One of the most important lessons behind our business came from a builder who never paid his crew.
It was in the UK, years before Bay Building Solutions existed. The company our director Richard was working for was going under, but nobody told the team. Every couple of weeks they'd get a small payment, just enough to keep them turning up. They kept trusting it would come right. It didn't. To this day, Richard is still out of pocket.
That experience is why we take choosing a builder so seriously, and why we'd encourage you to as well. You're not just hiring someone to swing a hammer. You're trusting them with your home, your money and your plans. Here's how we'd go about it if we were in your shoes.
1. Check they're licensed
Look your builder up on the public Licensed Building Practitioner register at lbp.govt.nz. It shows their licence class and whether they've had any complaints upheld. If someone's reluctant to give you their LBP number, move on.
2. Look at real, local work
Ask to see jobs they've finished in the Bay of Plenty, not stock photos. Building in Tauranga has its own challenges: sloping sections in places like Bethlehem, Welcome Bay and Ohauiti, sandy coastal ground around Papamoa and the Mount, and plenty of wind-driven rain. A builder who's worked through those knows where things go wrong.
3. Talk to past clients
Reviews are a good start, but a five-minute phone call with someone who's built with them is better. Ask them one question: "Did they do what they said they'd do?"
4. Don't pick on price alone
The cheapest quote is often the most expensive build. If one price is a lot lower than the others, it usually means something's missing. Ask every builder these five questions:
- What's not included in this price?
- How do you handle variations?
- What usually causes your jobs to run over budget?
- How often will I get updates?
- What happens if something goes wrong?
Listen to how they answer, not just what they say. A builder who gets defensive now will be harder to deal with halfway through your build.
5. Ask what's guaranteed, and get it in writing
By law, for residential work of $30,000 or more, your builder must give you a written contract, a disclosure statement and a consumer checklist. There's also a 12-month defect repair period after completion, where your builder has to fix defects you tell them about.
Beyond that, ask about an independent guarantee. As members of New Zealand Certified Builders, we offer the Halo 10-Year Residential Guarantee on eligible projects, which protects you even if something happens to the builder. After what Richard went through in the UK, we think every homeowner should have that.
6. Meet the people who'll actually be on site
The person who sells you the job isn't always the person who builds it. Ask who your site manager will be, how you'll reach them and how often you'll walk the site together.
7. Trust your gut
You'll be dealing with this person for months. If they're hard to get hold of before you've signed, that won't improve once they've got your deposit.
Why we do things the way we do
When we started Bay Building Solutions as a family business, we wanted to build something better than what we'd seen. That's why our Built Right Promise is written down: a fixed price means a fixed price, you'll always know when your next update is coming, and if something's on us, we fix it.
Choosing a builder for your project? We'll come out, walk the site with you and answer any of the questions above.
