Before you engage a builder to build or renovate your home, make sure you do your homework and ask these 10 important questions:
1. Are you a registered builder?
Only builders that are registered with the Victorian Builders Association (VBA) can carry out domestic building works and enter into domestic building contracts. To confirm that your builder is registered, you may request to see you builder’s qualifications. Alternatively, you may conduct a practitioner search on the VBA website.
2. Will I be insured?
If the cost of your domestic building works is $12,000 or more, your builder will need to obtain home warranty insurance and provide you with a copy of the policy.
This will protect you in the event that your builder dies, becomes insolvent or disappears before the works have been completed.
3. Have you been involved in any domestic building disputes?
To get an idea of your builder’s reliability and professionalism, find out whether they have been involved any disputes.
To do this, you may ask your builder directly. Alternatively, you may check with the Victorian Builders Commission. However, to be sure, you may want to do both.
4. Have you ever declared bankruptcy?
If your builder confirms that he or she has declared in the past, remember:
- Old habits die hard; and
- Proceed with caution!
The last thing that you want is your builder declaring bankruptcy half-way through completing your works.
5. Do you specialise in my type of building work?
This is very important because building and/or renovating requires you to take a leap of faith. You want to be certain that your builder has the necessary knowledge, skill and experience to perform the works.
6. Who will be performing the works?
Having your builder on-site is vital if you want your works to run smoothly and according to time.
When on on-site, your builder should be supervising and coordinating the work – particularly if any work is being sub-contracted.
7. Who you can contact?
Depending on which builder you choose, you may be dealing with the same person throughout the entire project. Conversely, you may have to deal with several different people – from receptionists, estimators, project managers, superintendents and/or sub-contractors.
Whatever the case may be, ensure that you know how your builder works and who you can contact if you have any queries or concerns. Not only will this allow you to compare and contrast with other builders and determine who is right for you, but it will also ensure that everyone is clear about what works need to be performed.
8. Can I view your past work?
Make sure you ask to view some of your builder’s past work. This will give you an opportunity to inspect the quality of his or her workmanship and to speak to former clients about their experience with the builder.
You should be very cautious of builders who refuse your request to view their past work. Remember, a good builder will not have anything to hide and won’t have an issue with this.
9. What other projects are you working on?
Needless to say, if a builder is committed to an overwhelming number of projects at once, it is very unlikely that he or she will be in a position to give your project the necessary attention and dedication.
10. Can you achieve what I want?
By asking your builder this question, not only will immediately know if the work you want performed is realistic and feasible, but also, if your builder is in a position to deliver.
