5 Benefits of Hiring Contractors for Your Modular Home Project
Purchasing a modular home is one of life’s biggest and most exciting investments. It can be daunting to construct a home that you and your family will be happy with for a large portion of your lives. But many people do it successfully every day and there’s no reason why you can’t be one of them. That’s why I have put together some valuable information to guide you in this significant journey.
Despite your entire modular home being built in a factory, many crucial details must be implemented before and after the home is set to complete the project. The foundation must be excavated and poured, the well and septic must be dug and installed, and the mechanicals will need to be finished once the home is set. If your project includes a porch and a garage, those two items will need to be given a few weeks to be completed as well, particularly if you decided to go all out with a spacious three car garage and a beautiful wrap around porch.
What is a contractor?
Let’s review why it is so important to hire the professionals to complete your modular home build. But first, let me explain what type of professionals I’m referring to. The first professional is the General Contractor. He enters a contract with you and the lender funding your construction loan. He provides a document detailing the price of construction for all required site work before and after the home is set. This document will also include his Contractor fee and costs for obtaining building permits. He is a licensed General Contractor and carries Liability insurance that covers any unfortunate mishaps. To ensure a successful partnership, I recommend doing due diligence on a General Contractor’s work experience and history with previous customers. An excellent General Contractor will have a high standard of quality work, a good working relationship with other local contractors, and will be skilled in communicating and coordinating the stages of every project. He is the head honcho of all the construction that will take place on your property before and after the home is set. Your garage, porch, and driveway are all projects that must be completed after the modular home is securely installed on your foundation.
This brings us to our next set of professionals, the subcontractors that will be working under the General Contractor. These subcontractors are licensed in a particular trade like plumbing, electrical, and hvac. The General Contractor will evaluate which subcontractors are suitable and he will personally oversee them until their part of the project is completed. He will be working with their schedules and dealing with any complications that spring up during the project. He has the knowledge and the skill set to fix any issue on the job site. The General Contractor will contact you if anything needs to deviate from the original plan set in place. As long as you keep yourself available to take his calls, there should be no problem that can’t be resolved. Now that we’ve reviewed what a contractor is, let’s check out the five benefits of hiring contractors.
1. You save money in the long run.
You may be a jack of all trades and desire to cut costs up front by doing the labor on your plumbing. If you were to buy all the materials and set aside the many hours required to properly plumb a house, you would be taking a substantial risk. Contractors not only get contractor pricing on materials, they are liable and responsible for the work they do in your modular home. If you were to tackle the project yourself and do something incorrectly, you are liable for the damages and may have to pay a professional to fix your mistakes. Contractors work in their area of expertise on a daily basis and will effectively and efficiently complete their designated project in a much shorter time frame. Contractors also have long standing working relationships with other subcontractors and often work out a lower price for the particular part of the project. Remember, they do all facets of construction work on a daily basis. Their experience and craftsmanship is an invaluable resource.
2. Regulations and Codes
Not only are contractors efficient and effective in their work, they are also licensed, insured and well versed on state building codes. A home inspector will review the mechanicals, roof, gutters, ceilings, walls, floors, windows, foundation and all structural components. Hiring the right contractors who will follow the building codes the first time, will ensure a smooth and successful final inspection. Every stage in the building process needs to successfully flow to the next so that the entire project can be completed on time, and done right I might add!
3. Faster
Most construction loans are twelve months long. Lenders want to give you adequate time to complete the building process meanwhile maintaining a deadline to keep each stage progressing. To ensure every stage of the build is successful and completed in a timely manner, hiring a good contractor is a must. Contractors are experienced and accurate at estimating time constraints for each stage of the project. With the right subcontractors working beneath them, they can get things done quickly and efficiently. Your responsibility lies in taking the time to consistently communicate with your General Contractor about the ongoing costs and timeline of projects getting done. If you work together on these two things, success is imminent.
4. Peace of Mind.
Ultimately, you want your building project to be done with excellence and to meet the criteria you have been carefully planning for months. Building a home may seem simple enough, but there is a plethora of details that go into each stage of the building process. You can’t skip one step or half finish another. If you were to forgo the contractors and tackle any of the projects yourself, you’re pitting yourself up against a time limit and potentially asking for failure. When you’re working a full time job and trying to work under the pressure of a time limit, things can go awry. If you combine the pressure of a project with a lack of experience, hang ups can materialize pretty quickly. Hiring a contractor with a good reputation and adequate credentials will give you the peace of mind you need to know the project is in good hands and each stage will be completed in a timely manner.
5. Project Funding.
Last but not least, project funding. Most banks will not fund your construction loan if you do not have a licensed General Contractor lined up with a document showing the breakdown of project costs. Lenders want the peace of mind that a professional General Contractor provides. They need to know that every cost has been accurately accounted for, all the construction on your property is insured, and that the project will be successfully completed within the allotted time. A construction loan is considered a risky venture for a lender, so they will do their due diligence to ensure all bases are covered. They need to see adequate financing, realistic timelines, and most importantly; a licensed General Contractor with good credentials and a stable work history.
Review the Benefits
So we’ve gone over the five main benefits of hiring a contractor. Let’s make a note on another important factor. You want to hire a contractor that has experience working with modular homes. When modular homes are delivered, set, and joined together, the work isn’t over. On average, a modular home comes in two modules. These two modules will be joined together at the marriage line, which is the shared wall between the two (or four, or six!) sections. Special care has to be taken to properly align the two modules, finish the exterior siding and shingles where they’re joined together, and patch up any drywall that’s been damaged during the delivery and set. It’s crucial to take particular care during this stage of the project so that future issues can be avoided!
Overall, contractors are the experts in their fields. They know the best subcontractors, they know what pitfalls to avoid, and they get you the best pricing on materials and labor. Reputable contractors have good relationships with local building suppliers that can schedule orders for them quickly and efficiently. This is a valuable resource when your project is on a time schedule and you need materials fast. Contractors can foresee a problem before it becomes a problem. They will provide you with invaluable time management on the project, helping you get done before the construction loan reaches the end of its twelve month term. The ten to twenty percent contractor fee they charge is well worth it. That ten to twenty percent can easily be consumed by unfortunate circumstances like a subcontractor not showing up and delaying the project by six weeks or a well not being installed properly. When it comes to building projects, obstacles or mistakes can rack up quite a large amount of money. Invest in yourself by investing in a contractor who will manage your modular home build well.
