General Contractor or Inspector who should view the property 1st?

Question

Good day BP family.  I'm pretty new at REI, but it dawned on me as I was in the middle of a negotiation, who should view the property first, the Contract or Inspector? I'm sure I've read and listened about this but when you're actually doing it, it's a different story.  I've also read it's a good idea to get a GC who is also  an inspector which seems ideal to me but if I cant find that, I'll have to choose.  Any advice or helpful tips would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

As @Bill Brandt said, you don't need a GC for little stuff, just call the subs yourself. For larger stuff, a GC will get you a better price, faster project and a better guarantee.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

You always do the Home Inspector first to get an unbiased view of the issues. It's nice to have a HI who is licensed, but then you don't want them doing the work because of the conflict of interest potential.

Have the HI do his inspection which will produce a report. Give this to a GC and have him develop the Scope Of Work and give you a budget. The GC might also notice additional issues during his walkthrough....

Bill B. · Answer

@David Travieso for future posts you can put multiple @‘s in one post

@name2 thanks

@name3 sounds good

Etc…

As far as involving the GC in simple specialized repairs (illegal p trap, no gfci on a circuit, garage door not safe.). You can call in the GC if you think he can get better pricing, can get it fixed faster, or you’re willing to pay extra to have someone stand behind it,     . if you had a broken ceiling fan or a broken garage door opener at your home I assume you wouldn’t hire a GC. He should be in charge moving walls, additions, MAJOR renovations. I don’t use them for my usual rehab (paint & carpet, appliances, hole patching, landscaping, etc…)

David Travieso · Answer

Thanks, I greatly appreciate the advice.

Bill B. · Answer

If you don’t know what you want the gc to fix, then you need the inspector to go first. You might find many of the inspectors finds aren’t gc material anyway. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, things where you’re just going to call a specialist.

Michael Smythies · Answer

Often times building relationships with high quality general contractors over time will yield better results than doing both inspections. This will also save you money over the long time if you plan on repeating the process.

Find a contractor you can trust and work with consistently and they will be worth their weight in gold.

General Contractor or Inspector who should view the property 1st?

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