When, and how, to appoint a builder?

[ITriedAnother]

We are in the process of buying a house bit it's taking a while to go through probate. It will need cosmetic work done on it before we move in. We would also like to get an extension at some point so we figure it makes sense to get that done before we move in too. However I've read on here that good builders can have a waiting list of months. Is it possible to appoint a builder before we've even bought the house? The current owner is ill and so ideally we would avoid going round with several builders but presumably a builder won't quote unless they've seen the house? Thank you.

For an extension, you will need to employ an architect first. Personally, I'd ask for recommendations on Facebook. The architect will draw up the plans, and will have a list of established builders that he can recommend to you (builders that he will have known for years).

No decent builder will accept a job without knowing what they are building. If they have an outline of the job without plans maybe they will but you are utterly at their mercy for the price

We had a tender with 5 bids on ours. Hugely varying but selected the builder we wanted and he dropped the price to get the job.

Neighbour wanted similar extension but half the size without a kitchen Ext. Pensioners and the prices they got we double ours for half the size

I'm afraid all builders are busy if decent but a well run tender will keep costs down. Make sure you have a full contract as well (separate thread)

came on simply to point out that some Architects may even be women too !!

good luck with the move and build OP !