Utah Builder Communication
Working with Bluerock Utah — Part Four
Welcome back to part four in our series of working with us here at Bluerock. If you haven’t had a chance to read the previous posts, we would encourage you to go catch up on those before you get to this one. You can do that by hitting these links here: Choosing a Builder in Utah, Relationships, and Organization.
Communication is Key
The goal of this article today is to help us hit home the idea of communication and the importance it plays in your relationship with your builder. Even if you choose not to work with us here at Bluerock, we still think that these tips help any working relationship run smoothly and effectively. Communication is the third of our four ROCK pillars.
Having an open line of communication with your builder is key to your success. This allows you to both be on the same page as far as setting goals, knowing what choices are going to be made, how to effectively communicate when an issue arises, and the check-ins that you have to ensure things are going smoothly. To set up your relationship for success we recommend the following four areas to be agreed upon:
Regular Meetings
Daily Check-ins
Open Book Budgets
Leveraging Technology
“Having an open line of communication with your builder is key to your success. ”
1. Regular Meetings
Meeting with your contractor and team on a regular basis ensures that contact is made, that all choices are being conveyed, the right things are ordered, that you are able to work through any and all issues that are coming up, and of course ensuring that things work out in your favor.
When you forgo meeting on a regular basis, it is easy for things to fall between the cracks, for miscommunications to happen, for orders to get misplaced or incorrectly placed, and of course, things not working in your favor.
When you work with Bluerock, we do our best to ensure we email you a detailed project update every week and meet with you on-site or in our Draper, Utah office at least every two weeks during the project. Meetings are more frequent when the project schedule requires it. We stay in constant contact with you because we don’t ever want you to feel you are in the dark on your project.
2. Daily Check-Ins
We like having daily check-ins with our clients. Something as simple as a text, call, or email is a good way to not only ensure your comfort but to help keep you in the loop as to where things are going. It helps us as the builder to stay accountable for what was completed that day, and to hit our deadlines.
We know that checking in regularly is very important and helpful to not only ensure that your project is on course and on budget, but also to keep both parties accountable for their responsibilities in the process.
3. Open Book Budgets
Knowing exactly where your money is going and how it is being spent not only gives massive comfort levels to you as the client, but it helps hold us as the builder accountable for staying on budget. This helps eliminate surprises, frustrations, and challenging situations before they even happen.
Let’s be honest, the topic of money is an uncomfortable conversation especially when people are investing large amounts of it, so anything that can be done to prevent discomfort and issues from arising should be stopped before they start.
We use a project management software, called CoConstruct, that allows you to see exactly where your money is going, how things are progressing, and allows both of us to be in alignment with each other.
4. Leveraging Technology
Like we mentioned briefly before, you should hire a builder that uses a program that allows you to see exactly what is going on during your project. Not only does CoConstruct provide accurate and current information on the budget and schedule, you can also see photos of work in progress on the jobsite.
We know, especially with new builds, that traveling to your new home daily is not an easy feat. That is why we use CoConstruct so you can see exactly what is happening at the jobsite directly from your phone or computer. Watch this video to learn more about how our software works.
Culture of Communication
The key to any successful project is great communication. By working with a builder with an established culture of communication, the chances of frustration greatly decrease. You should never feel out of control with your project. Clear and consistent communication helps the project team keep things predictable and under control. We have worked hard to foster a culture of communication at Bluerock and it shows.
Build with Bluerock
Ready to start your Utah home build? Contact us today to learn more about our services.
