Contractor City Blog

Owning the home of your dreams always comes at a price. And whether you?re just starting out or you?re building your retirement cottage by the lake, chances are someone other than you will have to help finance the cost of building your dream.

Now, if you?ve been through the home building process before, you know that construction financing isn?t the same as taking out a conventional mortgage on an existing home. But if you haven?t had the pleasure of having a castle built just for you, there are a few things you should know about new home construction loan financing. For instance:

? Getting approved for construction loan financing can be tricky. Two loans are often required ? one for the construction period and one for permanent financing. Which means you?ll have to shop for both loans separately and will likely incur closing costs for both. However, if you qualify for a loan with a company that offers Construction-to-Permanent loans, both loans will be rolled into one ? and take the extra steps out of getting your dream home financed.

? Bridge Loans can help secure your new owner-occupied primary residence home loan before you sell your Continue reading ‘Construction Financing 101’ »

• Good resource: Renovating & Restyling Older Homes – http://bit.ly/3WOiut #
• 2010 Hearthstone Builder Award Call For Nominations http://ow.ly/rBF9 #
• The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. #
• Construction Job Postings for Today: Construction, General Labor and Skilled Labor – Trades Jobs http://bit.ly/39I0l #
• UK: Those in construction jobs unite to fight 'unfair' fines :: Building Services News http://ow.ly/rBKx #
• Niche watch: A Solar-Powered Home, Without the Bulky Panels – NYTimes http://ow.ly/rBFU #
• Florida jobs watch: Florida is a leading contender for high-speed rail funding http://ow.ly/rBLv #
• Solar niche watch: Credits, rebates push more businesses to panels http://ow.ly/rBGQ #
• Q: Why is marriage like the Army? A: Everyone complains about it, but a surprising number re-enlist. #
• HVAC Comfortech 2009: Hot Stuff, Cool Ideas! http://ow.ly/rBIf #
• Good resource: Carpentry & Roofing – http://bit.ly/ZjXoc #
• Construction Job Postings for this evening: Construction, General Labor and Skilled Labor – Trades Jobs http://bit.ly/39I0l #
• Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. #
• Q: What do you get when you put three ducks in a box? A: A box of quackers. #

Continue reading ‘Twitter Updates for 2009-09-30’ »

• The money is shifting: RT @BigBuilder: New-home sales rise less than expected: http://bit.ly/2mdFRm #
• The moral is 'safety first': RT @FallNoMore: Electrician survives high-voltage shock http://bit.ly/3RwKbT #
• Niche watch – offer this to your clients: Anti-Reflective Coating optimizes efficiency of solar panels | Honeywell http://ow.ly/rqWg #
• RT @ReedConstrData: First set of Q&A from the BIM webcast – more to come!
  http://tinyurl.com/yd7kqxt #
• Florida jobs: Construction Workers Needed | EACJobs.com http://ow.ly/rr1e #
• Texas jobs: Construction opertaors & laborers in San Antonio, TX: | Yahoo HotJobs http://ow.ly/rr34 #
• Carpenter Jobs, check for your location: http://ow.ly/rr7K #
• @NashTrash Try this one: Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad. in reply to NashTrash #
• Trendspotting: New Wave of Homeowners in Trouble? – Custom Homes – Builder Magazine http://ow.ly/rs4h #
• Follow the money UK: New govt advisor 'will focus on sustainable construction' | Sustainable Construction News | http://ow.ly/rraB #
• I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous. #
• HiringHelper Launches Employee Matching Site for the Construction Industry http://ow.ly/rrfY #
• Building Information Modeling Gains Ground http://ow.ly/rsgO #
• Follow the money: 'Open Series' Boosts Sales at KB Home – Economic Conditions, Sales, Entry Level, Design http://ow.ly/rs7D #
• Get Your Construction Business Back to the BASICS | via @CBOMagazine http://ow.ly/rjOw #
• How to Land a Foreclosure House – WSJ.com http://ow.ly/rtmQ #
• Good resource: How-To Construction DVDs – http://Contractor-City.com/dvds.html?tw #
• Thinking outside the box: House designed like a smail shell http://ow.ly/rhON #
• First Green Building Complete Utilizing New Construction Technology http://ow.ly/rse4 #
• Construction Job Postings for this evening: Construction, General Labor and Skilled Labor – Trades Jobs http://bit.ly/39I0l #
• The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about. #
• Biz trip to San Fran in the morning, that should be fun. Have a great evening all #
• The trouble with life is there is no background music. #

Continue reading ‘Twitter Updates for 2009-09-29’ »

So you got your degree in either civil engineering, construction management, or construction science from your accredited college or university of choice after years of patient dedication to your field of discipline. But now that you have your degree, where do you go to find Construction Management Jobs?

One option that lies open to you is to find Construction Management Jobs in Denver, Colorado. You may baulk at the idea because you don?t know anyone in Denver and you?ve never been there. Well, you may be surprised at what awaits those who find Construction Management Jobs in Denver, Colorado.

At one company that does offer Construction Management jobs in Denver, a Construction Manager in the field of mining (which is one area you should look into when you try to find Construction Management Jobs in Denver, Colorado) stands to earn from US$80,000 per year up to a maximum of US$100,000 in base pay alone. This company also grants bonuses, per diem and car types of compensation aside from that huge base pay to the lucky employee who tried find Construction Management Jobs in Denver, Colorado and wound up with them.

As you explore ways to find Construction Continue reading ‘How to Find Construction Management Jobs in Denver, Colorado’ »

Construction is probably the single largest producer of waste in the UK in this modern century. From the disposal of materials to the cutting down of trees, all materials needed for small or large construction projects, generate a fair amount of waste on a regular basis.

New government legislations have now been put in place to reduce the waste produced by companies engaged in the construction of buildings or services. For instance, all companies are now responsible for recording the amount of waste produced before and after each project, at the risk of being fined 50000 by the Environment Agency. This refers to the new Site Waste Management legislation.

The main challenge for the construction industry in the years to come will be to use sustainable raw materials that can be renewed or recycled as much as possible, without encouraging cheap materials that are being produced by sweating labourers in countries like malaysia or china.Or, materials that in one way or another, cause damage to the environment around us. The buildings should also be more energy efficient and be built from the sustainable or recycled materials and with an enclosure that considerably reduces the total consumable energy. Energy efficient technologies like solar Continue reading ‘The future of construction: Green building’ »

There are always new buildings being raised and no matter where we travel we will always run into them. Office buildings are expanding and as companies get bigger, they need more room in order to operate. Therefore, the construction industry is always booming along with the economy. That being said, the construction industry may also be crashing if the economy is. Nevertheless, construction is an important part of the economy and many things happen in this industry before the first hammer is nailed.

There Has To Be A Need

There is usually some kind of desire for a construction project to begin, be it a family’s need for more bedrooms to house it’s children in, or someone’s want of a bigger house. These needs steer these groups of people to act. Let me tell you how these needs are satisfied: Buy some land (or use land that you already own), find a building permit, hire a general contractor, hire subcontractors, and start to build right away.

Land

Depending on the type of project, the land that needs to be acquired will vary.. There are mainly three different kinds of land that the government has classified. First Continue reading ‘The Construction World: Construction Bidding’ »

• Signs of recovery: Small businesses see U.S. economy improving – Yahoo! News http://ow.ly/r40D #
• Construction Job Postings for Today: Construction, General Labor and Skilled Labor – Trades Jobs http://bit.ly/39I0l #
• Signs of recovery: New US home sales rise 0.7 percent in August | Builder Magazine http://ow.ly/r77L #
• NYC mayor hypes energy-efficient rooftop painting – San Jose Mercury News http://ow.ly/r78e #
• RT @daveyoho @SweetEdit: NAHB on ripple effect of remodeling: Every 10 remodeling jobs created leads to 8 other jobs http://bit.ly/2QIkzp #
• Houston to get state's largest solar plant | Dallas Morning News http://ow.ly/r7al #
• European, Australian Energy Efficiency Programs Can Be Good Models for US, Study Says http://ow.ly/r7bm #
• Terrific resource: National Assn of Women in Construction http://www.nawic.org via @NAWIC #
• Opportunity watch: Over Two Million U.S. Buildings are Candidates for Lighting Upgrades http://ow.ly/r7cR #
• Alternative building materials: Houses Made Of Hemp Could Help Combat Climate Change http://ow.ly/r7g9 #
• Common sense tips: Pursuing Construction Jobs from the Contractor?s Perspective http://ow.ly/r7jh #

Owner builder construction gives you the chance to build your own home and earn a lot of instant sweat equity in the process. However, the loan process is more involved and time consuming than a simple purchase or refinance loan. If you are considering being an owner builder, understanding these nine basic steps will make the project financing and planning much smoother.

Step One: Owner Builder Pre-qualification

Before you invest too much time and money in planning your construction project, talk to an owner builder construction loan officer about qualifying for financing. Let’s face it – almost none of us can build a house without borrowing money from the bank. So, take a few moments to speak with a lender who specializes in owner builder financing and learn the details about the program that you would qualify for.

Step Two: The Pre-approval

In the first step, you simply got pre-qualified, meaning nobody pulled your credit or examined any application documentation. At the pre-approval stage, you actually apply for the owner builder construction loan and give the lender the right to pull your credit report and review some income/ asset documentation, as Continue reading ‘The Nine Basic Steps of the Owner Builder Construction Loan’ »

• RT @SEConstruction: ENR: Federal Dollars for School Construction, Round Two http://bit.ly/Jfk5M #
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• RT @JackNiner: Buy American drywall and stay out of trouble: http://www.redlinedblueprints.blogspot.com/ #
• Home Buyers Want To Save Energy – But Only At The Right Price, NAHB Survey Shows http://ow.ly/qUGy #
• America?s Best Installer Competition Comes to Tucson | HousingZone.com – 1290000529 http://ow.ly/qVrr #
• RT @remodeling: Top 7 Genius Plastic Bottle Remodels http://bit.ly/3Y7BPt #
• Federal building renovation off to a slow start – Bloomberg.com http://ow.ly/qVsb #
• Banks optimistic: What Commercial Real-Estate Threat? The Recovery has Begun | WSJ http://ow.ly/qVsF #
• Follow the money: New Urbanist Community Results in More Walking, Interaction | Builder Magazine http://ow.ly/qXh4 #
• U.K. commercial real estate making comeback: British Property Investors Returning to Market | NYTimes.com http://ow.ly/qVt7 #
• New Design Keeps Buildings Standing And Habitable After Major Earthquakes http://ow.ly/qVtn #
• Fail to plan, plan to fail: Sinking Texas Gulf Coast Condos to Be Demolished – NYTimes.com http://ow.ly/qVtA #
• Product Pros and Cons: Tankless Water Heaters vs. Conventional Storage Tanks | BuilderOnline http://ow.ly/qVtN #
• Using Recycled Tires in Pavements as Green Construction http://ow.ly/qVu7 #

“Capitalism: A Love Story”, is the tongue-in-cheek title of Michael Moore’s latest film that trashes the people who run our country. But honestly, he’s tough to argue with – very tough.

Larry King tried hard Wednesday night to catch Mr. Moore off his guard and paint him into a corner, but the goofy kid from Michigan was having nothing of it.

Continue reading ‘Michael Moore’s trash talk on capitalism certainly raises some questions’ »