Building a home is a significant investment and when choosing a homebuilder, you should not make the decision lightly. There are many questions you should ask when picking a partner and this article will highlight some of those and our explanation for each to help guide you.
Some contractors will offer a price to build your home that might seem too good to be true. You will want to focus on the details in the contract to ensure the specifications in the home you have built meet your expectations. A homebuilder can offer a low price that will often come with lower-level finishes that may not be what you are expecting. This is considered bait and switch as you might believe you are getting a quality home for a comfortable price and then you have to spend extra money to get what you want. Pay close attention to the details of the quote or budget that you are being presented.
A home warranty or a guarantee from the builder is not always guaranteed and honestly, it is a red flag. When builders hire contractors to perform work on a new build, it is customary to have at least a one-year warranty on work performed. A reputable builder should offer a warranty, and it should explicitly list what is included and what is considered maintenance. You should feel comfortable asking for information on a builder’s warranty program as it will put your mind at ease knowing that the builder stands by their work.
In our professional opinion, there are two minimum standards for entry into homebuilding or contracting. The first one is general liability insurance which protects your home should anything happen during construction. A reputable homebuilder will have the necessary insurance to protect everyone’s investment as accidents do happen and we don’t want it to derail your project.
In Virginia, a homebuilder must have a contractor’s license issued by DPOR and it must be a Class A license with an RBC or Residential Build designator. No matter which builder you choose, we highly recommend you ensure they are licensed and insured at a minimum as it will protect you and your investment.
A homebuilder that doesn’t have positive reviews is something that you should be wary of and you should ask questions to understand why.
A handyman is a great source when you need odds and ends done around your home. When it comes to building a home, you want to ensure you hire someone that specializes in this. There are many moving parts in constructing a home and things will not always go as planned or desired. While a handyman is good at fixing things, you need someone who knows the inner workings of homebuilding and struggles to limit any exposure or loss.
The success of homebuilding will come down to the trade partners that a builder partners with and the builder’s process. A homebuilder should be willing to share their process with you as you will need to work through their process in pre-construction, construction, Warranty, and home ownership. A builder that isn’t willing to share their process likely doesn’t have a process that should concern you.
We believe in clients and builders entering a pre-construction planning agreement (PCP-A) to develop plans, specs, and a budget. A home builder that will offer a free estimate might sound like a good idea, but how true can the estimate be unless the home has been built numerous times and all selections are already decided for you. A custom home will require an enormous amount of time and work to develop the specifications, building plans, details, budget, etc. When you enter a PCP-A, you are paying for the services of the builder to ensure they are giving your project the full attention that you deserve.
The effort to develop a budget for a new build can be exhausting as each detail in the home has to be considered along with how the home will be built. It is a painstaking process to develop a thorough bid, and the builder will need to know exactly what you want in the home along with a set of blueprints to know how everything comes together. Once they have this information, they will need to coordinate with hundreds of trades to lock in their pricing and for each to coordinate their respective work with other trades.
If a builder can offer a full-price bid for your home build without plans or specifications, I would urge you to ask what their confidence in the price is. What happens if the price is more than what they are quoting you today? What are the minimum standards of quality that the builder will adhere to when things start to run over budget?
We highly recommend comparing the builders you are considering hiring by using a Hiring Guide Checklist. The checklist will allow you to check boxes for each builder to make an honest assessment of each builder and to ensure you are making an informed decision when hiring a home builder. Send us an email and we will be happy to share the Hiring Guide Checklist with you so you can take it when you meet your future builder.
