Bidding and Contracts
Avoiding nightmares: Don't take shortcuts
You have to be in it for the long haul to have a successful project. That means making time to be involved at every step along the way, from interviewing architects and contractors, to choosing materials, to buying lunch for the carpenters (occasionally). It means asking lots of questions when a tradesperson or product is a lot less expensive than others. The effort you spend during the project will be rewarded many times over.
Avoiding nightmares: Hire the right people
This is the single most important part of your job. Double the amount of time you think you should spend finding the right architect and contractor. None of thousands of decisions you will face during this process will be nearly as important as these two choices. (See - How to hire an architect, and How to hire a contractor) Good contractors solve problems, bad contractors create them. Same for architects.
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