Having your own house in London, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is a dream harboured by many people. However, if you own land anywhere in the city, you are very close to achieving such a dream! Property owners in London have to be very careful when hiring any building company, especially considering the rising costs of construction. You don’t want to end up paying large sums of money to a building company that uses substandard materials, falls short on their deadlines, and fails to deliver on their promises.
Hiring the right building company is important, especially considering the size of the investment you are about to make. However, many companies often make tall claims about their construction standards and services to solicit customers. Once you sign the contract and work officially gets underway, they begin to go back on their promise. If you don’t want to go through this terrible experience, it’s important you consider several major factors when evaluating different building companies in London. Here are some basic tips to help you hire the right building company for the job.
Always Start With a Shortlist
London is one of the largest, well-developed cities in the world. As you can imagine, there are hundreds of building companies offering an extensive range of services to clients big and small. The first thing you need to do is to create a shortlist of all the major companies in the city that can help you out. Several building companies only specialise in home construction, whereas some focus primarily on industrial and commercial projects. Make a list of several building companies that have built a strong reputation for themselves in the residential sector.
Explain Your Vision
Once you have made the shortlist, you can request meetings with all of the top companies. When you sit down to talk about the house, you need to highlight your vision as clearly as possible. Tell them how you would want the place to look, what materials you would like used in the construction, and any other specific demands you might have.
The engineers and architects will then show you several houses they have constructed in the past so you get a better idea of the standard of work the company produces. Many building companies also have model houses throughout the city you can visit. These are properly designed and well-built houses which are ready for people to move in. If you don’t have a particular idea about the kind of house you want to live in, these designs and model houses will serve as inspiration for you.
Once the design has been approved, the building company will give you an estimate for the costs as well as the timeframe for the completion of the building. You can then decide whether you’d like to proceed, and if you do, a contract must be signed and an advance needs to be paid.