Choosing a Home Builder

   Once you’ve made the decision to build a new home you’ll want to decide on how you’d like to proceed. Your next two steps are deciding what style of home builder you’d like to employ and then decide which specific home builder within that style you’d like to employ. 

   Depending on your area you may have up to four major styles of home builder to choose from: big or volume builders, track or semi-custom builders, a true custom home builder or you may opt to act as your own general contractor and build a new home yourself. 

Part of the above decision you may have already decided on without realizing it. For example, if you have purchased a home site already that is not within a large planned “Big Builder” Community you can rule out the Big or Volume Builders. If you have a set of floor plans in hand of your dream home that have been prepared for you specifically by an architect or home designer you may rule out volume builders and most track or semi-custom builders and start looking at custom home builders. 

   The best way to choose a new home builder is not from an advertisement or magazine article. The best possible method is to get a recommendation from a happy customer. Do research both on foot and online to find reviews and reports on builders in your area. Ask friends, family, a trusted real estate agent, your attorney and co-workers for recomendations. Speak with people who have recently built homes in your area. 

   Remember, anyone can write an ad for the newspaper or TV saying they are the best builder in town and all it takes is money to get it published. A word of mouth recommendation from a satisfyied customer is priceless. Once you get a good recommendation or two here are a few questions you may want to ask…

 - How many homes have you built? How long have you been in business?

This is a good start off question. Establishes how long they’ve been around. Is this their first home? Or maybe their first home in several years? Have they been around for years and you’ve never heard of them? Why?

- How quickly do you anticipate finishing a home?

Based on your floor plans or anticipated square footage and a rough idea on your trim out a builder should bea ble to give you a rough idea on a completion date pretty early in your talks. Notice I say rough. Scheduling labor and materials, weather, speciality items and other issues are a major variable in new home construction. If you need a home quickly perhaps a semi-custom home would be completed before a true custom home. 

 - Do you have a home that is under construction I can look at? How about one that is complete and occupied?

If at all possible take a look at current construction projects of that builder. Is the job site clean? Does the lumber appear to be of good quality? Looking at a completed home that is occupied helps give you an idea what a finished product from a builder may look like. How is the finish quality? Are there many cracks in the ceiling or dryall? Are the doors sticking? 

 - How personally involved will the builder and/or superintendent be in the home builder process? Daily, weekly, monthly visits?

The personal involvement of the home builder and/or the lead superintendent of that home will vary widely depending on the style of home builder you employ. This is a personal preference issue. Would you prefer someone who is on the job everyday taking care of your future home? Or is this not something that concerns you? Is there an official system in place, and on paper, that you can fall back on if you feel that your home is not getting enough personal attention from the builder?

 - Have you built homes under a different company name in the past? Are you doing so currently?

Several reasons to find this out. Often clients get a little squeamish about asking this question: ask it. Building a new home is often the single largest investment you’ll make in your entire life. If a builder has built homes under a different name in the past, why? Did a past company go bankrupt? Or did the builder shift his focus to a different market segment (eg. custom homes to modular homes). Builders may build under more than one company name at a time if they are building in different areas or in different home styles. It’s possible that the builder has a great reputation under one company name, and a not so great rep under another. Find out before you build. 

 - Do you consistently use the same group of subcontractors?

Perhaps the most critical factor in a quality home, especially in a custom or semi-custom home, is the quality of the subcontractors. When a good builder finds a good sub he’ll tend to keep them around and use them on several projects. The builder and sub can build a rapport that benefits not only the finished home but the home owner as well. A builder who has been in the business for a while however is constantly changing subs might be a warning flag. It’s possible that the builder is difficult to work for, the builder constantly “shops” his work around to the lowest bidder (rarely a good idea) or any number of other factors. 

- How does the builder go about ensuring that all subcontractors and suppliers are licensed, insured, covered by workers compensation, legal to work, following all necessary safety rules and regulations? 

You do not want any problems on your home job site dealing with the above issues. Stop work orders, lawsuits, fines, and general problems cause slow downs, headaches and can cost you money. Make sure the builder has all his files in order. 

 - How does the builder deal with change orders?

What must be understood is that the building business is, in fact, a business. Once a final blueprint is presented to a builder he will use that to bid the job. Any and all changes to the home construction from that blueprint will cost someone money. Even items that seem very small can be very expensive. For example you ask for 10 power outlets in your master bedroom. The builder installs them per the plan…several inches up the wall. You, however, had intended these power outlets to be placed in the baseboard. The problem is the electrician has already bid the job to place them in the wall. Routing out baseboards to install outlets takes more time and therefore is more money. Find out before hond how large and small change orders are dealt with…is there a “slush” fund of a few hundred dollars built into the bid prie to deal with typical change orders?

 - What is the payment schedule, deposit and draw schedule and warranty on the project?

Find out before you start. Get it on paper and get it looked at by your attorney. There is a large amount of money changing hands during the home building process. Don’t get caught in a bad spot when something goes wrong. 

 - Ask for the names and numbers of at least 3 previous home owners that you can contact about their experience with the home builder. Ideally you’d get someone who just recently had a home built and someone who’s lived in one of the builders homes for over 5 years. 

Pretty obvious one here but important. Also a good double check. If the builder refuses or can’t come up with names and numbers that might be a red flag. If you do get names and numbers and hear nothing but horror stories then that might be a red flag. IT can also work the other way: you may hear great things and get a chance to see other homes teh builder has built. 

   There are obviously many other questions to ask depending on your situation, your area and floor plan and so on. The point here is to make sure you ask. Ask these questions before you make a decision. Choosing a builder to build your home is a big, and very expensive, decision. Don’t assume anything and take nothing for granted! Now, if you have yet to make a decision on a home site it’s time to learn how to buy land.