Why Use Our Services at Merchant Victorians

Because Merchant Victorian Homes, a Long Island custom home builder is different than most other custom builders. Merchant Victorian Homes preferred method of building is with a construction management agreement. The cost plus contracts as they are also called, are based on actual labor materials and other direct project costs, plus a reasonable agreed upon builders percentage fee. When these agreemenets are executed the owner pays no more or less than the actual cost to build his project, plus the agreed upon percentage to the builder.

The owner does not need to pay for the builder's overhead or contingency, a form of "padding", which is sometimes factored into a lump sum bid to compensate the builder for the inherent risks of the project.

When these agreements are executed well the owner pays no more or less than the actual cost to build his project, plus the agreed upon percentage to the builder. This is fair to both parties as long as both live up to their promises, and have a high level of integrity and competence. The Home Builder and the Customer must interview one another and in general the builder and the owner need to have a high level of faith in each other's sense of honesty and integrity or else the relationship is subject to rapid erosion at the first sign of cost overruns, or when the owner starts down the all-too-common path of upgrading finishes without realizing the significant impact this will have on a budget.

Merchant Victorian Homes eliminates much of the fault finding due to unrealistically low ballpark estimates by providing a detailed description of the scope and cost of work at the onset of the job permitting the owner to verify the costs by comparing them to North and South Shore (Long Island's) construction quotes.

Having been a Long Island builder for over 20 years I receive a discount from my subcontractors and suppliers which is passed on to the owner and are reflected in the budgets they receive.

With this Home Builder construction agreement the owner also benefits from value engineering; the use of common cost saving ideas suggested by the builder. To prepare the customer for upcoming decisions in a residential remodeling or residential construction job and create tangible goals a detailed schedule is provided which gives the owner the projected start and finish date for each task in the building process.

The mutual benefits are discussed in more detail at a first meeting. One of the biggest advantages of construction management is that the owner is not rushed into decisions which ultimately will produce more overall satisfaction with the finished home.