Do you have friends or acquaintances who have had a custom home built in Orange County? If so, most of them probably tell a similar story. “The building process took much longer than we anticipated, and we went way over budget in the process.”
This is very common in the custom home building industry. Although, to be fair, not all the blame should be placed on the shoulders of the general contractor. It sometimes happens that clients change their minds on things when they’re well into the building process. On those occasions, timelines and budgets might need to be adjusted to accommodate the new requests.
However, when most homeowners claim that their custom home project went way over the projected timeline and blew past the original budget, it’s because the general contractor on the project didn’t estimate accurately. In the case of an unscrupulous general contractor, they may have purposely underestimated the budget and the timeline in order to win the job. Then, once the client was locked in and the project was well underway, they come up with all sorts of reasons why they need more time and more money to complete the home.
Most general contractors aren’t intentionally trying to work over their clients like this. They give them a budget and timeline that they genuinely believe they can meet, but then things come up that they forgot to account for in their original estimate. They have to then go back to the client and tell them they need more money and more time.
At Scott McKee Construction, we’ve been a custom home builder in Orange County for decades. When we put together an estimate for a new client, it’s based on our many years of experience. We know what things cost and generally how long they take. We know how to manage all the various subcontractors involved in a new home build in order to keep things moving forward.
In addition, we only hire reputable subcontractors who also know how to keep to a schedule. Some other general contractors in Orange County tend to hire the cheapest subcontractors they can find so they can put more money in their own pockets. These cheap subs are much more likely to be “no shows.” They may also do subpar work that then has to be fixed or redone. Both of these things can put a project way behind schedule.
The high-quality subcontractors we use on our custom home builds value their reputation and take pride in their work. They show up when they say they will and do a great job—the first time! We always supervise our subcontractors, but in general, we don’t have to hound them to do the job right. They know our expectations for quality and timeliness.
Take a look at our testimonials. You will see, over and over again, how Scott McKee Construction delivers on our promises for our clients.
Contact us to schedule a free consultation or to get an estimate on your upcoming custom home build in Orange County. We would love to work with you and show you what it can be like to work with a general contracting company that does what they say they will do!
