What to Ask a Home Builder Before Building Your Home
Building your own custom is a dream come true. You already have the budget for it, and all you need is a team of contractors, or even builders 2 storey home builders to help you execute the best design and realize the custom requirements that should be included in the plans.
You have a dream home in your mind, and it’s there floating in your head. However, these dreams can easily turn into a nightmare if you fail to ask your builder the right questions or if they fail to understand your design goals. This total lack of communication will make your builder unable to deliver their promises and accomplish building your dream home. Instead of being a memorable experience for you, lack of communication can become the reason why building your home can become frustrating.
Before you sign that contract with your builder and spend resources in buying a new construction home, make sure you’ve asked them these important questions so your building project can run smoothly:
1. How Much Is Customizable?
Building your house allows you to get exactly what you want, compared to buying one. However, some builders keep costs on budget by offering a set number of floor plans and finishes. They do, however, allow for a few aesthetic makeovers, but everything must keep in line with the budget.
If you want a custom job, ask how much customization is allowed. Some builders allow extensive customization, including changing floorplans and upgrading finishes. While some builders, such as nihhomes.com, will design a home with you from scratch.
When building a home with a limited budget, make sure to ask the home builder about what you can customize. Having this information early will help you manage your expectations and give you time to change your designs. This will also help you prepare a realistic budget for your dream home.
2. Which Comes As Standard And Which Is Upgraded?
When you’re looking at a model home, you’ll naturally fall in love with it because the builder is presenting their best work. However, you should keep in mind that all those lovely fixtures and finishing may not come with the standard base price of the home.
Those little tweaks may cost you extra, and you should ask your builder exactly how much you need to pay in order to get the look you want. You have to get a clear answer which of the features in the model home come with upgrades and at what cost.
3. Ask For A Timeline
Each time spent on a building site costs money, and your builder must have a timeline and strategy in place before starting. Ask them exactly how much time it’ll take them to finish a project. Even if they do have your best interests at heart, weather can cause delays as well as sourcing of materials. Despite this, a good builder will have a timeline and due date on when they can deliver their finished project.
A reputable home builder will have years of experiencing in building different kinds of homes, which means that they can easily foresee problems that might happen along the way. Their experience will make it very easy for them to give you a timeline on the project, and what you can expect every month the moment they start building your home.
Aside from calculating costs, the timeline provided by the home builder will also help you determine whether these contractors can meet their deadlines.
You should also be aware of everything that’s happening when building your home from foundation to framing up to the painting stage. Home builders with good track record in the industry will regularly update you on the progress of your dream house, and consult you for any changes or problems that might happen along the way.
A reputable builder will give you a date on when you can finally move in.
4. What Do You Do When A Problem Arises?
Regardless of how experienced home builders are, problems can still arise. Often, these problems involve factors that they can no longer control. It’s typical to experience roadblocks as you’re building your home, but you should pay attention to how your home builders will manage these situations. As a future homeowner, you have to know how your builder handles delays or complications. This tells you how organized and professional your builder is. So, if problems arise in your project, you know how they’ll be able to handle it.
You can start asking the home builders what will they do the moment they experience delays in the delivery of the materials needed for construction. Once this happens, do the home builders have backup plans? If they do, are these effective? It’s important for the home builders to come up with solutions to problems that aren’t occurring yet. The more prepared they are for emergencies, the sooner you can move in to your dream house!
Construction requires a lot of scheduling and moving heavy machinery. As a homeowner and investor, you want clear communication and proper conflict management so that you can move into your new home with as little stress as possible.
5. Who Should I Contact When Problems Arise?
Aside from knowing what home builders will do the moment problems arise, it’s also important to know who you can contact when these problems actually happen. Homebuilders will deploy several contractors to finish your home, and not knowing who to contact when you notice problems during the construction can result in a lot of stress.
Ideally, you should get the name and contact number of the person who you can talk to when you notice problems during the home construction. Having this information before the construction begins will give you peace of mind knowing that someone will be ready to answer your questions or concerns.
6. Do You Have Warranties?
Many builders offer warranties, and you should look around and ask your builder for a good deal. These warranties often last for a specific amount of time. For example, some warranties cover systems, such as HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems, for two years. They also cover cosmetic issues, like paint jobs and sidings, for one year.
Working with a home builder who offers a warranty will allow you to save money in the long run as they can repair or replace broken or damaged areas in your home for free or for a minimal fee. This will also save you a lot of stress as you won’t have to look for and hire other contractors when you notice damages in your home.
7. What Happens If I Decide To Cancel?
You can’t ensure that your relationship with your builder will be smooth sailing. You may encounter conflicts along the way, and canceling may be the best recourse. Thus, it’s important to ask them what happens if you ever arrive at that point.
Usually, you may have to put in a deposit that’s non-refundable after a number of days. You should be aware of your builder’s cancellation policy so you’ll feel comfortable and good about getting started with the project.
8. Ask Them About Other Customers
In this case, you have to ask them for their references. Interview past customers if you like. These will give you reviews about your builder’s work ethic and how they handle conflicts and treat their clients. It’s common for home builders to speak highly of themselves because they’re running a business–they have to impress clients to ensure that they can earn profits and continue operating in the industry.
For you to determine whether they can stay true to their words, always ask for references before building your home. In fact, the statements of their previous clients should be one of your deciding factors of whether to hire a specific builder or look for better options.
You would also be able to know how well builders stuck to timelines and if they caused past clients any frustrations.
If the home builder can’t provide any references, start looking for other options. A home builder who can’t provide references to potential clients are ones that haven’t acquired satisfied clients in the past or they’re still inexperienced in the industry.
Final Thoughts:
When building your own home, you should be getting your money’s worth. Make sure the process of obtaining your dream home will be a dream in itself and not a nightmare.
Make sure your builder has good policies and the right work ethic to communicate with you and be attentive to your every concern.
