The previous articles have prepared you mentally and even enlightened you on almost all the basic and very important factors to consider before building your own house. You almost know a lot as far as construction is concerned. But you are not an expert, you will never be! You will need the right people to do the work. All the information you have gathered thus far was only meant to make sure that you don’t get any surprises. That you have the right information to question and oversee the whole process. Just like it is dangerous to get into an airplane without a life jacket, it is suicidal to get into the business of house building without the basic knowledge.
Being a technical undertaking, construction and the entire incidental activities need to be handled by well trained and even experienced persons. You will need the best to get the best results. By best here I don’t mean the most expensive in the market as it is believed by many. It does not also mean that going for the biggest consultancy firms will give you the best returns. Some will not accord you the attention you require in a bid to end up with a building you can really identify with. What you will need is people with a track record. People who are ready listen to you. Remember that you will be paying them and you deserve value for your money.
Below are some of the key persons that you will need to work with to get the best out of your dream house.
· Construction Consultancy – This will include an architect to design and supervise your house, a quantity surveyor to do a construction budget as well as track your finances along the way, an engineer to ensure that your house will stand the test of time and a construction manager to oversee the whole process of construction. While it is possible to get all these from separate firms, it earns you less if you procure all these services from one firm. The only danger here is that if they are not of a good moral and professional standing, they might collude to milk more from you. It therefore works best for you to hire an independent construction manager.
· Contractor – This could either be one individual to do all the works or a number of specialist contractors under a main contractor. Contractors are usually selected competitively through a tendering process and as such will in most cases give you a good deal. It is however important to prequalify a number based on their capability and track record.
· Financial Advisor – This could be your regular account or a local bank investment advisor. Depending on the magnitude of the construction and the method of funding adopted the financial manager should be up to the task to make sure that things are kept in check. This will however work part time for only periodic checks are needful.
· Site clerk – This is a very important person as far as construction of your house is concerned. He will be your eyes on site and will make sure that the right quality of work is produced at all times. This needs to be an experienced as well as very honest person. It should be a person you have picked yourself, either directly or through a reliable referee.
There are standard fees for all these professionals and you will only need to seek the charges in your area. Note that when these know that you have a vague idea of the goings on, they will most likely give you value for your money.
In the next article, we look at the time factor.
Tags: basic knowledge, building your own house, construction budget, construction consultancy, construction manager, consultancy firms, important factors, incidental activities, quantity surveyor, test of time