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Full-Service Custom Home Building Vs. Paper Contracting a Custom Home

Published: Monday, November 04, 2019

If you are reading this, it’s very likely that you are either looking at building a custom home, or it’s something you dream of for your future. When researching and delving deeper into the home construction process, you’ll quickly learn how complex and complicated it can be. A lot of people would rather pass this process on to a General Contractor, which is certainly a much more stress-free option in a lot of cases. However, it’s very important to understand the scope of work that said company will be taking on. After all, you are vetting different contractors to determine who provides the best pricing, who you feel most confident with, and who has the best reputation. When considering these things, it’s critical that you understand the difference in full-service contracting vs. paper contracting for a custom home.

If you are looking for a company that you can count on to ensure everything is done properly, and within the originally allocated budget, you may want to consider going with a full-service contractor. As a full-service contractor, we do all of our own work, from excavation and land development, to painting, and everything in-between. The only things we don’t do ourselves are the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC work. With that being said, we are consistently able to accurately quote our projects, which means we don’t have to come back after the contract is signed and add on countless unnecessary additional costs like most other contractors. We are able to do this, because we know exactly how many hours each task will take, how much materials cost to accomplish that task, and a set amount of how much we need to profit to stay in business, all while still providing a fair quote.

While some paper contractors may have better pricing, cheaper is almost never better in the field of construction. In an industry that is notorious for companies that are dishonest, overcharge, and cut corners to maximize profits, a lot of times these companies are paper contractors. As a paper contractor, you are looking for the cheapest possible labor, cheapest materials, and cheapest subcontractors, which allows you to maximize profits on every project. While this isn’t always true, a large number of paper contractors are guilty of this. This is why it’s so important to understand the full scope of work that a company will be taking on, specifically when deciding who you are going to trust with your project.

If a company has a great reputation, and they don’t do any of the work themselves, they may still be a good company. However, it will be much more difficult to communicate any concerns you may have during the building process. This can lead to playing a game of telephone with your general contractor to discuss with his subcontractors. With a full-service contractor, you’re able to communicate directly with the company who is doing all of the work, allowing for adjustments and fixes to be more easily communicated and tended to.