So with so many options out there, how on earth are you supposed to know how to choose the right home builder for your custom home project? Well, by the end of this video, you’ll have a really good understanding of the steps you need to take in order to choose the right builder for your custom home, and it starts right now. I’m Jonathan, and this is the lovely Rachel Beasley we’re That Fit Team real estate brokers right here in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and your insiders into the world of all things designing and custom building homes. It’s a process we’ve done several times. We do it all the time with our clients. We absolutely love it.
We post new videos each and every week, and it’s our sincere joy to share everything that we’ve learned firsthand experience with you so that hopefully you can benefit from it. And when you go to build your home, you can pick the right builder because it can really paint your experience and there is a ton of builders on the market to choose from. So let’s get into it. So this video idea actually came from a friend who lives in San Francisco, and he gave me a call. He reached out and said, I know you’re Hampton Roads.
But if I were going to custom built here in San Francisco, where would I start? How would I know how to choose a local homebuilder? So the question struck me because in all reality, the builder that you choose and the company that you work with will greatly paint and impact your overall experience. So it’s an important question to consider and one that could help you a lot to think about up front. So to start with, let’s go over some of the basics which will eliminate the contractors that you simply don’t even want to get past.
Step one with the people that are either going to do shoddy work or they’re just trying to get in and out and make a quick buck and get on down the road, we want to help you weed those folks out really quickly and upfront. So I have my esteemed colleague Rachel here. And what would be number one, Rach?
1. Functional Website
Oh, well, I think number one should be. Make sure the builder you’re considering has a functional and updated website. We live in a digital age now, and any builder that has not invested in a website is not staying up to date with today’s current business trends. A lot of time builders that don’t have a website are a one man show, which means they are probably a little hard to get a hold of. Maybe they might be spread too thin to do an effective job at managing each of their sites and, more importantly, holding their subcontractors accountable for quality work.
It’s imperative for both you and the builder to be able to learn more about each other prior to getting into a building relationship. Yeah, you got to know somebody before you put a ring. Yeah, right. So I mean, we say that in jest But the reality is a good builder or any good company for that matter is not afraid to show you who they are, how they deal with real world clients and issues when they arise. So get to know them before you want to move forward. Seriously, you should trust your builder. Yeah.
2. General Liability Insurance
Number two, this one’s like really short and sweet, but it’s profoundly it’s profoundly simple yet important, so make sure they have general liability insurance. Sounds like a no brainer, but we’ve actually run into cases where insurance has lapsed, which is really dangerous. And thankfully, catastrophe didn’t strike in the instances that we’ve run into it. But it actually could if something really bad happen, particularly if you own the lot and you’re funding the build. If there isn’t a general liability policy in place and the worst happens, it could be really bad news for both you and the builder. So make sure they have general liability risk insurance. That’s a really good one.
3. Good Track Record
Number three, make sure they have a track record of building quality homes and have a lot of homes under their belt already. Seriously, you don’t want to be the guinea pig for a newbie builder in the business. This is one of the more important pieces of advice we could probably give you. You simply cannot put a price tag on experience what a builder doesn’t know. Not only will hurt him, it could also hurt you. Yeah, 100%. And there’s a lot of newbie builders who just kind of see the margins and jump in into 5-600 800 million dollar build, and they’ve only built a couple of homes. That’s not the guy that you want building your million dollar home. So I’m just a bit of advice.
4. Home Warranty Program
Number four, make sure they’re a member of a home warranty program. So the deal with this is sort of twofold. first, most home warranty programs that the builder already. So there’s a process to vet them through the warranty company. They require a certain amount of volume and a certain amount of units. They generally require that the builder be bonded and insured. So the builder has to have some capital. And if they get too many warranty issues, a lot of times the home warranty company can actually boot them out of the program, something you consider and theycan actually ban the builder for life if there’s too many warranty problems.
So it’s a good idea to make sure the builder has a new home warranty program. Secondly, it can also supplement your warranty coverage. So, for instance, in the state of Virginia, the state requires the builder to cover workmanship and systems for one year, and then the foundation structure is covered for five years. But a lot of the builders we work with are in the 210 home warranty program, which essentially doubles the coverage on systems as well as the structure it takes up from one year to two years, and then the structure from five years to ten years. So gives you some additional coverage and peace of mind that your home has some warranty and some guarantees along with it. So new home warranty program. Is a good sign for the builders that you’re interviewing. Absolutely.
5. References
Number five, can they provide references on demand? This is a big one, you guys. I would definitely ask if they can give you someone that’s willing to share their experience dealing with that particular builder. If it were me, I would ask for two or three. And don’t just ask for the references, make the phone call to those people and chat with them about their experiences. Yeah. Good tip.
6-7. Organization and Systems
Number six, ensure that they have systems and specific processes in place that enable them to track the build of the home. This will tell you a lot about how organized their builds will be and even kind of maybe six B or a number seven. It’s just a general good question to ask is who does your broker communicate with regularly because you are going to have questions? And oftentimes it’s not feasible for the builder or the owner of the company to be the one communicating the brokers, particularly if he’s pushing volume like we’re encouraging you to find someone that stays busy.
But it is reasonable for you as a consumer to know exactly who the main point of contact is. Again, you’re going to have a lot of questions that come up. And so knowing what the proper communication channels are will be extremely important so that you can relay questions and receive answers in a timely manner. It is worth noting there’s some dichotomy here. We often encourage clients to zoom out and take a long term perspective when building. The old adage that Rome wasn’t built in a day is very true. I mean, it’s the same industry wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your home be.
So try to have some empathy and understanding and know that the builder, if you’ve chosen the builder and the company and his representatives correctly, they’re going to be doing everything they can day to day to get your home built in a timely manner with the quality deserving of you and your family. So I say all that to say, if you’re not getting answers within an hour or even a day, try to have some empathy and know that you’re working as a team. If they’re doing their job, they’re going to be very active in the field, getting things done for you at the home site. So try and have some understanding and know that you’re going to get your questions answered. But it is good to know who to filter those questions to.
8. Do They Care?
Number eight. Last but not least, but maybe it should be number one because it’s really important to you guys. This is a good one. All right. So what’s the actual secret in choosing the right builder? Well, this one’s a little more difficult to give you direct advice on, but it boils down to one single question and what is it? Do they care like for real? Do they actually care about you and building your home like the home your family is going to live in? Or is are they just doing this for profit? Yeah, for real. Take a minute.
When you’re interviewing builders, ask yourself, Do I get the sense that these people really care? Yeah. Homebuilders are like everybody else. They’re real people. And as such, you need to get to know them a little bit to determine who they are. Things like what does the company stand for? What do they believe? How do they treat their employees? Do their employees know what the company stands for? How do they communicate with you before you sign the contract? You know, that’s a good one to consider.
Was their salesperson like super pushy and just trying to close you? Or were they offering solutions and asking all the right questions and getting to know you? That will tell you a lot about what their agenda is? Is it very inward focused or are they genuinely trying to understand how to create a win win for you and your family and the company? So it has to involve a lot of mutual trust and a win win outcome in the best way to ensure that outcome is by getting to know them really well upfront before you commit to the process.
So there you go. Those were pretty straightforward and simple. We hope it was helpful. I feel confident if you follow that advice, you’ll weed out 90% of the companies that you do not need to spend more than 30 minutes checking out. So the good thing is that the builders that don’t stand by their product will generally not meet half the criteria we just laid out. So we hope you enjoyed it.
If you haven’t already, please don’t forget to hit like and subscribe. It would mean a whole lot to us. I’m Jonathan. This is Rachel Beasley. We are That Fit Team professionals in real estate, and passionate about people. See you next week.
