Should Homeowners Act As A General Contractor On Their Own Home?

Good question.  This can be a hot topic between general contractors who are required to have business and state contractors’ licenses, constant maintenance on continuing educational units, and endless bills that all make it almost impossible to compete in cost with a homeowner simply hiring subcontractors all on their own!

However, one of the beautiful blessings about living in this country is the freedom to improve our property with little to no restrictions from the government to our choices.  That is one of the most wonderful privileges we enjoy for the American Dream.

I have worked with many clients who have acted as their own general contractor on a simple remodel, house addition, or building a new home.  Many of them have done a great job.  Have maintained a good schedule with teh subs, controlled costs, and made product decisions without delaying the project.  However, there have been many more homeowners who have come to me after the completion of the project to tell me that if they were ever to do a project like that again, they would hire a general contractor.

If a homeowner can dedicate a full-time job amount of their schedule to building their home, they will be able to do maybe half of what a general contractor typically can do as successfully.  They will have an easier time with change orders, making appointments with subcontractors at any convenient time of the work day.  But, unless the home being built is very very large, the homeowner will almost never be able to compete with a general contractor when it comes to offering a consistent amount of work to the subcontractors.

What do you think?  Do you feel that the homeowner is the best person for the job when it comes to being the general contractor, or that they simply have to place to do so?