Planning on owning a home but not interested in the standard architectural designs? Looking for a way to bring your lifelong dreams to reality? You probably need a custom home builder.
As a prospective homeowner, you must understand the difference between a general contractor and a custom home builder before building. A general contractor will manage the professionals working on your building project. They aim to take the architectural blueprint you’ve purchased and implement it correctly. The general contractor will also manage the hiring and firing of professionals at each stage of the construction project.
On the other hand, a custom home builder will be involved in all the processes, from hiring an architect and designing your home to landscaping. Custom home builders help uniquely customize your home to your taste and perfection.
If you’re already considering hiring a custom home builder, here are some of their responsibilities according to konnectbuilding.com.au/:
- Work with homeowners to set a realistic budget for the project
- Ensures that all subcontractors are executing floor plans correctly and building to code
- Prepare estimates and track project costs throughout the construction project
- Liaise between the construction team and the local authorities
- Procurement of building materials
- Handles permits, approvals, inspections, and obtains a certificate of occupancy
- Educates homeowners on the best maintenance tips for their new custom home.
Do these sound like what you may need during your home-building process? Then you need to find the right custom home builder for your project.
How Do I Find the Right Custom Home Builder?
There are hundreds of custom home builders on the market; however, not all of them are right for you and your project. Their experience, expertise, and types of projects handled in the past set some apart from others. Seeing as a custom home build is an overwhelming process, you also need a custom home builder with the resources, network, and connection to significantly offset your worries and stress.
Follow the steps below to search and choose the right custom home builder for your project.
Do Your Research
Researching custom home builders in your local area is the first and instinctive thing to do. You want to know how many of them are top-ranking and whether to look elsewhere for help. Depending on where you live, you may hit a goldmine simply by searching for “custom home builders near me” on the search engines. You can also check the local building associations for custom home builders.
Prospective homeowners can reduce the research time and process by referring directly to family, friends, and colleagues for recommendations. If your loved one has recently completed a building project you admire, it may be worth asking who their custom home builder was.
It is important to carefully vet custom home builder recommendations before outsourcing the project to them. You can get about 3-4 or more options to compare quotes, past projects handled, timelines, promises, and offers.
Contact Potential Custom Home Builders
Armed with a list of top custom home builders from your successful search engine search and recommendations from family and friends, you can proceed to make contact.
Contacting the custom home builder is essential for many reasons, including establishing a professional relationship, gauging customer service and what to expect, and asking questions. Be prepared to ask lots of questions to help fine-tune your final decision.
If you do not already have questions to ask, here are some to consider;
- Do you offer a warranty on your services?
- How long does the building process take?
- Can I access the home during the building process? How would that work?
- What is your experience with this type of project?
- Are you handling other projects, and when can you start on mine?
- How many homes do you build each year?
- What is the design and build process like?
- What challenges can you anticipate during this project, and what are your suggestions?
Although these questions aren’t exhaustive, they cover the key areas of your expectations and results. You can add more questions to the list to seek clarity from the builder.
Check References
You may need to check references to narrow down your options further. References give you social proof and improve your confidence in your hiring choice. Request at least two references from your potential custom home builder.
When checking the references, ask whether they’ll recommend the custom home builder or hire them again. You can also ask about the building process, the challenges, and how the custom home builder managed them.
If you’re okay with the replies, you can go ahead to read and sign the contract to get started on your custom home build.