When you’re buying your dream house, there might be some renovations or additions that you’d want to make in order to spruce up your home, or perhaps you’re looking to enlarge the space of any one of the rooms. This might cause you to feel a bit nervous because there have been many cases of contractors causing problems while building or renovating homes. So how do you avoid getting into that sticky situation? Well, to do so, you would need to properly do your research and choose the right home contractors to make sure you don’t get scammed and get exactly what you’ve envisioned for your dream house!

Now, there are 2 options for you to choose from. You can either get multiple subcontractors (also known as subcons) to be in charge of different areas of the home, OR you can opt for one general contractor who would oversee the entire renovation process. Subcontractors are sometimes more affordable in comparison, BUT bear in mind that you would need to oversee each and every one of them to ensure everything is in order, which would be very time-consuming! And if you’re not experienced in what to look out for, this might increase the risk of error in the construction process. This is why Myra highly recommends getting a good general contractor instead, so you can just santai a bit and occasionally check on everything!

Here’s Myra’s guide to finding the right contractor for you :

1. Get multiple bids from contractors.

When you’re looking to make a big splurge, the most important thing to do is compare the cost to make sure you get the most bang out of your buck! Something you should do is to bring different contractors for multiple walk-in sessions to have a look around your house so that you can explain your renovation plans in detail to get an accurate estimate cost for the entire process. You should also list out any and all changes that you are planning to make, and provide this information to the contractors. If any contractor has a completely different level of pricing than the others, be sure to ask why!

2. Do a background check!

Be sure to choose a contractor who has a background in the kind of renovations you are looking towards doing. Ask questions about the past projects they’ve worked on, and if they have any photos and references for you to look at. Make sure that the contractor you are thinking of hiring has expertise in that particular area, such as remodeling, landscaping, etc. You should also ensure that the contractor is registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), which is also known as SSM. Something you could do is go onto the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB)’s website to check on their license and make a complaint if necessary.

3. Put everything in Black and White.

One of the most common mistakes homeowners do is that they don’t put all the expectations, conditions, and guidelines down into a document for both parties to refer to. This is very important because having this document would allow you to double-check and monitor the progress of the construction. Whereas, it would also allow the contractor to see everything that is expected of them.

Before construction begins, make sure that a legal agreement between you and the contractor is written to ensure the protection of your rights. So if anything were to go downhill, this could also be used as a source of reference in case of any doubt or disagreement arises and can be brought up in court.

Make sure that in this agreement, you list down everything from A-Z! Write down the date the agreement was signed on, along with the expected date for project completion. On top of that, you should explain in detail what you’re expecting for the end product to make sure the project is 100% completed. You should also include the specific materials used to ensure the quality of the products.

On the agreement form, there should also be a penalty included if the project were not completed on time, so that your contractors will stick within the timeline. The contractors’ warranty period should also be included to ensure that the contractor would rectify any defects seen within this period. So it’s important to take note of the contractor’s name and address!

Oh, and don’t forget to keep a copy of the payment receipt in case anything goes wrong and some repairs need to be done!

4. Meet the team and communicate with them!

During the renovation process, you would need to interact a lot with the contractor’s team and the subcontractors because communication is KEY! So it’s important that you (1) understand the management style of the contractor (2) ask who the contractors will be calling in to help out, and (3) that you vibe with them and can communicate well with one another. 

Other general things you should verify is whether the contractor is indeed licensed and insured, by checking with either the state or local government to confirm that the contractor meets licensing requirements. You should also consider their availability. If they are in high demand, their pricing might be on the higher side, but they’d have a great track record. However, if you’re looking to start the renovation ASAP, then it would be best to look for other contractors who have more availability – but never settle until you find the right one for you!

That’s all we’ve got for today’s post! So make sure to keep all of these things in mind when you’re thinking about renovating your home. We truly believe that buying a home is truly one of the biggest milestones in your life, so take your time to conduct research before proceeding with a contractor, and don’t get scammed!