10 things you should know before building a house with a builder

Don’t start your home project before reading this!

What You Should Know Before Building a House With a Builder

You can avoid much stress and frustration by beginning the home building process with some helpful insights. Here are our top ten tips for getting the most from your home building process and avoiding the major setbacks.

There is hardly anything as rewarding as building your home the way you want from the ground upward. This allows you to continue your growth and expansion in any way you wish. But, anyone who has actually done this will tell you’re the same thing. It can be a very difficult and time-consuming process.

It doesn’t have to be this way. By gathering some perspective and understanding to what you are doing you can save yourself tension and heartache later. Following are our top ten important points that should be considered by any clever home builder.

Top 10 Tips for Having Your Home Built By a Builder

1. Hammer Out Your Plan

Planning will be the most important part of the process by far. Have you ever heard of the Winchester Mystery House in San Francisco? This home was built by the eccentric widow who believed she was haunted by the ghosts of those killed by the Winchester Rifle, her late husband’s invention. To escape them, she built a house and never stopped building, there are stairs that lead to ceilings, halls that narrow into nothing at all and doorways that drop off the side of the building. While this is certainly a whimsical design, it has very little welcoming value as a home.

You want your home to follow a natural and cozy flow and this means planning your home meticulously. Which direction will the sunlight hit? Where will the master bedroom sit? How will the flow of the home be directed? Will the lighting include skylights and large windows? Where will the light fixtures and electrical outlets be located? You will always need a few more sockets than you think.

There are a wide range of useful tools available online that can help you plan out a good design for your home. Options like floor planner and RoomSketcher are especially intuitive. Then if you are in doubt, graph paper is never a bad option.

During this stage of the process it helps to fill your mind and creative connections with good ideas you would like to include. Consider starting a Pinterest board for the rooms of the home and file away some ideas of how you would like to plan them. This is also an effective way to communicate your plans and goals to the builder who will be helping with the process.

2. Budget more than you expect

You probably already have a good idea of what this whole process is going to cost you, well you’re about to find it will cost a lot more. There are just so many things that are likely to arise that you will not find in your contractor’s estimate. This could include things like the costs of gas and electric meters, window coverings and many other needs. Letterboxes, fencing, outdoor concrete and other points will also not be included in what are called the finishing costs. These finishing costs can sometimes cost as much as 15 – 20% of the overall budget. Then there will be zoning fees and site costs, which is the costs for preparing your property for the building project.

Then you will want to plan for any unforeseen costs. As your building takes form you may see some points that you would like to alter in the plan before the building is completed.

3. Pick the right builder

This could be one of the most important points to mention. No matter which builder you choose to work with, you will be working with them for many months and years until the project is brought to completion. For this reason it is a good idea to choose a builder with whom you have a good connection.

Here are some of the major points that can indicate you have found a good match.

Credentials

You will want a builder who is licensed and insured. It is also a good sign if they are a card-carrying member of the National Association of Home Builders.

References

Never sign on with a builder if you have not fully examined his work history and reputation with previous customers. This has to be done before you sign anything. You will also want to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that no complaints have been filed against this person.

Past work

Be sure you take a close look at some of the buildings this professional has completed in the past. Be sure to check if the level of construction is high. It will also help to know if the resale data on the houses they have built is especially high.

Style

When examining their past work, take the time to note the styles and design features and ask if this type of look suits your own needs. The builder may be very accomplished at a specific style, but if you are looking for something different, they may not be able to provide the results you are looking for.

Personality

As mentioned, this builder will be someone you are working with for the foreseeable future. For this reason, you will want to be sure you are perfectly comfortable in their company and with their communications. If there is not a clear understanding and spark between you, you may find it more efficient to find a builder with whom you share an especially good connection.

Price

It will all be not naught, if the builder is out of your price range.

4. Understand your agreement

Be sure you take the time to carefully read through the agreement you are making with your contractor. This will ensure that you are not met by any unpleasant surprises as you continue with the project.

You will want to ensure that your agreement includes a cooling off period and also specifies a timeframe that ensures the construction will be completed by a certain date. Also be sure to pay very close attention to the time frame for the payments you will provide.

It is a good idea to have your document looked over by a seasoned lawyer who can tell you if there are any blank spaces in the agreement and make sure that all variations made are legit and mutually agreed upon.

5. Know what you’re entitled to

If this is the first home you are building or if you are building an eco-friendly structure you may be eligible for some specific grants, depending on your location. This can be a huge benefit to offsetting the overall cost for the home you are about to build. To get more information about this, talk with your mortgage lender or check with your local counsel as well. You may also ask about credit rebates.

6. Get your financing in order

If you are building your own home there is a good chance you will need to apply for proper financing. A construction home loan is not the same as a normal home loan inasmuch as the lender will not be releasing the funds in one payment. A certain amount will be provided for your building project and then the bank will make payments to the builder as they find convenient. These intermittent payments are called. Draws. These draws will be made every time a stage of the building process has been completed.

Another way that these loans can be different is in the size of the loan the lenders require. Because a construction loan is always riskier than a regular loan, your lender may ask for as much as a 20% deposit.

You must be prepared before you begin searching for financing. Your construction loan will be based on the assumed value of the property when the construction is complete. For this reason you will need to present a full plan of the property that has been thoroughly costed.

7. Communicate constantly

All throughout the process you will want to make sure you are keeping good communications with your builder and tradesman. This will include getting regular updates on the process and progress of the construction process. Be sure to check in yourself as often as you can as well. Take a camera so you can photograph anything that you would like more information on later.

And remember that it is your house so you have every right to stick to your guns on anything. If you have researched your point your contractor should not tell you that something can’t be done unless you really are terribly mistaken. Of course, the costs can change, so be sure to keep an eye on this point. After all, you are the one who will have to live in the house and there is no reason that it should not be exactly as you want it.

8. Look for ways to save

As you may imagine, it is an especially costly affair to have a house built and you will probably spend a lot more than you had originally intended. But there are always ways that you can save cash, if you look and you should begin looking from the very beginning. Shop around for every fixture, pipe, screw and rivet and you are sure to find something cheaper than what you were being offered. Get as many quotes as you can and look for the best supplier.

Then you can also save cash by choosing a lot that will not require much in the way of preparation before the construction can commence. By reducing the amount of ground that needs to be leveled and trees that will need to be cleared away, you will further reduce the overall cost of the project.

9. Get an independent inspector

You will need a different inspector for each stage of the construction and this will allow you to rest assured that your home is being built to last and on par with the proper building codes and regulations of your areas. You will want to complete an inspection at each of the following stages.

Foundations and footings

This will ensure that your foundations and footings are solid and that your drains are all functional.

Frame

This inspection will ensure that the frame of the house is balanced and levels. It will also make sure that the dimensions as laid out in the original plans have been properly applied to the construction. The inspector will measure the heights of rooms as well as the direction of roof lines.

Lock up

This is the stage that your home can now be locked up. This means that the windows and doors have been installed. The inspection will cover doors and window frames, window flashing and the electrical outlets too. The brickwork and mortar work will also be examined.

Pre-handover

This final inspection will make sure that the paint, tiling, window fittings and doors are properly functional and that the entire construction project has been cleaned.

10. Know your rights if something goes wrong

If you have done all you can to make sure this project will go off without a hitch, there are a number of ways you can make a complaint against a faulty builder whose work was not satisfactory.

If your builder is a member of the National Association of House Builders, you will be able to file this complaint with the local branches. Different locations will all have different ways of handling these complaints and you will have to contact them to get the process started.

10 things you should know before building a house with a builder

We make it easy

On top of the premium quality and customization that The Brumble Group offers, one of the greatest benefits of choosing us is how easy we make the whole process. We handle everything from start to finish so all you have to do is enjoy watching your dream home come to life. Having developed more than 25 neighborhoods and built approximately 1,000 homes you can rest easy knowing you’ve made the right choice to handle your most important asset.

We’re here to help!

We’re here to answer questions, schedule a home tour, or help you start the process of building your dream home!

Why Choose The Brumble Group

We know there are a lot of options to choose from when it comes to home builders, and we are proud to offer much more than an average cookie-cutter home. If you’re looking for a unique experience and a truly custom luxury home that stands out from the rest, then there is really only one choice: The Brumble Group. No one else does what we do. If you need a truly custom home built exactly to your specifications we are the clear and unchallenged choice. Give us a call today and let’s take the first step towards building the home of your dreams.

Complete freedom in the design process

When meeting with our designers you can bring favorite fabric swatches, photos of your furniture, images from sites like Pinterest or Houzz or even pages from magazines to ensure that we design a home perfectly crafted to your desires.

We can build on your land

While we offer designs in well-located communities featuring popular amenities, we are also happy to build on your lot ensuring complete freedom in both design AND location.

One of the many benefits of building with The Brumble Group is we provide everything from start to finish, all you need to do is watch your biggest asset be built and enjoy the process.

Insurance

We provide builder’s risk insurance to protect your home from damage while under construction

Financing

We provide the construction financing through one of our many established bank partnerships.

Payments

we manage the weekly draw process and payments to sub contractors so you can relax!

Let's Get Started.

If you’re looking for a unique experience and a truly custom luxury home that stands out from the rest, then there is really only one choice: The Brumble Group. No one else does what we do. If you need a truly custom home built exactly to your specifications we are the clear and unchallenged choice. Give us a call today and let’s take the first step towards building the home of your dreams. Our friendly staff is waiting to answer any questions you have.