Having a custom home built is a very big ordeal for anyone. This is likely the biggest purchase you will ever make in your life, so you want to make sure you choose the right person for the job. Anyone can sound great in a meeting and promise you the world, but can they actually deliver it. It is the latter part of that which we are going to focus on today.
Know the Difference
Be wary of the people that pretend to be home construction builders and those that actually do this for a living. By this, I mean watch out for the handyman that has decided to branch out and take on full home construction as a new business. I have friends that have gone this route and while it turned out to be far cheaper in terms of initial bids, it ended up being far more expensive and a lot less messier than they had ever though possible. Most of them ended up in court suing for breach of contract for one thing or another. They also had another common factor… their homes were far from what they had imagined they were getting.
You want to check the claims that are made by the business, such as how long they have been in business, business rating, referrals, etc.
Here is a quick checklist of questions to ask a potential builder:
- How long have you been in business under your current name (this can be easily verified on state Secretary of State websites).
- Has there ever been a court judgment against the business for improper builds?
- Have you ever been sued for work in this industry?
- Has the business ever declared bankruptcy?
- What is your background in the industry?
- How many spec homes versus custom homes have you built?
- Are there any models available for you to see?
To some, these questions may seem invasive, but this is a significant business transactions, probably in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, so you have every right to ask these questions and have them answered. If the builder gets uncomfortable and squirmy about answering them, you are probably sitting in front of the wrong person.
As you go through this process, consider using a residential construction consultant or project manager from Better Build Now. Depending upon how active you want to be in the process, our team member will work with you to ensure you choose the right builder for your custom home build. Give us a call today for a free consultation at 888-402-4180.