We spend a lot of our time as children dreaming of our future home. Some of us pictured it like our dollhouse and some of us went as far as building it out of LEGOs.
Now as adults, we have the power to make that dream a reality. It may look a little different- the bowling alley, shark tank, and 7 pizza ovens can probably go- but you can design the perfect home for your needs with the help of the right local home builders.
Choosing a local home builder can be difficult. We put this guide together to help you know what to look for when shopping around. Read on to find out what to look for to make sure you get the best quality home!
What to Do Before You Start Looking at Local Home Builders
Before you contact a single builder, it’s a good idea to spend time thinking about exactly what you want for your new home. Though builders can help guide you through the process of design, you shouldn’t come to them with a blank slate. A builder cannot give you an estimate if there are too many unknown variables in your project.
Make a list of each room you want in the home. Then, for each room, list the features that you desire for each room.
Even if you don’t have much talent for drawing, try and sketch out a basic floor plan, just to have a visual. This can help you communicate when you meet with the builder.
Once you have a good idea of what you are looking for in your new custom home, it’s time to find a builder. Look for the following qualities when selecting your house builders.
1. Quality
A home is a long term investment. You want to do everything possible to ensure that your dream home is built to last. In the event that you don’t spend the rest of your life in your custom home, quality construction will also make it easier to sell when it comes time to say goodbye.
To inspect the quality of your new potential home builders, ask to tour a model home or recent build. Ask if it’s possible for you to look at a current project that is under construction.
If you can see a project they are in the middle of, you can get a look at things you might not be able to tell from a finished product. Also, you may be able to observe the workers a little and get a sense of how they do things.
Ask for references and if there are any past clients you can speak to. Then, interview those past clients and find out all you can about how they like their home and how the building process went. They may even be willing to show you around their home, but let them offer.
Look for builders that offer a warranty. Buying a new home is like buying anything else; companies stand behind their products and expect that they should not have problems while still new. Many builders offer a structural warranty of at least 10 years.
Builders that offer a warranty stand behind their work. In the event that there is a problem, a warranty ensures that the builder will take care of you. It also keeps them accountable to do their best to avoid the need to fix anything after the initial construction.
2. Transparency and Communication
You want a builder with good communication. Pay attention to communication during the early stages of contact and the bidding process. If you find that it is hard to contact them, or that their communication suffers in another way, that won’t magically get better once they start building your home.
You want to make sure that the builder has a clear understanding of what you want and that they can deliver it. In the event that something comes up and they need to deviate from your plan, they should be clear with you about it and be able to explain why they need to do things another way. You want to make sure that your custom home is what you want it to be.
Ask for an itemized bid. It should not be unreasonable to see a breakdown of what exactly the builder plans to charge you or each individual aspect of the build.
They can outline what they expect to pay in materials and what they plan to pay each subcontractor for their role. If they are unwilling to be clear about how they arrived at the total for their bid, that may be a red flag.
A good builder should be transparent about all aspects of the job.
Ask them about their insurance and relevant licenses. Hiring an uninsured or unlicensed contractor puts you at risk of liability. Ask to see their insurance certificate and license, and if they fail to provide them, consider looking elsewhere.
3. Reputation
In addition to talking to past clients and references, there are other ways to verify the reputation of potential builders. There are a few organizations that can help you research them before you hire them:
In addition to researching your builders, ask them what subcontractors they typically work with and who they intend to hire for your job. Subcontractors do a lot of the actual physical work and you want to make sure they too have good reputations.
Build Your Dream Home
Finding the right local home builders is a crucial step to making sure your custom home is everything you want it to be. We would love to sit down and talk about what you’re looking for and help make your dream home into a reality! Contact us today to get started!
