How to pick a home builder. If you have been following our building journey, you know we have had some hiccups along the way. We sold our house in March 2021 thinking we would have a six-month build to look forward to.
After selling our house, we moved in with my parents. We picked a lot out of our old development to build another house. Our old house was close to a major highway with a lot of noise. We lived with my parents for six months and contacted our builder about our lot. He came back with the bad news that he had given our lot away to someone else.
Related: How Long Does it Take to Build a House
We were back to square one. Luckily, there was a lot of land for sale that we were able to purchase. In the meantime, we moved into an apartment with a year lease in hopes of building a house during that time.
We started the hunt for a new builder since our old one gave away our lot. We found one and sat down with him multiple times, had blueprints drawn up with him, and was ready to start the build. BUT he decided to ghost us. We still haven’t heard from him.
We had researched so many other avenues, barndominiums, custom builds, modular homes, and stick builds. In the end, we found a builder that was perfect for us. And hopefully will be breaking ground soon.
How to Pick a Builder
What type of build would you like
When you begin your research on builders, make sure you are looking at the type of builds they construct. Most builders are custom, meaning if you bring them a blueprint they should be able to build it within reason. The problem we ran into when searching barndominiums was that most builders around here did pole buildings compared to metal builds. Depending on the price of supplies that is a huge cost difference. Modular homes are becoming more popular and are as sturdy as stick-built houses. Modular homes are made in a factory and then transported to the site and put together. The issue we ran into with a modular build was some hidden costs that continued to add up.
Know what you want
Custom home builders should be able to build the house of your dreams. You can bring them a blueprint with the layout that you want. There are builders who will push certain things even if it is something you do not want. Whether it is cost-effective or they like working better with a certain material compared to another. Make sure you stand up for what you want and don’t back down. You will be the one living in the house, not the builder.
Know your budget
Your budget is a huge part of building a home. There is no sense in even speaking with a builder without knowing what you might be able to afford. Talk with your bank or shop around for the best interest rate. Get pre-approved with an amount and then find a builder. Remember your pre-approval amount is an estimate. Also, materials are more expensive than they were a couple of years ago.
I wish you the absolute best of luck with building your home. Keep in mind, things never go as planned. It may take a few builders before you find the one that works best for you and your needs. And that is ok!
I hope you found something helpful in this post. How to pick a builder. I also hope you decide to follow along with our building process. Make sure to subscribe so you get an email reminder!
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