Featured on the Show:

Only Girl On The Jobsite Course

What you will learn from this episode: 

• 3 key points to look for in contracts

• What it’s like in Only Girl On The Jobsite Course and Community

• Don’t agree to things you don’t understand

There is no construction project you can take on that doesn’t include contracts. 

With all of the construction projects being scheduled and researched, this has become a really hot topic!

This all started inside my course, Only Girl ON The Jobsite. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s an online course I built to walk you through the process, step-by-step, of running and managing your own project, just like I do. 

The greatest part about it is the private Facebook Group you automatically get to join – with lifetime access. That is where the interaction between members, between me and members constantly happens and where so much additional knowledge is shared. And this past week, contracts came up!

In today’s episode, I am sharing about a member who is currently bidding out a project. We discussed three key points that I don’t want you to miss in your contracts.

The first point I want to bring up is in this particular case she had gotten three estimates and there was an enormous difference in their prices. When I see such a wide range of numbers like that, I see all sorts of red flags. This could be just because they were different size companies. They could include a two-man team to a large company with seven to ten teams working for it. You want your estimates coming from similar sized companies so that their overhead costs will also be similar…..and therefore easier for you to compare them!

Through the back and forth inside the FB group chat she did end up revealing that she had changed the scope of work after asking for some of the bids.

Before receiving estimates you must have your scope of work crystal clear. That is critical. 

The next point I want to bring up is that one of the companies was only giving her the lump sum costs of the line items of the project. I want to know what the breakdown is and a good contract should include both the total sum and the breakdown. For example, it should have the estimated amount of hours, and cost per hour.

And the reason you should see it is so that then you can understand what you are committing to. There’s also some accountability in those numbers. So if they’re estimating ten hours, that is something you can track. And please remember to never be aggressive when asking questions about contract items – you are a team member! You are just asking for data. 

The last point I want to bring up is a payment issue that caught my eye. This one particularly bothered me. They only required a $1,000 deposit for a contract that totaled over $50,000. Where I live and work that is an extremely low number for a deposit. If there is only $1,000 paid is that construction company really committed to your project? And they are covering the materials and labor on your project for an extended period of time before they take their next payment. That is an area that I think you really need to fully understand what they are asking for. 

Those are the three areas that really concerned me about our member’s contract in the Only Girl On The Jobsite community. The good news is that she now has a list of follow up items to go back to this contractor and firm up the costs of her project before signing off on it.

Contracts are so important, so please, keep these three key points in mind. And never be afraid to question things you don’t understand. I can’t say it enough. Don’t agree to things you don’t understand! 

If you have any more questions about this topic, please feel free to reach out to me.

Like this Episode?

• Be sure to check out Episode #14 : The Inside Scoop on Working With Contractors with Matt DiBara

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