Do Not Trust The Custom Home Builder Who Has The Lowest Price

If you are looking to build a custom home, be prepared to spend money.

I know that sounds like an obvious statement but to a lot of people when they start looking around for a custom home they aren't looking to spend a lot of money they are looking for that one custom home builder that will give them a deal. A deal that will allow them to build their dream home, put everything they ever wanted into it and still be within their limited financial means.

This is called shopping for the builder, this is a really bad idea.

There's nothing wrong with looking at several builders to build your custom home, but if one of your sole purposes in interviewing builders is how much they are going to charge you to build the house then your setting yourself up for failure.

If your budget is so tight or so small that you have to shop around to find that limited few builders that you can afford then there's a several things that you need to realize right away;

1. Your budget is too small for what you want to build. When you budget for your custom home you should have at least 15 percent more money's then you need above the budget. This is for contingency.
2. Construction of homes has a lot of standard costs, so a builder being a lot cheaper then his competitor is a major red flag. The finishing of the home is were most of the costs vary, the finishing's are the one thing that you control. If you are having trouble fitting the house in your budget then downgrade the finishing's.
3. You get what you pay for. A builder that is going to be cheaper then everyone else is going to have cheap labour. Cheap labour does cheap work, its just a fact. A builder who is cheap will have a very poorly run job and very poor fit and finish.
4. Maybe you can't afford to build a custom home. Not everyone can afford to build a custom home its just a fact. Better you come to that realization now then later when your house is half finished and your looking at bankruptcy.

Custom home builders build homes because it's their business, its how they feed their children, that means that they want to make money when they do it. If they are charging too little then they aren't making money, there are several reasons why they are not charging enough and none of them are good;

• They don't understand the real cost of building your home. Custom homes all cost differently because they are custom. They might not understand how to properly budget a custom home.
• They never planned to stick to the budget. They only gave you one to get you to sign a contract.
• If they aren't charging enough then they probably are not financially stable as a company or in life. That means that they will have money problems which will affect how your home gets built and who they hire to work on your home.
• They will already be in trouble for other builds that they did, either financial trouble or legal trouble.

When you look at a budget from a builder and its to good to be true, then it is. Walk away. It isn't hard to find legitimate builders that have solid reputations, do your research and don't be in a hurry. And whatever you do, DO NOT HIRE A BUILDER BASED ON THEIR LOW PRICES.

Rob Abbott

Village Builders Inc.

How do I find a custom home builder in my area?

Q:

How do I find a custom home builder in my area?

A:

Finding a custom home builder takes a little bit of time and effort, you need to search all types of media and you should pay special attention to local advertising. Local advertising includes billboards, lawn signs, radio ads, newspaper ads, magazine ads or articles, on the side of trucks and or buildings with builder’s names on them.

Talk to people that you know in the area that have lived in the area, find a new custom home and knock on their door (if they are happy with their contractor they’ll be happy to talk to you). Custom home builders run on referrals almost more than all other media and advertising.

Stop in to the local building supply store and have a talk with the guys that work behind the contractors desk, they will know every contractor in the area because they supply the material for all of them. They might not be able to give you a recommended contractor as they might not want to damage the relationships with different contractors (customers) but they will be able to give you a short list of custom home builders that build the size and scope of the house you want constructed.

Architects that work in the area can help you a find a builder especially if you have retained their services to design your new home. They have the unique position in the way that they have worked with almost all good quality builders in an area and will have an opinion about their level of finish and their process in building a home.

Look on the internet to find local builders or to do more research on a builder that you are interested in or have heard about. You want your custom home builder to have some status on the internet this means that they are able to communicate fairly well with email instead of only over the phone.

Once you have found a builder that you believe fits your criteria you should take the time to interview them.

It’s more important that you find a custom home builder that is right for you, it’s going to take 8 months to over 1 year to build your custom home and if you can’t get along with them then you’re not going to enjoy the building of your home or that 1 year that it takes to construct it.

So take the time and do the research, the more research you do the more likely you are going to be able to find that custom home builder that fits you and will also be able to construct the custom home you are dreaming about.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.