Home Is Where the Help Is
Our home is, in most cases, the single largest purchase we will ever make. Maintaining and improving that expenditure only makes good sense. However, in doing so, it means we have to deal with those in the construction industry. Lets face it, that can be intimidating regardless of the number of times you have done it before. The construction industry is multi-faceted and multi-cultural. Such a complex industry is difficult to keep up with even for the full time contractor. How is a homeowner supposed to be able to handle making good choices regarding which improvements to make or what type of home to build and who to let perform this task? There is an excellent option available of which very few have taken advantage.
As in most cases when there are important issues at stake, it is a good idea to make a list. Before getting into more detail regarding this option, let's make such a list, answering some questions along the way:
- Will this cost me money? Yes.
- Is this cost going to be returned to me at some point? Yes
- Will this take a lot of my time? No
- Is this really any different than having a general contractor? Yes
OK, having answered those questions, there remains one big one. Just exactly who or what are we talking about? The answer is a Home Advocate. A Home Advocate is a person you retain to counsel you and, in many cases, intercede on your behalf regarding issues of value, improvement, and direction regarding your home and property.
What can you expect from a Home Advocate? Good question!
Upon deciding to hire a Home Advocate, you need to consider the degree of involvement you want him/her to contribute. Are you a 'hands on' homeowner when it comes to construction and improvements? If so, the Home Advocate may just need to serve as your propellant to get you started. This may manifest itself by helping you to decide how large an addition to make and where would be the best part of your property to add it? Or the advocate could help answer the question, Is this a complex enough project that I should hire an architect or designer before starting to consider contractors?
If you are not so inclined to be "hands on", then the Advocate can act as an intercessor during negotiations and also after construction has begun. The difference between this position and a general contractor is that he is acting on your behalf to be a balance or accountability partner.
Other questions that arise from this are:
- Can the Advocate act as my general contractor too? Yes, should you choose to expand his duties to that level. However, at this point you would need to decide if you should hire him (or someone else) as a separate contractor for warranty, insurance, and liability reasons, or are you wanting to save money and act as your own g.c. using your Advocate as your "superintendent" on the job.
- What is the Advocate's liability in all this? As strictly a consultant, the Advocate has very little liability and is only there to reduce your exposure and risk while expediting the schedule and monitoring progress/quality. Many Advocates would also serve in a separate contractual capacity as the general contractor whereby they are responsible and liable for all phases of construction including insurance and warranty. At that point, they would cease being your Advocate, and become your "contractor".
- If they become my contractor, isn't that a conflict of interest? No, not really. Up until the time you decided to make them your contractor, they are to perform solely in your best interest. As your general contractor, you now become their customer from a different perspective, but the trust has been confirmed and you should be comfortable turning the project over to them.
- Wouldn't it make things awkward and possibly problematic if I chose someone other than my Advocate as the general contractor? Some advocates do not want to be the general contractor due to all the liabilities and complications of the job, so this possible dilemma may not even be on the table. However, in the cases where the Advocate is vying to work as the g.c., he/she should be of the mindset that they were originally hired as an Advocate with no guarantees of further involvement. The selection of a separate contractor should be a reasonable expectation with no 'hard feelings'.
Home ownership and the daunting task of properly attending to it, can be very similar to legal matters, insurance issues, and health care plans. When you feel overwhelmed or totally out of your league in such matters, you seek good, professional advice and service. The Home Advocate can serve as that professional for you and make life a lot easier. There is not an organization of Home Advocates to which you can refer. Prior times had a position called "Construction Manager", but these were generally reserved for commercial work. The Home Advocate may be someone you approach and ask to serve in that capacity, based upon a prior experience with them or based upon the experience of some of your acquaintances. You are not likely to find a listing of them in the yellow pages. Don't let that discourage you, rather, do your homework and you will find that qualified people will be willing to consider working for you in this capacity.
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