Picking a good contractor
The first step in building a home is to find a good contractor and then check their references. Here are some tips in helping you in your search:

• Talk to a realtor. When it comes to contractors realtors really know their stuff. They know most, if not all the ins and outs of home construction and they can help save you time and money in the process.


• Talk with family and friends. Another good resource for finding a good contractor is to talk with family and friends. You're bound to find someone that has worked with a contractor or knows one in the area that they like.


• Talk with the city. If you go down to the city building there are ways you can find out about local contractors to see if they're actually licensed and talk with individuals about their track record.

Tips for builder and contractor references and terms
The next step in the building process is to check references. There are several different ways you can go about doing this. Let's talk about what you can do about finding good references.

1. Talking with previous customers is one way of finding some good references. Ask the contractor to give you 4 or 5 names of projects they have done so you can give them a call to talk with them. Some questions you might want to ask them are: How well did the contractor stay one schedule? How happy were they with the finished results? Does the contractor communicate well with the buyers? Were there any concerns? Make sure you call them without the contractor present.


2. Another ways to check on references is to actually go and visit homes the contractor has built. This will give you an even better idea of what their work looks like and you can then talk with the buyers in person. You will want to ask most of the same questions we've talked about as well as any other questions you need answered.


3. It's also a good idea to visit projects that are partially finished so you can see the quality of work in different stages.

Some other important tips regarding builders and contractors

• Always check for the contractor's license. If you're going to pay big money for a contractor then make sure they're licensed. Check with the state's Contractor License Board. This will help you confirm whether or not they are licensed. Don't just take their word for it. Ask to see their pocket license as well as other forms of identification.


• Always make sure they are insured. You shouldn't be expected to buy insurance to cover the job.

Hopefully these tips for checking builder and contractor references will help get you started down the right path for building your dream home.