THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN HIRING A BUILDER
BE REALISTIC! Rome wasn't built in a day and your home shouldn't be either. A well constructed home takes time, and while you may be eager to be living in your new home, for most homes 5-6 months is a reasonable time frame.
If someone promises you your 2500 square foot home in 90 days you might want to keep looking at builders.
KNOW YOUR BUDGET When you start thinking you want to build, figure out a realistic budget. Go to your bank and see what you qualify for, check the cushions in your couch for spare change, etc. but come prepared to know what you are willing to spend to make your dream come true. There is not point in thinking you would like a 2500 square foot rancher if what your budget can afford is a 1400 square foot two storey home. Budget for some extras, usually $5,000.00 to $10,000.00, most people change their minds about something after the job has been quoted, the contract signed and they start shopping.
HAVE SOME IDEA OF WHAT YOU WANT TO BUILD There are lots of places for you to look at house plans and floor layouts online and at your local library. Potential builders may even have books they will loan you or be able to suggest websites or drafts people. Keep in mind that Canada's building requirements are different than the States so if you are looking at plans from an American website they may require a substantial amount of altering. An extra cost to your budget.
Remember initially you do not have to have your exact plan to start speaking with builders but be able to give them something to go on when you call them. Even if it is just a rough idea of square footage, area you want to build and style of home.
KNOW THE QUALITY OF FINISHING YOU ARE LOOKING FOR You do not have to have every last design detail sourced and picked out before you talk to builders but you should know what you envision your home to look like. Do you prefer hardwood floors over laminate, do you want solid surface countertops rather than Arbrite, tile over vinyl...you get my drift.
This does not guarantee you are going to be able to afford everything on your wish list (remember the budget?) but it gives a builder the information they will need to work on a quote for you.
KNOW WHAT LEVEL OF COMPLETION YOU ARE LOOKING FOR Most people build their home to a state of move in ready, meaning when all is said and done, you will be handed a set of keys and move your stuff in. Others will simply want it taken to lock up. Usually this means windows and doors are in, including the garage and the home can be locked up so no one can get in without a key. Someone else might want it roughed in, meaning the initial stages of electrical, plumbing, heating have been done and the house is ready for insulation. Others may choose to take the home to the completion of drywall. You get the idea.
A few things to keep in mind if you are not looking for a home to be completed by a builder: Not all builders will do partial construction. The portions of your home not done under contract with your builder are not covered by their Warranty (you will be required to sign off on this). All builders need to have Warranty to build. Expect your home to take longer to complete if you do partial construction as most people do not have the experience or knowledge to get the work lined up and done in a timely fashion.
DO SOME HOMEWORK WITH REGARDS TO THE ALLOWANCES IN YOUR QUOTE The time to pay your allowances heed is when you get your quotes from potential builders. If you don't do it know, make sure you do it before you sign the contract!
Your quote allowances should reflect your budget and what finishings you talked about with the builder but it is your responsibility to know what your allowances are going to get you.
If your quote states you have a $4,800.00 hardwood allowance for that 1200 square feet of floor you want covered, that means you have $4.00 square foot when you go out to price flooring. You need to clarify if the allowance includes prep and installation (the allowance often does) and then you will know the true price point you have to shop with and if your allowance it going to be reasonable to get you what you want and within your budget. In this case the answer is no!
Once you have signed the legal contract, anything you spend over your allowances are EXTRAS and you will be responsible to pay for them over and above your contract price. The least expensive quote does not always lead to the least expensive home.
LET THE BUILDER YOU CHOSE BUILD THE HOME YOU HIRED THEM TO BUILD While it is certainly great that you might have a knack for Do It Yourself or know friends/family/co-workers who claim they can drywall, lay tile, paint, etc. know that this rarely works in your favour. Again, any work done outside your contract with the builder will not be covered by their Warranty. Therefore if anything goes wrong you get to deal with those people who did the work and hope you can set things right and still keep your relationship intact. Also, if your skilled person fails to do the work in the time frame given for that job (remember you have a move in date and trades that do these things everyday are waaaaayyyyy more proficient) there are sub trades who are waiting for that job to finish so they can get in and do theirs. If the job you have hired out goes over time the next sub trade may move onto other scheduled jobs and this leaves your job sitting, waiting for another opening in their schedule to come back to do the work. Remember, some trades are scheduled and booked into jobs months in advance. You may have sub trade upon sub trade layered waiting for your friend to finish drywall and this may delay your job for months and can cost you thousands of dollars. Don't get me wrong, there are some builders out there who will let you do whatever work you want.
However, if part of your process in searching for your builder involved going and looking at their houses/work (which it should have been) and you liked the quality of the work you saw and that is what you want you home to look like, then let your builder build the home you hired them to build.
ENJOY THE PROCESS OF BUILDING YOUR HOME While there can be a certain amount of stress choosing between all the different product out there, remember your budget will narrow those choices down a bit.
Your builder should be there to help guide you (to a point), should you need guidance, and explain pros and cons about your choices so ask them to look at your samples and get feedback. Maybe that hardwood you love is just too soft to stand up to the four young kids and three dogs you live with.
Most importantly, have fun looking and choosing all the product that is going to make this house your home!
BE REALISTIC! Rome wasn't built in a day and your home shouldn't be either. A well constructed home takes time, and while you may be eager to be living in your new home, for most homes 5-6 months is a reasonable time frame.
If someone promises you your 2500 square foot home in 90 days you might want to keep looking at builders.
KNOW YOUR BUDGET When you start thinking you want to build, figure out a realistic budget. Go to your bank and see what you qualify for, check the cushions in your couch for spare change, etc. but come prepared to know what you are willing to spend to make your dream come true. There is not point in thinking you would like a 2500 square foot rancher if what your budget can afford is a 1400 square foot two storey home. Budget for some extras, usually $5,000.00 to $10,000.00, most people change their minds about something after the job has been quoted, the contract signed and they start shopping.
HAVE SOME IDEA OF WHAT YOU WANT TO BUILD There are lots of places for you to look at house plans and floor layouts online and at your local library. Potential builders may even have books they will loan you or be able to suggest websites or drafts people. Keep in mind that Canada's building requirements are different than the States so if you are looking at plans from an American website they may require a substantial amount of altering. An extra cost to your budget.
Remember initially you do not have to have your exact plan to start speaking with builders but be able to give them something to go on when you call them. Even if it is just a rough idea of square footage, area you want to build and style of home.
KNOW THE QUALITY OF FINISHING YOU ARE LOOKING FOR You do not have to have every last design detail sourced and picked out before you talk to builders but you should know what you envision your home to look like. Do you prefer hardwood floors over laminate, do you want solid surface countertops rather than Arbrite, tile over vinyl...you get my drift.
This does not guarantee you are going to be able to afford everything on your wish list (remember the budget?) but it gives a builder the information they will need to work on a quote for you.
KNOW WHAT LEVEL OF COMPLETION YOU ARE LOOKING FOR Most people build their home to a state of move in ready, meaning when all is said and done, you will be handed a set of keys and move your stuff in. Others will simply want it taken to lock up. Usually this means windows and doors are in, including the garage and the home can be locked up so no one can get in without a key. Someone else might want it roughed in, meaning the initial stages of electrical, plumbing, heating have been done and the house is ready for insulation. Others may choose to take the home to the completion of drywall. You get the idea.
A few things to keep in mind if you are not looking for a home to be completed by a builder: Not all builders will do partial construction. The portions of your home not done under contract with your builder are not covered by their Warranty (you will be required to sign off on this). All builders need to have Warranty to build. Expect your home to take longer to complete if you do partial construction as most people do not have the experience or knowledge to get the work lined up and done in a timely fashion.
DO SOME HOMEWORK WITH REGARDS TO THE ALLOWANCES IN YOUR QUOTE The time to pay your allowances heed is when you get your quotes from potential builders. If you don't do it know, make sure you do it before you sign the contract!
Your quote allowances should reflect your budget and what finishings you talked about with the builder but it is your responsibility to know what your allowances are going to get you.
If your quote states you have a $4,800.00 hardwood allowance for that 1200 square feet of floor you want covered, that means you have $4.00 square foot when you go out to price flooring. You need to clarify if the allowance includes prep and installation (the allowance often does) and then you will know the true price point you have to shop with and if your allowance it going to be reasonable to get you what you want and within your budget. In this case the answer is no!
Once you have signed the legal contract, anything you spend over your allowances are EXTRAS and you will be responsible to pay for them over and above your contract price. The least expensive quote does not always lead to the least expensive home.
LET THE BUILDER YOU CHOSE BUILD THE HOME YOU HIRED THEM TO BUILD While it is certainly great that you might have a knack for Do It Yourself or know friends/family/co-workers who claim they can drywall, lay tile, paint, etc. know that this rarely works in your favour. Again, any work done outside your contract with the builder will not be covered by their Warranty. Therefore if anything goes wrong you get to deal with those people who did the work and hope you can set things right and still keep your relationship intact. Also, if your skilled person fails to do the work in the time frame given for that job (remember you have a move in date and trades that do these things everyday are waaaaayyyyy more proficient) there are sub trades who are waiting for that job to finish so they can get in and do theirs. If the job you have hired out goes over time the next sub trade may move onto other scheduled jobs and this leaves your job sitting, waiting for another opening in their schedule to come back to do the work. Remember, some trades are scheduled and booked into jobs months in advance. You may have sub trade upon sub trade layered waiting for your friend to finish drywall and this may delay your job for months and can cost you thousands of dollars. Don't get me wrong, there are some builders out there who will let you do whatever work you want.
However, if part of your process in searching for your builder involved going and looking at their houses/work (which it should have been) and you liked the quality of the work you saw and that is what you want you home to look like, then let your builder build the home you hired them to build.
ENJOY THE PROCESS OF BUILDING YOUR HOME While there can be a certain amount of stress choosing between all the different product out there, remember your budget will narrow those choices down a bit.
Your builder should be there to help guide you (to a point), should you need guidance, and explain pros and cons about your choices so ask them to look at your samples and get feedback. Maybe that hardwood you love is just too soft to stand up to the four young kids and three dogs you live with.
Most importantly, have fun looking and choosing all the product that is going to make this house your home!
