Tips for Choosing a Home Builder

One of the biggest decisions you'll ever make is choosing the builder of your dream home. And, in today's world, it's even more important than ever to have a builder that you can trust. Here are some tips for hiring a well-recommended, professional, and timely home builder. You can either come with a plan in hand and builders can quote on your project, or you can choose a well-known builder who already has some tried and true home plans that you can customize or personalize yourself. The latter might just be the easier and more expedient way to get into a new home.

If you are building a custom home in a planned development, ask the developer for their preferred list of builders.

First things first, make certain any home builder you are considering is licensed, bonded, and has general liability and worker's compensation insurance. You can check a builder's license by searching online at your state government's website.

The National Association of Home Builders recommends you contact your local home builders' association to obtain a list of builders who construct homes in your area. The builder's membership in the local chapter is a welcome sign.

Do your homework! Pick out three or four home builders, and ask for references from their previous clients. Request tours of homes they've recently built. Some builders even have model homes that you can tour.

Get your contract, construction drawings, building materials, and payment schedule buttoned-up with detailed specifics. Don't forget to have your plans engineered. Only then do you send your house-build out for bid.

Make sure that the builder has experience constructing the architectural style of the home you want built — Modern, Cape Cod, Tudor, Craftsman, Coastal.

Many seniors choose to build a home with Aging in Place protocols integrated into the design. Make sure your builder has experience with constructing the features required for a safe and accessible home.

Are you hiring an interior designer? When working with a small home building company, check if they are experienced with working with a designer. There are countless design choices in a custom home, and passing information from the designer to the builder and then to the subcontractor who is doing the work is vital.

Choose a builder who has a track record working within local jurisdictions if your homesite is located in an environmentally sensitive region like coastal wetlands. Naturally, thorough knowledge of building codes in fault zones is critically important.

Get a firm delivery schedule. However, you should realize that you should expect delays and an extended period of time to build your home in today's construction market.