provide.  With a company of 1 or 2 people, if the builder is on the job site all day, every day, who is running the business?  Remember the builder must market, sell, schedule sub-contractors, pay bills, etc.  Can anyone really do all this and successfully deliver the right attention to detail?
• The Understaffed Builder:  This type of builder simply spreads their staff too thin.  Can a construction manager really supervise 8, 10 or 12 homes at the same time?  I guess it's possible, if poor quality and schedule delays are acceptable.

By contrast, the larger, well-organized builder can coordinate the many details required of dozens of employees, suppliers, and subcontractors, who need to start and finish at just the right time. The well-organized builder has the people and processes to smoothly manage all these moving parts.  When adequate staffing is available, customers get better service, jobs stay on schedule, and the inevitable issues that come up during a complex project get addressed more efficiently.

Here's the bottom line, the larger, well-organized builder can build homes faster than the small builder — often months faster if it’s a large home. Most homeowners are paying construction loan interest and real estate taxes during the build, along with current living costs, so this saves real money.  Put these savings and decreased aggravation in your pocket by working with a professional builder with solid people and processes.

Contact us to learn more.

Javic Homes is Tampa Bay’s Only Southern Living Custom Builder. We are currently building the 2014 Southern Living Showcase Home that will open on March 27, 2014.  Visit TampaShowcaseHome.com to learn more.

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