Home Building: Being your Own Contractor

When you need a house built or remodeled, you call for a general contractor. They are in charge of gathering and providing the necessary services for construction projects. This includes labor, materials, equipment, and other additional responsibilities related to the client’s wishes. It is a clear-cut job description, but for Filipinos out there who are well versed with the ins and outs of residential construction, you might be wondering if it is better to handle the work on your own.

Being your own contractor is a challenging venture. It is also easy to understand why some are skeptical of hiring contractors in general. There is no shortage of horror stories on the internet that detail the ways a contractor had financially messed them over. But keep in mind that there will always be risks in construction. A couple of bad contractors does not represent everyone in the profession. Most of the time, it’s far better to put your faith in a contractor than to handle things yourself.

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Cutting out the middleman has its perks and disadvantages. For starters, being your own contractor would mean you are responsible for managing the project’s needs, from hiring builders to material acquisition. You are also expected to supervise it for months on end continuously. Plus, your project would have to depend on your familiarity with the construction process.

It is a challenging prospect, but it can also be a learning experience for you, especially if you plan on doing it again in the future. It’s not easy to work on a home, but there is certainly a charm to spearheading a huge personal project from start to finish.

So what else is there to expect from being your own contractor? One Filipino blog had posted about their experience on their website. They detailed the trials and hardships of being at the helm of their house building project, as well as providing a bulleted list of tips that’s sure to aid other aspiring builders who are planning for a future endeavor.

You can read all about it through this link.

There are a lot of complexities in being a contractor, attempting to be one without prior experience to the craft is liable to produce undesirable setbacks. But for the experienced builder, it is an interesting job that gives them a unique perspective, may it be for their careers or for personal development. Either way, it’s best if you do a considerable amount of research and planning first before you take out your wallet.