budget management – The Horton Standard

For new developments, builders may choose to include allowances in construction contracts. Allowances help to establish clear expectations about costs, as they allocate funds to particular areas throughout the construction process.

If your builder offers allowances, it enables you the right to provide a product or service. This cost is deducted from the total amount you owe the contractor. For example, if the price of the home is $400,000, and the builder gives you a $20,000 allowance for flooring, the amount paid to the builder is lowered to $380,000.

Providing allowances gives future residents flexibility to customize their home and contractors clear guidelines from which to move forward. Some of the usual allowances in residential construction include:

Appliances
Flooring
Plumbing fixtures
Kitchen countertops
Cabinetry
Light fixtures
Door hardware

In addition to providing customization for new construction, allowances can help you stay on budget. Each allowance is its own budget, helping you pick finishes you want while staying true to your maximum overall cost.

By working with tenants or owners throughout the process of the build, builders provide information about allowance options, as well as the pros and cons of choice for cabinetry, flooring, countertops, or any other selections that may be available. Also, if you go above the mini-budget in one area of the house or condominium, you can get back on track by cutting back somewhere else.

If you know you want to be involved in choosing finishes for a new home, start working with the builder or general contractor as soon as possible. This will allow you to learn about the options you have, review the allowance for each, and make decisions without feeling rushed. If a build is almost complete, the general contractor will have to begin making choices so the job is not delayed, which would cost time and money.

Project managers, especially in construction, are responsible for juggling a handful of responsibilities. From start to finish, they carry out all aspects of the building process to align with the visions set forth by clients and developers. All the while, a project manager must ensure that tasks get completed safely, on time, and on budget.

Construction project managers must be experienced within the industry, as they tend to a variety of responsibilities requiring a great deal of knowledge. These include:

Planning: Before a project gets underway the project manager must establish a timeline for each stage of construction. Throughout construction, the project manager makes sure each stage is finished for timely completion.

Resource Management: Project managers must understand what resources and tools are required for a given project and have them available.

Staffing: Just as they are responsible for the resources for projects, a project manager is also responsible for staffing individuals of all trades. Hiring the correct people is essential, as the timeline and quality of work is dependant on it.

Setting Benchmarks: Setting benchmarks allow all parties involved to have a clear understanding of when certain things need to get done.

Budget Management: Project managers are responsible for the financial planning of a project and ensuring that the scope of work stays within budget. If any changes are made that influence cost, those too must be accounted for by the project manager.

While the above list encompasses the broad roles of a project manager, a lot more work goes on behind the scenes in order for a project to be completed on time and at a high quality. For a project manager to be successful, it takes a great deal of cooperation, communication, and confidence in his or her decisions.

Tag: budget management

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