Building a house is challenging, time-consuming, and expensive. However, it's so costly because of the many different components and the amount of time and material required to make a vision into a real, long-lasting structure.
Nonetheless, it's tough for new home builders and experienced ones not to look at the amount of money they're spending and want to save some. One of the ways they try to do this is by becoming their own contractor and managing the construction of their home from start to finish.
While this is certainly tempting when you look at how much money you could save or spend elsewhere on your home, it's ultimately a poor decision. While home-building contractors don't necessarily require formal training or education, experience is a non-negotiable for safe home construction.
Let's go over some of the pros and cons of being your own contractor.
The Pros of Being Your Own Contractor
You might save some money.
Nice! When given the option, who wouldn’t want to save money? The biggest and sometimes only reason people try to be their own contractors is the money they believe they'll save. General contractors might upcharge a project by 20% to 40%, and by not hiring one, that’s more money in your pocket.
Right?
Maybe… Or maybe not. People who aren't familiar with the home building process don't realize the amount of work required for a contractor. It's essential to understand every detail (“all the nuts and bolts,” quite literally) throughout the process if you plan to save money. Otherwise, you could quickly spend more than what you would with a contractor.
You’ll get to learn new skills.
Being your own contractor will force you to learn new skills and make new contacts in the construction industry, which can be rewarding - or overwhelming. Learning on the job, especially a job as important as building your new home, takes extra time and increases the risk for errors along the way.
And depending on how much you do or don’t know about certain trades, it could be difficult to tell whether the people you’ve hired are doing a good job or not!
You’d get to be the ultimate decision-maker.
With great power comes great responsibility - like being accountable for the structural integrity of the home you and your family will live in for the foreseeable future. Not to mention making sure everything is not only up to code but also optimized for energy efficiency, being financially responsible for jobsite injuries, and everything in between.
Being your own contractor, you'll ultimately have more control and final say in the construction and design of your home. However, this can be a good thing or a bad thing, as construction will slow down drastically if you have to give the go-ahead for everything that happens while trying to maintain your regular schedule.
The Cons of Being Your Own Contractor
You might lose more money than you save.
One of the biggest downsides of being your own contractor is that you won't have enough connections for every aspect of construction. Maybe you know some people who can help you out with certain aspects, but there are a ton of different trades involved with building a house, and organization is key.
Contractors have established relationships with vendors and trades as they purchase and work consistently at high quantities with high-quality in mind; a first-time contractor who doesn’t have such connections will probably end up paying full price (or more) for material and labor, which adds up fast.
The only way to ensure that all your bases are covered is to use a general contractor like Natale Builders. From carpentry to plumbing to drywall and everything in between, we have experienced subcontractors that we can count on to build you the home of your dreams.
You don’t know what you don’t know - and construction mistakes will cost you.
Construction is a line of work where you don't fully realize how difficult it is until you attempt it for yourself, and there’s a massive learning curve. A formula and science go into building a house efficiently and having it done the way you want it. If you're not intimately familiar with construction, your only option is to hire an experienced general contractor.
You'll have a ton of stress throughout the project.
If you plan to be your own contractor, you had best prepare yourself for headaches, high blood pressure, and sleepless nights. There are few things more stressful than managing hundreds of thousands of dollars, dozens of workers and trades, and trying to live a normal life.
When building a custom home with Natale Builders, our highly experienced General Contractors ensure the best from start to finish. We only work with subcontractors that we know and trust, so that you can breathe easy while your dream home is in construction.
You won't have that benefit if you're your own contractor. You likely won't have met or worked with most of the people you hire, which means you won't know what to expect from them.
Trust The Experts at Natale Builders for Your Custom Home Construction
If you're building a new home and decide that realize that being your own contractor is too stressful, give us a call at Natale Builders. No matter what kind of custom home you want, we can make it happen.
We have 50-plus years of custom homebuilding experience and work with some of the best tradespeople in the area. We offer you the chance to stress less and enjoy watching your home go up from the foundation to the roof! Contact us today to get started.
