When you are shopping for a new home, one of the most important decisions you will be faced with is the selection of your new home builder. In many ways, choosing your builder is similar to finding a significant other. You are searching for a partnership that you can rely on for the long haul and you want to be certain that the relationship will have strength to endure any and all conditions. Most importantly, you want to be confident that you are partnering with someone who treats your best interest like their own.
Buying a new home can be an emotional time for many. Purchasing a home requires a tremendous financial outlay. For most people, the process can be intimidating and even daunting. However, with a few critical questions, you can evaluate builders so that you have confidence that your preferred builder is the right choice for you. If you remove the emotion from the process and create a shortlist of builders, then you are able to evaluate them based on the criteria you require for your new home.
Begin the process by formulating a checklist of your needs. Each homebuyer desires and needs specific features in their home. We suggest you create a checklist of all the things you want in your home from numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms, to number of levels, lot size, area of town, building material preferences, flooring preferences, architectural style preference, community amenities, distance from work, or anything else that is critical to you. Consider what items are “must have” vs. “wants” so that you’ll know where to hold firm and where you can compromise. With a completed set of requirements, you will be ready to find the home builder who builds precisely the home you want.
Research builders online. With mobile real estate apps that locate homes in specific geographic areas and websites like CharlestonNewHomesGuide.com, buyers can harness the strength of the internet to identify homes that meet their criteria.
These days, the majority of home shoppers begin their search online before turning to a Realtor to help them through the sale process. It can be particularly helpful to use a Realtor who works primarily with new construction homes. It’s also important to visit individual homebuilder websites.
When you identify the builders who are constructing homes that fit your criteria, evaluate them first by reviewing their website, reading testimonials, and reviewing their floorplans and communities. From this process, create another shortlist of builders whose communities you wish to tour. Be sure and bring your Realtor with you during this process. Your Realtor is a critical partner at this stage of the home search process.
Seek referrals to builders from your family and friends. People closest to you living in the area where you want to live may have insights into homebuilders in their community. Word-of-mouth referrals from friends and family are the most trusted way to find vendors of all types.
If you’re relocating to a new area where you don’t have a support system, ask colleagues at work or seek a reputable Realtor® to assist and support you. Realtors have local knowledge that helps identify builders who are trustworthy, reputable, and build in the locations that fit your needs. Give your Realtor your checklist of important features to help them assist you in identifying the builder who will best fit your requirements.
Develop a list of questions to evaluate home builders. Matchmakers employ an interview process to help match potential candidates. Adopting a few tactics from this strategy, you too, can find the perfect match. With support from your Realtor, use the following questions to gain evidence of the builder’s fit for your needs.
1. Please tell me about your company’s reputation.
2. What is your company’s financial situation? Are you on a sound financial footing?
Note: If the builder is a publicly traded corporation, you can refer to their published information. If they are a private builder, ask them about their years in business, number of homes built, expectation for length of time in the neighborhood that you’re looking at.
3. Do current homeowners recommend and endorse your company? Ask for names of homeowners so you may contact them to learn more about the home building process with the builder. Ask these owners to tell you want it was like to work with the builder at every stage of the process: plan and lot selection, contract, design center selection process, construction process, closing, and post-closing. Ask also about the builder’s warranty process and how items are addressed
4. Do you follow through on agreements and promises? Specific examples?
5. Do you meet building timelines? Specific examples?
6. How are change orders handled?
7. If there is a disagreement during the construction process, how is that managed?
8. How does the builder respond to owners following the closing? Discuss the post-closing process and how warranty issues are handled.
As with relationships, if you take time to rationally comprehend the strengths of your prospective builder, and let your head lead your heart, you will find the right home builder for your new home.
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