Building a Home? Questions to Ask Potential Builders

August 10, 2010

When choosing a home, some people decide to build a custom home instead of buying a pre-existing one. The decision to build is an exciting one, but it also requires careful consideration as you select the ideal builder to construct your home. Many factors go into this decision- initial cost, quality of materials, longevity of the construction and longevity of the components of the home are all important aspects that will affect the maintenance costs of your home as well as its long-term resale value.

If you have decided to build a home, or if you are considering it for your future, here are some excellent questions to contemplate and discuss with potential builders.

• Be aware that a low price per square foot can be deceiving. When discussing price per square foot with a builder, ask that builder to show you a sample home built with that same price per square foot with no upgrades. A builder may give you a lower price per square foot for a home that does not contain the components that you may assume or expect to be in the basic price. What is “Standard” varies significantly from builder to builder.
• After viewing and understanding what a basic home entails for a specific builder, assemble a list of what extra features/add-ons you want and give that to the builder before getting a price estimate. (i.e. additional cabinets, built-ins, tankless water heater, etc.) This will allow you to get the most upfront and accurate estimate before making a decision.
• Find out if your builder will be on site. When the homebuilder is frequently on the site supervising the work in person, you know that an expert is there to make the decisions that correctly and thoroughly address any issues that arise. Some builders even do a good bit of the work themselves.
• If possible, choose a local builder. Out of town builders who have come to the area from larger areas with lagging housing markets may not intend to stay. When a builder is local, their reputation precedes them and they are able to stand behind their homes and address any problems or issues that may arise after the home is built.
• Always look at your allowances (flooring, lighting, exterior, etc.) Builders may ive you a lower price per square foot by lowering the allowances you have to finish out your home with the specific fixtures, finishes and materials that you want. If those allowances are lowered to gain your business, you may end up paying more at the end to install the flooring, lighting, etc. that you desire.

Get to know 2 of the premiere home builders in the area: Hance Eskelsen (E6 Homes) and Jason Marek (JMV Custom Homes)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Blogpost, Bryan College Station Real Estate, New Builder Homes.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.