For those of you who are planning to or even simply dreaming of planning your next big project on building a home, then it might benefit you to consider some few things. Consider your timeline, your budget and most importantly the building contraction team who will make it happen for you. With so many Building Contracting Companies in UAE, finding the right one for you is no small matter of feat.
Projects like these will require a lot of pre-planning and research. It can be pretty intimidating, overwhelming and sometimes frustrating when handling the task of finding the right building contractor in the UAE. This comprehensive guide will take the guesswork out of the equation and provide you with a step by step guide to make your home building dreams come true for real!
STEP 1: LOCATE THE GOOD CONTRACTORS
You need to first ask yourself what project you want to do. If you only want to do some specific and small project like cabinetry than the best thing for you to do is find a building contractor company that also specializes in what you are looking for. If your project is medium sized and doesn’t need to change the structure of your home then you will do well with companies that offer general contractors. If your project is substantially large, you should look for a company that has a team complete with the architect who will approve the structure or a designer who actually specializes in both the works of an architect and a contractor.
STEP 2: MAKE CALLS
There is no limit to the number of building contracting companies that you should really call but there are a lot of horror stories about people landing up with bad contractors. This why the rule of thumb is to focus your attention on companies instead of freelancers or solo contractors. This is because companies are held accountable for what they do whereas solo freelancers might simply disappear. It is always a great option if you list about 10 – 12 contractor companies in your initial research. Narrow down to about 4 – 6 contractor companies that you have a good feeling about and would really like to meet up and discuss details.
STEP 3: MEET THE CONTRACTORS YOU HAVE SELECTED
The meeting is very important. It will help you to gauge the overall interaction as well as the answers they give to your questions. Scam artists and contractor companies can come across as personable and very friendly before the project begins. DO NOT give your signature on anything till you are really satisfied with the answers they give you. Below are some questions you should ask in the meeting. Use a pen and paper to take notes.
• How long their company has been in the business.
• The address to their permanent business – do not be shocked if it is their residential address because most small based Building Contracting Companies in UAE have home-based businesses.
• Whether they have a license to work in your locality.
• If the company s insured, the kind of insurance they have and also proof of the insurance.
• Whether your project will need permits.
• Whether they have done projects similar to yours in the recent years and how many.
• Ask for a price quote and whether they are willing to offer discounts. Most Building Contracting Companies in UAE will offer similar quotes and those that offer really low price are probably scams.
• The payment schedules and if they are flexible with it.
• As for projects they are currently working on if any.
STEP 4: NEGOTIATE THE PAYMENT
After you have narrowed down to the contractor company, the next step is to negotiate the payment and price. Commonly, clients do not get much wiggle room when it comes to price but it is still very important to negotiate a budget and payment plan for the contingencies. This one is tricky since there is currently no industry standard for specific amounts concerning the payment plans. It varies from company to company. However, you can get two basic options for the purposes of payment. Both has its own merits and demerits:
1. Bidding basis – You can work with your contractor company to draw up a specific budget for the whole project and then come to a consensus about the schedule of the payment which will all be mentioned in your contract. This is a better option if you are working on a budget.
2. Cost and flat fee – The contractor company will charge a coordinating and management fee after settling it with you which is usually around 13 percent to 20 percent in addition to the project’s actually cost. The estimated costs will be laid out at each stage by the contract. This cost should almost match the actual cost without taking into account unpredicted circumstances. All this should be mentioned in your contract saying that your contractor company will offer all accounting and receipts at fixed intervals. This option will give you a lot of flexibility but it is quite difficult to predict the final cost.
STEP 5: DRAWING UP OF CONTRACT
Do not leave out any detail when you draw up the contract with your contractor company. Since most Building Contracting Companies in UAE are well prepared on their side, being careless will leave you at a loss. If anything goes wrong during the project and you need legal action, then your contract will prove your case. Your contract should lay out these things in detail:
• Contact information of the company.
• Start and end date of the project.
• Your financing and payment plan.
• The schedule of the project in detail.
• The list of the required materials in detail.
• Contractor Company’s guarantee that all the necessary permits will be filed by them.
• Potential conflicts in time of other projects conducted by the company.
Take that one step closer to getting started with your project of building your dream house or simply making your dream renovations. It is a great step and does not let the work of finding one of the best Building Contracting Companies in UAE overwhelm you. Follow these easy steps to protect your interest and ensure you get exactly what you want or perhaps even more!
