USING BUILDERS AND TRADESMEN – TIPS AND ADVICE FROM LETTINGFOCUS.COM

What you need to know before you employ a builder or tradesman by David Lawrenson

Property expert David Lawrenson of www.lettingfocus.com says employing a builder of other tradesman to do work for you can be tricky.

If you’re thinking of doing difficult building jobs yourself you need to remember that unfamiliar things take longer for you to do than they would a professional.

Time is money, so even if you can get it done cheaper yourself, once you factor in the extra time it would take, ask yourself if you are really making any saving at all.

So how do you find a good builder or tradesman?

The first thing is to ask for recommendations. If you know builders who have had a job done on time and done well, go and see it yourself.

Find out if the builder is a member of a trade body such as the Federation of Master Builders. If it i’s a specific job such as a new roof, check if they are a member of the National Federation of Roofing Contractors.

Check with the appropriate builders trade body to see what guarantees (if any) membership really gives you and see if the company is actually listed as a member.

Ask the builder how long they have been in business and for proof that they possess the necessary liability insurance. Insist on seeing a copy of their public liability insurance which also validates their address and trading name (in case you have to sue them later)

If it is a big building contract go and see the jobs they have done before.

Don’t pay by the hour and always insist on a quote not an estimate. (An estimate is nothing more than a rough guess of what the job might cost whereas a quote should be fixed and break down the work involved into distinct parts.)

Do a detailed specification of the works you want doing and agree whether it will be you or the builder who will pay for materials. Get at least three quotes for bigger jobs and instruct each company to provide a description of materials to be used.

Ask about the builder or tradesman’s availability and avoid those who’ll be juggling your job alongside too many others. But bear in mind, if the builder can’t start for ages, that might indicate they are in demand because they’re good! 

Tips if you are buying a property that needs building work

If you are thinking of buying a property which needs building work, get the builder in as soon as possible, and well before exchange of contracts so they can fit you in. Get an agreement from them to start as soon after the property completes as possible.

Don’t ignore gut feel. Do you think you can get on the builder? Did they treat you with respect? How professional they were when they came to look at the job. Did they make lots of notes?

Then go through each written quote in detail. Has the builder quoted for everything in the job spec? Did they explain technical words? Did they provide insurance certificates and provide reference sites?  Are they available and have they said how long the job would take?  Are they planning to subcontract work? If so, how well do they know the people they’ll be subbing to?

Insist on retaining 5-10% of the total cost for “snagging,” this to be payable one month after the job has been completed if there is nothing wrong. That way you can be sure the builder will come around promptly to fix problems.

Don’t be afraid of imposing penalties if the builder is late but you must accept delays if it is you who changes your mind.

A word of caution here! Builders make lots of money from the extra things you think of as the job progresses because once on the job, the builder controld the price of the extras. That’s why you need a detailed specification!

Both you and the builder or tradesman should sign the quote or have a contract drawn up. If the builder then finds unforeseen problems, it’s usually his problem, though in some cases it might have been impossible to have anticipated the problem.

Should this happen, and you get in a dispute, ask an independent surveyor for their opinion. Put in your contract something like “claims for unforeseeable work will not be entertained, where the work could reasonably have been anticipated.”

Big builders with over approx. £60K turnover will be registered for VAT. Smaller builders may keep under VAT by asking you to pay for materials and sub contractors’ costs. This is OK, but don’t forget to keep all receipts. VAT will already have been charged on the building materials, so there is no need to pay it twice.

Never pay a builder or tradesman until the agreed stage of the work has been completed, the only exception being where perishable or made to measure materials are needed.

A Building Surveyor might be required to ensure your builder has done the work to the right standards in accordance with current building regulations.

Depending on what you’re doing, you may need to apply for planning permission. Phone the council for the planning forms and submit the plans and your fee. An architect or a Planning Consultant can handle the process of getting planning permission for you and meet the planning department too.

Role of the Buildings Regulations Officer

The Buildings Regulations Officer at the council planning office can send you their guidelines and application forms appropriate to the work you are carrying out. Once you’ve submitted the forms, a Buildings Officer will visit to make sure the site complies with the guidelines.

Check your builder has submitted the application forms because Buildings Officers have power to shut down unsafe sites.

When the work is done, you’ll get a Buildings Regulations Approval Certificate.  Keep it safe along with Planning Consent forms as you’ll need them when you come to sell.

About David Lawrenson and Lettingfocus.com

If you need more advice on hiring builders or on buy to let investments please ask me.

I’m David Lawrenson from property investment mentors lettingfocus.com. I’m the author of the buy to let book “Successful Property Letting - How to Make Money in Buy to Let” which is the UK’s top selling property title.

The new edition is fully up to date with all the recent changes to tenancy deposit schemes, HMOs, licensing, capital gains taxes and it has new sections on buying below market value.

What’s unique about lettingfocus.com is that we offer independent property coaching because unlike most people in the buy to let and property “advice” business we are not linked to a property company, developer, estate agent or bridging loan financier and do not receive commissions from any of these sources either.

For example, if a property investment you are thinking about is lousy, we’ll tell you straight and we can help with any aspect of being a landlord, buy to let and property investment.

And we won’t make silly promises that you’ll become a property millionaire overnight. We offer advice both at our seminars and also on a one to one basis. Contact us today

Lawrenson and Lettingfocus.com – Freelance Writer, Speaker and Consultant

I am an independent expert on the UK property market and a well known property investment blogger. I contribute to newspapers and a host of property websites as a freelance property writer.

I also run a landlords advice service. My work as a property consultant also stretches to helping companies such as banks, building societies, housing associations and web portals with their buy to let and property products and services.

You can read more about my buy to let networking programme at my website lettingfocus.com. My next London property investors networking meeting is coming soon.

Copyright 2008 David Lawrenson. This article must not be copied or re-used without the author and copyright owner’s prior permission. 

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