You’ve spent months looking for a new home that’s a perfect fit for your family and your lifestyle. After considering all your options, and thanks to the 5 Tips for Choosing the Right Homebuilder, you have decided that building a new home is the best option for you. With your homebuilder selected, you’re ready to get started. So what’s next? Now it’s time to consider the 5 tips for working with your homebuilder.
Photo courtesy of Lombardo Homes
1. Understand your budget and the cost to build a new home.
The first step in working with a homebuilder is to meet with a mortgage company to get pre-approved for a loan. This preapproval will help set expectations for what you can afford in terms of down payment, homesite premium, floor plan and options. However, it’s important you also factor other longer-term costs such as the area taxes, homeowner’s association fees, and maintenance requirements into your monthly budget calculations. You’ll also want to consider your closing costs, which are typically around 15-20% of your overall budget. When you’re committing to your floor plan and lot, make sure to work with your sales manager to get a full understanding of the total costs you’ll be responsible for during and after the build.
Photo courtesy of McBride Homes
2. Create a list of the items most important to you in your new home.
Designing your new home is one of the most fun and personal parts of building new! Options and features to consider range from structural options like adding a fireplace, an extension to the home, taller first floor ceilings, or rough-in plumbing in the basement – which need to be finalized early on in the build process – to interior and exterior options including cabinets, countertops, flooring, plumbing fixtures, lighting, brick colors, siding colors, and more. Knowing what appliances, furniture, and décor you have interest in can help you decide on certain options early on so everything in your home will have a cohesive look and fit properly.
Photo courtesy of Consort Homes
3. Make sure you understand the contractual terms of your purchase agreement.
There are a lot of small details involved in the very big process of building your new home. Your purchase agreement will set the expectations of everything your homebuilder will do/provide to you, but it also has clear parameters of what you’ll need to do as an active participant in the construction of your new home. It is your responsibility to understand the financial expectations and time commitments involved in building a new home.
Photo courtesy of McKelvey
4. Get everything in writing.
One of the great things about the homebuilding process is that you build incredible relationships with some incredible people! You will have many conversations, both personal and professional, with your sales manager, construction coordinator, mortgage lender and more. It can be easy to have what seems like a small detail ) get lost in a quick conversation. At the end of the day, your construction team is tasked with building your dream home and they do so by following exactly what you have selected, in writing, throughout the construction of your home. If a quick conversation with your sales manager about wanting an extra light over your island doesn’t find its way into the paperwork, your extra light over the island won’t make it into the home. This advice isn’t just relevant to the floor plans and options in your home, but also to the meetings you’re expected to attend, timelines in which you need to have options selected, and financial commitments to which you’re obligated.
Photo courtesy of Fischer & Frichtel
5. Trust the guidance of your sales and construction managers.
As mentioned above, one of the best things about homebuilding are the incredible relationships you build. Your sales managers and construction team are there to walk you through the process and they’re a huge resource for you! While most people only go through the homebuilding experience a couple times in life, your sales manager and construction teams do this every single day. They have an intimate understanding of the homebuilding process, the floor plans themselves, and all the options. No one expects you do know exactly what you’re doing through each step, and this is where your expert team can help. Your builder will work with you from start to finish to help the process flow smoothly, so you won’t feel alone. The process may sometimes feel intimidating, but your sales and construction teams will be well-versed in their work and can be a source of guidance and reassurance while going through this process.