The Top 8 Things to Ask When Building a Custom Home
If you’re thinking about building a custom home, congratulations! It’s an exciting process, and in the end, you’ll have a home perfect for your lifestyle.
There are many decisions to make when you’re building a custom home. You know you’ll need to choose your floor plan, select materials and finishes, and decide on all the little details that will make your house feel like home. But before you get too caught up in the details, there are a few big questions you need to answer first.
In this article, we’ll go over the top nine questions you should ask when building your custom home.
What experience do you have in building custom homes like mine?
By the time you sit down with a home builder, we assume you’ve done some homework. This involves browsing the internet, visiting home exhibitions and parades, reading local real estate publications, and consulting with your real estate agent. You may have spoken with others in your network who used a custom home builder for recommendations.
When you interview a custom home builder, ask them some questions about their years of experience. It’s not just how many years they’ve been in business, but if they specifically build the kind of home you’re looking for. Oceanfront properties have different requirements from inland ranch properties. Builders specialize in particular styles, too, such as modern or traditional luxury. You want a builder skilled in the construction you need.
You’re also assessing your builders’ accreditations, licenses, and professional affiliations. These show the builders’ commitment to maintaining best practices, learning new construction innovations, and delivering the highest quality homes.
Remember to inquire about what makes their company different from other custom builders in the area.
What are the development plans for the area where I’m building?
If you’re looking to build in a brand-new development, it’s important to understand all the plans for the area. How many homes are going in? What will the amenities be like? This aids in understanding how your custom home build fits into the community and learning if any surrounding construction might impact your property. If you buy early in development, you’ll need to be okay with possible construction going on around you, or waiting for specific amenities to be developed.
Look beyond the development itself and into the surrounding community. You want a builder who understands how their community development fits into what’s happening in the city. Changes to an area impact local home values or the enjoyment of your home. For example, you build the house because you love the view of the rolling farmland, but the builder knows it will be developed into a community in five year. It could improve your home value, but your view will change dramatically and change something you like about the home.
You’ll want to look at other construction or development projects planned for the greater area. A new shopping center planned for five minutes down the road could boost home values. Still, major construction on a nearby main highway could dampen potential appreciation for a few years, not to mention its impact on the surrounding traffic flow as you travel around town.
Look at the overall infrastructure of the neighborhoods, from accessible utilities to the local school district. How far away is the nearest grocery store or the hospital? Nearby lifestyle and entertainment amenities impact the enjoyment of your home.
How frequently do you finish projects on schedule?
The custom home building process takes time, but you should have a general idea of how long it will take from start to finish. Expect the whole process to take eight months or longer, depending on the size of the home and the scope of work.
Recent supply chain shortages for construction materials have impacted the home building process. Is your home builder upfront about what materials they have available and which are taking longer to receive? How have they modified their construction timeline to accommodate supply chain issues?
Find out from your builder what their process looks like and how they communicate with homeowners during construction. Do they send regular updates? What’s the preferred method of communication? How do they handle changes that need to be made during the process? How often do they hit their target dates?
Make sure you’re comfortable with their process and that it matches your expectations. As a buyer, you want to have an anticipated move-in date to assist with selling any existing home and planning the logistics.
What was the biggest challenge a home build gave you, and how did you adapt?
Past projects can give you a good idea about what to expect from the builder and how they handle adversity.
You want to look for a builder who is upfront about the challenges they faced on previous projects. How did they overcome them? Did they finish on time and under budget?
A custom home build is a big investment, and you want to be confident that your builder has the experience and problem-solving skills to handle any challenges.
What is your process for building the home within my budget?
It’s essential to have a realistic custom home budget before starting the building process. Once you’ve selected your builder, they should work with you to develop a budget for the project. The team’s experience with budgetary tradeoffs for construction performance and appearance can assist you in making product selections to fulfill your objectives for your new house. For example, selecting a lower-priced insulating material or subfloor could have a long-term impact on the efficiency and use of your home.
Specifying building materials is just as important as choosing the visible finishes like countertops and lighting fixtures and impacts your home’s longevity and need for capital repairs.
The builder should help you understand the potential costs for any customizations or upgrades. They should also provide a detailed breakdown of all the costs associated with the project.
Ask the builder how they handle cost overruns. Do they pass along increases in the cost of materials or labor to the homeowner? What is their policy on change orders?
You want to be sure that you’re on the same page regarding budget and that there are no surprises.
What’s not included in my project?
You need to understand what isn’t included in the price of your custom home. In some cases, homeowners are unpleasantly surprised by the final bill because they didn’t realize that certain features were not included in the base price.
Be sure to ask your builder about what’s included in the home price and what upgrades or customizations will cost extra.
Some common items that may not be included in the base price are:
- Appliances
- Landscaping
- Fencing
- Irrigation systems
- Decks and patios
- Driveways
- Custom features like built-ins or custom cabinets
- Audio/visual wiring
Another important factor to explore: is it the builder’s responsibility to obtain permits (and are they included in the price) during construction, or is that process and cost something you must undertake? Also, find out whether an appraisal or surveyor’s certificate is necessary for them.
What kind of warranty do you offer with the home?
Most custom home builders include a warranty on their homes. The warranty length varies but is typically one year for workmanship and two years for mechanical systems. Some custom home builders offer an extended warranty at an additional cost.
Be sure to ask the builder about their warranty policy and what is included. Also, find out if they are willing to stand behind their work after the home’s sale.
Can you provide me with references?
A good custom home builder will have no problem providing you with references from past clients. Ask for a list of recent clients and call them to ask about their experience working with the builder.
Find out if they were happy with the final product, whether the project was completed on time and budget, and if they would recommend the builder to others.
Also, ask if the builder was easy to work with and if they communicated well throughout the construction process.
It would help if you also drove by some of the builder’s completed projects to get a sense of their workmanship.
Other considerations when working with a custom home builder
Since you’re not buying an existing home, you may think that you don’t need a real estate agent. That is a misconception.
While it’s not required, we recommend working with a real estate agent specializing in buying new construction homes. They will be familiar with the custom home building process and can help you navigate potential pitfalls. They can also guide you on finding reputable custom home builders, choosing a lot, negotiating with the builder, and understanding the contract.
Another important consideration is your financing. Unless you’re paying cash for your custom home, you’ll need to obtain a construction loan.
Construction loans are different from traditional mortgages because they’re temporary loans that are used to pay for the cost of building the home. Once construction is complete, the loan will need to be refinanced into a permanent mortgage.
You’ll also want to have homeowners insurance in place before construction begins. Your builder should require proof of insurance before they start work.
Remember that custom homes are unique, so the building process will vary from builder to builder. Some custom home builders may have a team of in-house architects, while others may work with outside architects or draftspeople. The size of the company and its process will dictate how much input you have in the home design.
Finally, custom homes can take longer to build than production homes. Be prepared for the possibility of delays and plan accordingly.
Building your custom home
When you’re building a custom home, you’re not only investing a lot of money, but you’re also entrusting your builder with your dream. Asking the right questions upfront will help you find a custom home builder that you can trust to build the home of your dreams.