Find a Builder Contractor

Finding and Hiring a Good Builder/Contractor

If you've read some of the nightmare stories
that good people in Washington have lived
through, you'll definitely want to know how to
select the right Builder/Contractor.

Let's be very clear about this. There are
many many outstanding Builders and
Contractors out there. The problem, as with
any profession, is that you only need to get
one bad one to live through a personal
nightmare. Use these practical rules to find
and hire a good builder, and you'll save
$1,000s in attorney's fees, not to mention
other costs, stress, and divorce.

Do not simply open the Yellow Pages and pick a Builder.
Do not choose a Builder simply because he seems nice.
Do get a reliable referral to a good Builder. That means the referral comes
from someone who is known to be reliable and who knows the Builder.
Do your due diligence on the prospective Builder. Investigate thoroughly.
Look at some of his houses, inside & out, and talk to previous customers.
Be careful. You can still be fooled here. You can find one or two happy
customers with every builder.
Check on his state license/registration, which can easily be done on the
Internet Here. Use the State's checklist, also, but notice they don't tell you
what NOT to do, which is where many of the traps are.
On the same State Internet resource, you can check the Builder's status,
infractions, bond, and pending lawsuits. DO IT! Believe it or not, the vast
majority of people do this only after they get into trouble with the Builder.
Check your local county superior court clerk's office for pending lawsuits
against your prospective Builder. This can be done on the Internet by
searching his company and personal name (in Pierce County here ). In King
County go here, although King County's Superior Court web site is years
behind Pierce County's.
After all this, interview your prospective Builder/Contractor, and see if you
like him. If you don't, I strongly recommend you keep looking. Gut feelings
are important. You've spent a lifetime learning how to read people. Don't
ignore that lifetime of experience now. Here you should judge the book by
its cover.
Ask for a copy of his standard contract and take it home to review it. Get a
professional opinion on that contract. It seems every Builder uses a
different contract, and many of them are grossly one-sided. There are
several critical contract issues you want unambiguously addressed in the
contract.

Failure on just one of
these rules has
resulted in expensive
litigation. Violate
these rules at your
own peril.

Do not make the
mistake many
people make:
assuming that
satisfying one of
these rules satisfies
all the rules.

There are many very
good Builders in
Pierce and King
County. Find a good
one, and you will
have the home of
your dreams.

Selecting a builder is the
first critical decision.

Who is your builder?

The Better Business
Bureau database is
almost useless, since
very few people ever
report to it.

Do NOT expect any help from the Attorney General's office in going after a bad builder.
Since 1986, this attorney has never seen the AG's office help a single client with a bad builder.