Find Out How Much It Actually Costs So You Don’t Pay More Than You Need To
Contractors tend to get a bad rap.Granted many of them bring it onto themselves because of their actions. Some contractors even add a small percentage to the product costs that they use to build your new home and will pad the labor costs by bringing in extra laborers – or worse, pretending that they brought in extra laborers. Contractors get away with this because they know that knowledge is power and the average joe who hires them out to build a house doesn’t know jack about what it takes to actually build a home, so they take advantage of that in order to line their pocketbooks. Don’t let that happen to you! How much does it costs to build a house today? Check out these tips to look for in your contractor’s activities to make sure they are toeing the line and not charging you more than you need to be paying.
Contractors and the Product Upcharge
The average person thinks about going to a lumber yard to pick up their wood and supplies, but contractors don’t need to do that.They can leverage their purchasing ability and go straight to the distributor to get the products for your home – the same distributor that provides product to the retail stores. Depending on the product, they could actually be saving up to 65% off the cost of the retail price of the wood… but be charging you the full retail price themselves. How much does it cost to build a house? When you are talking about $100,000 worth of wood for the construction of your home, 65% is $65,000 that you could be just giving away to your contractor. That’s why it is important to ask questions about how supplies the product for your home.
Contractors and the Labor Game
Have you ever driven by a home that is under construction and always marveled at the fact that there are always three guys on break and one guy doing the work?
That’s a nifty little contractor trick to pad the bottom line when it comes to labor charges. Many home owners, when they contract out the project of building their home, never bother to go and check up on the contractor, meaning that they run without much supervision and you assume that they are being honest about the labor. Keep in mind that the average laborer that works on building a home earns about $15 per hour on average and gets another $10 per hour in benefits that the contractor pays. So for every hour that one guy works and three guys watch, you’re paying $100 an hour for $25 an hour worth of work. So how much does it cost to build a house today in labor? An honest charge would be around $100,000 for general labor on the average home, with a little more or a little less depending on the size of your home.
Skilled Laborers Rake It In
If you can agree to the amount of skilled labor that you are going to pay for before the building of your home, you’re going to be a lot better off. Skilled labor refers to the needed tasks that an electrician would perform, a plumber, and even a tile layer. This is really where the costs can get out of hand for you without a prior agreement, because odds are you’re not going to be able to wire an outlet, set and grout the tile in your bathroom, or run the water and sewer lines yourself. You know that three guys watching and one guy working principle? In skilled labor, triple those costs.
So how much does it cost to build a house today?
Unchecked, you could be paying $300 an hour for $75 an hour worth of work – or even less. That’s why it behooves you to consistently check on your contractor and their laborers to insure they are honestly working. The vast majority of contractors that are out there are not like this. They are honest, reliable, and dependable with a history of building quality homes. As the buyer, however, you simply cannot assume this is going to be the case for your home, even if the contractor comes with the best of references. Taking some precautions is only common sense, and it is in these areas where you need to take the most precautions. So how much does it cost to build a house today? Hopefully not more than you need to be paying.