10 Things To Do When Picking a Builder and Building a Custom Home
 At some point during your search for real estate in the Pinehurst, NC area, you may contemplate buying a Vacant Lot and building a Custom Home. There are a lot of factors that go into this decision, one of which will be choosing a builder.
As a real estate lawyer and also as the Managing Broker of McDevitt Sotheby's International Realty, I've witnessed the good and the bad in terms of relationships between homeowners and their builders. You'll get advice on this subject from a lot of people, but these few bits of advice might really help you. ? Referrals - we are happy to give you some referrals. We won't refer you to a Contractor unless we have experience with him or her, either personally or through our own clients who have been satisfied with the builder. Our referrals will also be based on where you want to build (by Town or Subdivision), your budget and your time frame.
? References the best contractors will be proud to give you a list of their recent projects and the owners. Building homes is a challenging business, and there are usually problems during the construction of any house. The important thing is to find out how the builder handled those problems. No one is perfect, so keep that in mind.
? Visit the Builder's Other Projects houses that are completed and projects that are in progress. Look around the construction site to see if it looks neat and to see if materials are stored so that they are secure from theft and bad weather. Also make sure that there is a temporary work place for reviewing plans and keeping records.
? Weekly Meeting make sure that the builder will agree to set up a 1 hour weekly meeting with you from the start of the project to the end on the same day of every week and at the same time each day (e.g. 8:30 am every Tuesday). In my experience, owners who follow this advice and stick to the schedule are the most satisfied with the finished project. This should be the time to review progress, go over change orders, address concerns, etc. If you are not willing to commit to meeting each week, then you might want to rethink building a custom home.
? Daily Progress make it clear to your builder that you expect to be able to see noticeable progress every single day on the job site. You are the one who is paying for everything and you want to know that the whip will be cracked. Time is money, and it's your money.
? Subcontractors ask for a list of proposed Subcontractors. Check up on them by getting references and going to talk with 2 or 3 of them. Ask this question where do you rank the builder in terms of working under them? The answers will tell you a lot.
? Be Realistic understand that you will probably spend a little more than you think going in to a project. That's why they call it a custom home. So, settle on a construction budget that builds in a fudge factor that is within your financial budget. Expect to change a few things once the project starts and understand that those changes will cost money.
? Communicate this is a catch all point that covers a lot of the advice above. Make sure you have a great relationship with your contractor.
? Get it in Writing you don't need a 50 page contract. However, you do need to have a contract that thoroughly covers every aspect of the project and what it will cost. Spend the few hundred dollars that it will cost to review that contract with an experienced real estate or construction attorney before signing it.
? Enjoy building a custom home is a rewarding experience that will consume a lot of your time. Follow this advice and keep your sense of humor; and moving into your new custom home will be one the happiest moments of your life.
Our agents are available to assist you in finding the perfect vacant lot for your custom built home. Call 800-788-8814 for more information.
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