The time has come to understand a builder’s contact list. I can’t tell you how many times a builder will get a call for “who do you use for designing plans?”, or “what plumber?” and so on. There are times a builder/general contractor will be glad to give you information and then there are times they have to draw the line.

When you hire a builder/general contractor, they do have subcontractors they have selected for each area of a job to be performed. During this process, some general contractors know the good quality and reliability of those subcontractors to make your project a smooth and quality job. Sure, you can take the risk of being your own general contractor and calling people in, but don’t call the local builder or general contractor for his list. By doing this, you are taking business from them. Let’s look at this from another point of view; if you were a retailer, would you want someone coming in to get the manufacturer’s name and SKU number so they could order directly from them and cut you out? Everyone is in business to make money, but it takes education, skill, and experience to know what you are doing and being able to do it good.

I know it sounds better to know you can save a percentage on a do-it-yourself construction project, but again, do you really want the headaches? These folks are trained in their field and know what needs to be done and what to look for. Sometimes, trying to save this percentage can end up costing you twice as much as you initially wanted to spend or extend the job completion. So really the bottom line is when you call or ask that builder/general contractor for their contacts, think twice and imagine if you were in their shoes.

I can not emphasize this scenario enough. If you own a local business, don’t you want everyone to shop, eat, bank, etc. with your business? The builder/general contractor is a business, too. Supporting and patronizing local will help the economic development of our/your community. By supporting your local builder, money stays in your town. The builder pays the trades, the trades eat and shop local, live, and so on in your town. It is the ripple down effect.

My final suggestion, sit down with a builder/contractor for your construction projects. You might be surprised at how professional and cost effective it might be to hire them verses you doing the project. Talk is cheap / free and might save you a ton of money. We will have a booth at the Lavender Festival and will be glad to review or discuss your future construction projects at no charge.

For all your real estate and building needs or questions, call Debbie at 830-833-4249 or 713-818-6658, or send an email to .