How to Prevent Miscommunication With Your Contractor

[Cody Caswell]

Miscommunication between you and your contractor can cause HUGE delays in your projects. We all know what delays mean in rehabbing...more money! Every day your contractor has to rework something they did incorrectly, missed, or misunderstood is another day of holding costs. Oftentimes, it's not the contractor's fault that this happens, but the investor's fault because they did not correctly communicate the job they wanted done. So, how can this be avoided to keep the project rolling smoothly and efficiently? 

Our team has been involved in over 120 flips nationwide as the designer and over 60 in our local market as the investor. Here are three ways we've almost completely eliminated miscommunications between our vision for the projects and the contractor's execution of that vision!

1. Have your contractor present during your design phase. Whether that be the presentation with your designer or the creation of the design yourself, get your contractor involved and in the loop! As decisions are being made on materials, installation methods, etc, your contractor can be informed in real-time of the finalized expectations for each phase of the contractor. Don't leave them in the dark to guess what you want - get them involved!

2. Post the Design Boards throughout your project! We like to laminate our Design Boards and post them somewhere that everyone will see them in each room. These show the contractors how the space should look once completed, so if a subcontractor goes in to do work on a specific room, they can see how the finished product should look!

3. This one is all about preparation: Complete your design plan before day 1 of the project! Or, at a minimum, before the demo is complete. SO many mistakes are made due to hasty last-minute decisions. When you're under pressure to make a choice, it's easy to make a mistake when communicating what you want. Hoping that your contractor just "gets it" is a recipe for disaster. Get your design plan done before day one so that your contractor can simply execute the plan once the project gets going! 

Planning and preparation are KEY when working with contractors on your renovations. Hopefully these tips help avoid some headache and heartache for both you and your contractor on your next deal!!