Owner/Builder or Hire a Contractor

Many believe they can struggle thru the world of being their own General Contractor.  For some, this is a possibility.  Others will try and get bogged down by a delinquent sub contractor or get stuck in a tricky area of the project.  So, how do you decide if you can take on the project yourself or not?  

The first few questions are:

-do you have the time to do it all yourself?  Or if not, do you have a list of reliable sub contractors that will be there to step in and complete their specialties?

-Does your municipality allow you as an owner/builder to pull your own permits?  

-Do you have the liability insurance to cover your sub contractors?

This is just the start of the questioning.  A good general contractor will get the job done in a timely fashion, whereas you might get distracted by your 'real job'.

There are lots of things to consider.  Saving that 10 to 15% by trying to do it yourself might not be worth it.

Trying to quantify at what point it would be wise to hand over the reigns?  Of course it depends on your location and project expectations but, probably any project that exceeds $10,000 would a good time to step aside and let the pros take over.