How Does a General Contractor Wow in Modular Home Construction
Building of Modular Home On- Site
Being a general contractor is a hard way to make an easy living. There are lots of moving parts totally out of control when doing modular home construction. Things aren’t perfect including the plans, specifications, field conditions, inspectors, subcontractors, suppliers, deliveries, conflicts, and payments. Customers expect everything from a general contractor to go exactly as scheduled, with perfect quality, no hiccups or extra costs.
The problem with the modular home construction business is every party wants to make more money by providing the minimum. Scope of work is clearly defined and most contracts are awarded to the lowest qualified bidder based on price. The bidder who offers better service for more money rarely gets the contract. This causes every general contractor to balance providing great service and exceptional quality while making a fair profit.
General Contractors Man the Job
When working with a modular home project, be prepared to properly man projects with enough qualified trained workers. A larger modular home job may take 5 to 10 men to maintain the schedule. If you only have 5 men on your entire crew, don’t bid it and hope you can find enough help when you need them.
A General Contractor is Well Financed
Subcontractors and suppliers who are undercapitalized, usually don’t have enough working capital or an adequate bank line of credit to handle the work they can get. This causes a cash-flow crunch which doesn’t allow them to hire enough help to get their jobs done on-time. This creates stress and causes their businesses to run inefficiently. This makes everyone upset including the general contractor, construction manager, project developer while it hurts the other subcontractors on the job. The underfinanced subcontractor then makes their problem become their customer’s problem, which ends up in lost profits and no repeat work.
To run a successful modular home construction, a general contractor should at least have 20% of his annual sales volume in working capital plus a bank line of credit of at least 15% of annual sales as a backup.
A General Contractor Manages the Contract
A reputable general contractor reads the contract thoroughly. He knows the by-laws of the contract and everything in between. Most contractors sit and discuss the contract with the home owner before doing the job.
Be A Pro- Active General Contractor
A pro-active subcontractor is on top of every job they have a contract to build. They don’t wait for customers to call. They take responsibility for monitoring all their projects by visiting jobsites early and staying in touch with project superintendents on a regular basis. When they get the call to start, they’re ready, the materials are approved and available, the foreman is familiar with the project, and they are ready to man the job as required to maintain the schedule.
In case you still have question about modular homes, you may contact Legendary Homes Inc in Jackson, Michigan. A representative will be happy to assist you. Meanwhile you can check our modular home price sheets by signing up to our blog
