How To Prepare Before You Hire A Contractor In Florida

I've had several clients ask us to recommend them to a top Contractor In Florida lately, and I think it might be a sign of a changing level of confidence among home buyers.

While I still strongly recommend that buyers exhaust all options with existing homes for sale in Tallahassee, there are some that are just going to want to build.

Therefore, we are launching a new e-series about home building and hiring a contractor in Florida.

Hiring A Contractor In Florida

With growing interest in home building, I figured I would reach out to some of the top Tallahassee home builders and get their thoughts on how consumers can best prepare before they build a home.

My first call went to Lenny Brantley, owner of Brantley Custom Homes and I asked him to prepare for a series of articles that will provide some guidance for people who are about to hire a contractor.

My experience tells me that a lot of people erroneously choose a contractor in Florida the same way they choose a real estate agent ... inadvertently. Rather than interview home builders for the job of building their home, they go around until they see a house they like then start talking to that builder.

That technique is fraught with danger and traps, so the purpose of these semi-monthly articles will be to better prepare our readers to hire a contractor in Florida, if it is something that they want to do.

Opening Thoughts From Lenny Brantley

Lenny and I talk often about the new construction premium, and how existing home sales are so much cheaper than what you will spend to hire a contractor in Florida to custom build a home.

But we also agree that there are some people who just want "new." And there are also people who are buying foreclosures and short sales who will need to hire a Florida contractor to bring their purchase up to livable conditions. Lenny remarked,

One thing that I have noticed lately is that even though the banks are slowly releasing foreclosures, they have been ill kept. The amount of money to get them to livable conditions varies but I have rarely seen a foreclosure that is move in ready...

Furthermore, many have mold issues which needs to be addressed as the power has been off for a significant amount of time. This is costly and requires a third party mold remediator to be involved, and that is prior to a contractor in Florida renovating the home. -Lenny Brantley, Brantley Custom Homes

So this is just a taste of what we'll hear from Lenny over the next several months. Moreover, I encourage our readers to leave questions or recommendations in the comments section below. I will get these to Lenny and we'll address them in our follow-up articles.

Big House Built By A Contractor In Florida

This video has been seen by several hundred thousand people. It's the first real estate video I ever produced, and you can watch a 5,000 square foot home built by a contractor in Florida, from lot clearing through completion.

Please give it a "thumbs up" in the top right corner if you like it (you might need to log-in to youtube to finalize)!

I hope you like this new thread in the Tallahassee Real Estate Blog. We'll bring you plenty of stories, advice, and warnings from an experienced contractor in Florida, and put you on the path for being a knowledgeable new construction consumer.

As always, if you want help in selecting a contractor in Florida, please drop me a note and we'll schedule a time to meet and prepare you to effectively evaluate the best ones for your needs.

*Joe Manausa Real Estate is a brokerage company headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida. Its unique business model provides specialists to both home sellers and home buyers, and the results speak for themselves. JMRE has significantly more 5-star reviews on google than any other local competitor. Joe Manausa Real Estate is a leader in internet marketing and utilizes search engine optimization, email marketing, social media and data analytics to get their clients’ home sold faster and for more money than any other Tallahassee brokerage firm. For more information, visit www.manausa.com or call us at (850) 366-8917.