Finding the right builder for the job

This month we want to share with you the importance of doing your due diligence when deciding on a builder for your next renovation project. It is important to find the right builder for the right job.

This was prompted by an email we received from a potential client last week in regard to a quote we had sent her a few days earlier.

Like all wise women, she had asked another builder to quote as well as us and we had come in more expensive, and she wanted to give us the opportunity to reduce our price. To ensure we were quoting the works scope for scope with the other builder’s quote, we asked the client to send through the scope of works (without the prices if she preferred). The client sent us the full quote from the other builder and this is where alarm bells started going off for us.

An initial inspection of the quote showed marginal differences between the two quotes in terms of costs per trades and works and a few discrepancies of where we had quoted certain works to be done and the other builder had left out, vice versa. This explained the majority of the price difference, but we were still coming in a bit higher than the other builder.

But what had us worried was the lack of company information displayed on the quote. It was missing the builders’ QBCC Licence number and when we tried to look up the company name on the QBCC Licence search nothing came up. We did manage to find the builder through his ABN and matching the Builder’s own name to the QBCC Licence search. And this is where things really got interesting.

The builder in question had quoted works for various trades as a builder, however, he did not in fact have a builder’s licence and is not allowed to organise other trades. By undertaking these activities, this builder in question does not have the appropriate insurances or licences to undertake the works quoted – completely unbeknownst to the client. So what can we learn from this? You need to do your due diligence when engaging a contractor or builder. 

The best resource to find out if a builder you’re contemplating using is licenced to carry out the works, is to use the QBCC Licence Search tool. The QBCC website also has some useful information on what to look for when choosing a contractor and how to spot an unlicenced contractor.

This isn’t the first time we’ve had clients reach out to us after contacting another builder. We’ve also seen clients come back to us after builders have tried using the wrong contract or have tried charging 50% for deposits (standard agreements only allow you to charge 5% or 10% deposit depending on L1 or L2 contracts) or the builder has agreed to do the works and then have simply fallen off the radar. Unfortunately, we think this might start happening even more.

With interest rates and cost of living going up, industry figures are reporting a sharp drop in new home loan approvals. What does this mean for our industry? We will see already struggling new home builders enter the renovation space to try and recoup some of their revenue. And what does this mean for you? The renovation game is completely different to new homes; especially unit renovations.

With new homes, the builder has a plan and he builds to it. When you’re renovating, you’re working with a plan that is as accurate as it can be up until the point where you start opening up or moving walls. You never quite know what you’re going to find. An experienced renovation builder may already have an idea in the back of the head of what he might find and can quote with this contingency in mind. A new home builder that is new to the renovation game will not have accounted for this and costs will quickly start to rise. Take this into an older building with leaking stacks, concrete cancer and the like, and you’ll be wishing you had paid the extra money to be dealing with an experienced renovation team.

So what’s the takeout from this post? Do your homework. Ask questions. A licenced builder who dots the i’s and crosses the t’s will not be upset if you ask to see their licence number (it should be on all advertising materials anyway) and punch it into the QBCC Licence Search. Check out their websites, their socials and their google reviews. You can also take a look at the Master Builders Qld Find a Master Builder tool to see if they’re a member. You’ll be glad you did.

If you’re looking at renovating this year, we’d love to hear from you. Simply give us a call or send us your details and we’ll contact you to organise for our Estimator to come out to site and provide you with a free quote.