How to Prevent Miscommunication With Your Contractor

Question

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!!

Evan Polaski · Answer

@Cody Caswell

4. Be PRESENT and COMMUNICATE with the contractors.

Even the best design board, electrical plan, etc will encounter real world issues.  My wife is a designer, as well, and does all of these things.  But, whether she has done new construction design, or renovations, nothing comes out perfect.  Whether it be a ceiling height that is off an inch or two, and therefore the perfectly aligned tile lines for the tub surround that now need to be biased up, down, or split in half...  Or a perfectly centered vanity light that actually has a stud right in the way...

She has to be present nearly daily on renovation projects.  This is not a hands off field.  And the number of nuanced decisions that need to be made in order to have a well-executed design simply cannot be fully covered prior to demo, and often even after demo, especially if you are talking renovations.

Will Barnard · Answer

Communication with your contractor on design is only one aspect of the communication. The suggestions above are good on the design aspect of communication. The other important items are contract terms (including draw schedule, scope of work and timelines), consistent follow up on progress, & paperwork (estimates and invoices) for change orders - they will undoubtedly come up as no construction project goes precisely as planned or has zero hidden or missed task items that will need to be completed.

Time is your enemy on all flip projects so hiring the right contractor who can deliver the services in an efficient manner will often be more beneficial to the flipper than a lower priced contractor and/or a poorer quality contractor. The flipper needs to know that construction has 3 aspects and a good contractor will deliver 2 of the 3. Quality, price, and time. So if you want it cheap and fast, expect quality to suffer. If you want it fast with quality, expect to pay for that. A contractor who promises all 3 (cheap, good quality and fast) will either be out of business or is simply blowing smoke. You can't stay in business very long providing excellent quality, quick turnaround times and lowest prices.

Bryan Hartlen · Answer

We are on a smaller scale (and without a designer on our team) so our solution is that we pick a target comp and use it as the fit and finish guide for our finishes.

Stuart Udis · Answer

A good set of architectural drawings and a well drafted contract containing payment terms, time frames,  specs or at minimum allowances that is carefully reviewed by both parties will greatly reduce most contractor disputes. Anyone who gets underway on a renovation project without this is putting themselves in a vulnerable position. Also any contractor who doesn't value or refuses to participate in this process before a project start is automatically removed from consideration.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

Great post!! This is huge, and the thing I would say if there are delays after well preparation or lack of communication, there should be a line in the sand when to pull the plug on a contractor and get someone else in the project to finish the job!

How to Prevent Miscommunication With Your Contractor

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