It’s been a while since my last post. Although construction has not started yet, we have been busy finding our builder, filing for a permit, looking for a place to rent and packing.
For a builder, we decided to go with a Construction Manager rather then a General Contractor. The advantages, in my opinion, are flexibility and control of money. With a GC, you have to pay a large sum of money upfront to the GC and then the GC is responsible for paying the subcontractors. We have heard to many stories in which either the GC walked off the job (with the money) or failed to pay the subs. There are two examples of this right down the block and around the corner from where we are building. Also when you want to make changes during construction, there is usually a change order required and typically it involves additional money. With a Construction Manager, we pay his fee over time (based on completion percentages) and we pay the subs directly - when they complete work. Also since we are getting bids from the subs in near real-time during construction – there is flexibility in the design.
We found a 3 bedroom town home to rent in the North Haledon, NJ. The lease starts on September 1st. So hopefully we will be in by September 11th. Once we move out the utilities can be disconnected and demolition can begin.
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