What should you budget for a coach? An experienced home building professional, acting as your coach, is an invaluable tool for anyone planning to build or remodel their own home. In essence, they step into the role a General Contractor would play if you weren’t in charge yourself.
The home building coach is not your builder. Coaches do not take over your project nor do they take liability for your project. Also, there is no need for them to be a licensed General Contractor.
The Home Building Coach is Your Personal Adviser
Just because coaches don’t take over your project doesn’t diminish their value. They empower you to be your own builder without the need for you to become a home building expert yourself. In fact, a good coach can turn almost anyone into a master builder of sorts.
As your own builder, you have more control over what you get and often spend less getting what you want. Instead of your money going to the builder’s (General Contractor’s) pocket, it either stays in yours or goes towards more goodies for your home.
The Biggest Monetary Benefits of Hiring a Coach
Before I get into how much you should pay for a home building coach, let’s look at their value on a monetary basis. I can’t quote specific numbers and dollar amounts but I am able to give you relative values and comparisons.
- Coaches can provide better sources for building materials with potential discounts: Many home building/remodeling coaches act also as materials suppliers and with their contacts can save you money. Even when charging you a service charge it can still be a savings. Always ask them how this is handled.
- They may have excellent contacts for tradesmen that will quote you better prices for labor than they would if you were an owner builder on your own. Many subcontractors do not like working with owner builders.
- Remodeling coaches should provide you with a complete process management system to manage your project and complete the job sooner than you could on your own. This can lower interest charges meaning less money out, and more money saved.
- Trouble shooting and preventative medicine: The value of a coach who can steer you clear of trouble or get you out quickly is immeasurable. This alone can be a savings of tens of thousands of dollars.
How and How Much to Pay Your Home Building Coach
Coaches can be paid in many ways. It can be a percentage of the over-all budget. It could be a weekly or monthly set fee. It could be lump sums paid at milestones. And it should be a fraction of what you’d pay a General Contractor.
Most General Contractors charge anywhere between 15-25% of the cost of the project. When you factor in other sources of profit for them, it can be more. Usually a building/remodeling coach can be hired for 2-7% of the project’s cost so right there you have a big savings. And additional savings, by doing some of your own labor, can really mount up.