OWNER BUILDER BLOG

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Tough times? … Sure

But you know what, there is always a little good that comes out of the bad.

One of the hardest things for an owner builder to do is get good trades people at a realistic rate.

Unless that is, they have done one of our courses and understand how to manage the tender process and how to deal confidently and professionally with trades and suppliers.

That said, when things are booming and there exists a real skills shortage in the building and construction industry, it is next to near on impossible to get a contractor to take the time to quote on a project for an owner builder that he or she knows very little about.

Fact of life …

Good news is, that during this economic slow down the time may be right, depending on your individual circumstances to build your new home as an owner builder.

Let’s think about it, traddies are a little less confident about where the next project is coming from, suppliers are more likely to cut a deal on materials in order to boost sales and professionals such as engineers, architects, designers etc possibly have more time to spend and give real good old fashion service.

Sounds like utopia doesn’t it?

Well maybe it is, if you have your finances in place, a project ready to go and the time to spare to truly manage the construction of your new home, then perhaps the time is right.

The potential savings we have just considered, do not even take into account low interest rates, government grants, rebates for smart eco or green friendly design.

You might just save thousands, and if you consider those savings over the term of a loan, imagine the hundreds of thousands of dollars you could keep away from the banks and in your pocket.

Now, before I go any further, all of this is only possible andshould onbly be considered if you believe your financial situation is strong enough and you are confident in you employment.

If you are not, you should wait for ‘better’ times which will return.

But right now, while things are a little slower you should go for it and get that new home underway.

Take a look at our website and learn how you could get the skills needed to successfully manage your owner builder project.

If nothing else you may discover whether owner building is right for you or not.

Do you know what it takes to be a good owner builder?

1)   Confidence in your skills and knowledge

2)   An understanding of contract requirements as they relate to owner builders

3)   An understanding of what insurance you will need to consider for your owner builder project

4)   Skills in plan reading, scheduling, administration and communication

All of these things are important to be in the ’skills set’ of an owner builder.

If you do not think you can manage these things then do not do it, some people (very few) honestly cannot be successful owner builders, it is rare but we have seen it.

Being an organised and informed owner builder is not just good for you but it is also good for the industry, as the trades start to take more notice of professional owner builders representing a sound income stream where there progress and final payments are assured.

That all takes a little bit of knowledge and a lot of discipline.

If we can get this to happen, then maybe, just maybe we can get the financial institutions to look more favourably at lending to owner builders. Guess we will cover that side of things in another blogpost.

Best Regards and Happy Owner Building

 

Rick Heaton

 

 

Technorati Tags: australian owner builders, build you own home, owner builder course, owner building, owner projects

What are systems and are they important to the owner builder?

Good question, glad I asked it …..

All successful businesses have one thing in common, systems.

Now the complexity of the system and how formalised they appear will depend largely on the size and structure of the business, nevertheless, systems are vital to maintaining order and acheiving business goals.

So what are systems and how do they affect owner builders?

Over the last couple of days, I have spent a great deal of time considering just what it is I do to assist owner builders to manage their project, what is the single greatest contribution I have made to making their life easier.

Simple, it is the systems I have developed over the last few years that provide the owner builder the opportunity to turn their dreams into reality.

OK, enough of  the soap box, self addulation and promoting, lets talk about systems.

Systems are all about being able to efficiently reproduce an outcome by following steps or procedures which are both tested and proven.

A system may be as simple as a series of checklists, a task register (to do list) or as complex as an operations manual for running an airline, the common theme will be that the system is designed to produce an outcome regardless of who is completing the task.

For an owner builder, the first look over a project may be extremely daunting and even in some case appear impossible to acheive given the complexity and diversity of the tasks required.

That is where working to a system is invaluable.

Couple a sound system to good and appropriate education and you have the makings of a great project with an almost guaranteed outcome.

Now, this is the crunch, it is no use whatsoever, having a great system in place, having appropriate knowledge and training on how to use the system if you do not use it.

I cannot begin to tell you how many businesses I have seen over the years that have great operating and administrative systems or procedures in place that have failed simply because they have not followed their own business systems.

Sounds crazy I know, but believe me it happens.

So why does it  happen?

What leads an organisation down the path of devoting considerable resources to devloping good systems and then either not use them at all or not use them to their fullest potential.

Again the answer is quite obvious, they lack discipline.

Now this is the same discipline you need to show when you are running your owner builder project.

I can give you all the tools, training, skill sets and kowledge to complete the task.

I can give you systems which will record and monitor the progress of your construction.

I can give you tools to efficiently run a tendering process and I can give you the tools and skills to administer each of the onsite and offsite functions required on a domestic construction project.

They all exist, they are built and off the shelf products that you can have.

The question is will you use them?

Will you remain disciplined to the task?

I have seen a woman take a vacant block of land in Brisbane and 12 weeks later move into her new two storey 220 square meter home.

Not bad hey?

This is an exceptional result, and even better than most I have seen.

But it proves it can be done.

Now I know she had good training and I know she was disciplined and I am willing to bet she had her own good system in place to keep track of the construction activities.

I said it before and I will say it again, it is all very well to have registers, schedules, form letters, contracts filing systems, financial controls and specifications built into your system, but if you dont use them they just cannot work.

There is a risk management model that is cross industry and expresses exactly how you should use any system you have in place to help you run your owner builder project:

• Identify
• Assess
• Decide
• Implement
• Monitor and Review

Think about it this is the basis of not only developing a good system but also how to operate it.

Test it against the next task you undertake.

Identify what needs to be done ….

Assess what it is you are trying to acheive, what is the outcome you want or expect

Decide on a course of action

Do what you have decided to do

Sit back take a good objective look at how successful or appropriate your actions were, do it during and after the process, be prepared to change your approach if you need to to get the outcome you want.

Use your systems well they are the path to success.

Couple this to quality training and support and you are on your way to completing your owner builder project on time, on budget and to the quality you expect.

You can always get more information on owner building, the education and assistance that is available by visiting our website www.ownerbuildercourses.com

Technorati Tags: owner builder, owner builder courses, systems for owner builders

Insurance, it is one of those things we just love to hate, can’t do without it and always think we are paying too much.

But just what insurance will you need as you take on your owner builder project?

I can tell you, having been in the building industry for over 30 years you can never have too much insurance.

It is not just that on building sites things seem to grow legs, it is also necessary to have coverage against someone getting injured or property being damaged as a result of the works being done on your site.

As an owner builder, you are responsible for making certain that everyine on site is doing the right thing in respect to health and safety.

All states and territories in Australia have laws which detail the minimum standards of risk management and control measures that need to be in place to satisfy the requirements of safe work practises.

In most cases they will also specify the minimum insurances whci need to be hel by an owner builder in respect their project works.

For example, in most cases you will either be responsible for providing workcover for anyone employed directly on the ite or paid a wage and ensuring all contractors hold adequate workcover insurance for themselves and their employees.

In New South Wales, owner builders are responsible for taking out home warranty insurance to cover those works which are completed under the owner builder permit.

Home warranty insurance (also known as home owner’s warranty or builder’s warranty insurance) generally protects consumers of residential building services from financial loss caused by the builder’s failure to rectify or compensate for defective or incomplete work.

In New South Wales and Victoria, the cover applies when the builder has died, disappeared or is insolvent.While the insurer enters into a contract of insurance with the builder as the insured, it is the homeowner who is protected against loss.

In New South Wales and Victoria, home warranty insurance is compulsory for all residential building work carried out by builders valued at over $12,000.

For professional builders, generally Home Warranty Insurance is either paid as a levy against each project they undertake or is a provision of the licensing act for the particular state.

In the case of the owner buider, it must be held for the works undertaken, for the specified period and with an approved insurance provider.

In respect to other insurances:

Builders All Risk Insurance

Sometimes known as Construction Insurance.

This policy covers the works on the site and the material securely stored on site from theft, fire, storm, wilful damage etc.

It can also be extended to cover items in transit and other defined events as specified in the policy.

As with all insurance, be certain you understand the specific inclusion and more importantly exclusions.

Also what if any excess is included and how it affects the premium paid.

Public Liability Insurance

While it remains your responsibility to make the site as safe as is possible and to put in place certain risk management strategies, accident still do happen.

It may be a visitor to the site, a friend, a relative or even a member of the general public who falls, trips or in some way injures themselves on the construction site.

Should they seek to claim damages, you will need to be insured to cover any associated costs.

Quite often, a lower premium can be achieved through insuring for Construction (All Risk) and Public Liability with the one insurer.

Workers Compensation Insurance

WorkCover, or workers compensation insurance is to provide for loss of income due to accident or injuries received during the conduct of works on or associated with the a workplace.

It remains a legal obligation for anyone who employ staff on a full or part time basis to provide adequate workcover insurance.

As the Owner-Builder and therefore the Principal Contractor, it is your responsibility to:

Provide Workers Compensation for people employed on your site, or
Ensure all trades people and contractor carry their own policies and that these policies are current and appropriate.

You should contact workcover prior to engaging contractors to ensure you have an understanding of your liability in respect workers compensation should anyone you have engaged fail to meet their workcover obligations.

For more information on insurances for owner builders, visit the Owner Builder Courses website.

Technorati Tags: australian owner builders, build you own home, owner builder course, owner building, owner projects