5 Tips for Choosing Your Ideal Builder

Building a house is a pretty permanent decision. If you have decided to take this step, you are probably sure that this is a home you are going to live in for years, maybe for the rest of your life. Thus, this is not something you should take lightly, because even the tiniest mistake can cost you thousands of dollars and ruin the whole experience. The most important factor in making everything work perfectly is your choice of the builder. However, the road to the right choice is paved with traps. The following five tips should help you make it through this process successfully.

01. A custom or project home?

Before you start searching the web for potential builders, you should decide if you need a custom or a project home. This choice will affect all of your following decisions regarding the construction and finding the contractors. Both of these options have their pros and cons:

• With project builders, you can see display homes and know exactly how your house is going to look like.
• With custom contractors, you have the chance of designing a home which is customized to your needs and budget.
• As for the price, it all depends on the materials and the size of the property.
• Earthworks and demolition are usually not included in the offer of project builders, while they are business as usual for custom builders.

02. Now you can do your research

Even when you finally decide on the type of construction, you still have an abundance of companies to check out, and the very search can be overwhelming. You can narrow the search down by basing it on your future home’s location. Then you can go through local builders’ portfolios and former floor plans. If you already met some people in the neighbourhood, you could ask them for their recommendations. After all, word of mouth could be the best way to find trustworthy builders. If you don’t know any of the neighbours, this might be your chance to meet them. You could also get a tour of their homes and see how their builders performed their job. If you like it, you can ask for the name and contact of the company.

03. Don’t settle for anything less than full transparency

Some builders will hesitate to tell you about their suppliers and the materials they use. They’ll be reluctant to give you an approximate timeline and a budget estimate. Stay clear of such contractors. Search for reliable companies with substantial experience in construction. They will be willing to answer every single one of your questions and such luxury home builders are very open about their suppliers, and they speak proudly about the natural materials they use in construction. You will recognize similar companies by the amount of information on their website, and the way they present themselves.

04. Look for credentials

Researching the company’s portfolio is essential, but it is not enough to get a true insight into the quality of their work. To be really sure you are choosing the best builders out there, you need to check whether they have been given any special accreditation or awards. Also, most home builders are included in one or more industry associations. This can be the proof of their excellent work, and you can also ask those associations for referrals for local companies. Local industry associations are a perfect starting point for searching for builders as well.

05. Look for a builder that is willing to work with you

Even if you decide to build a project house instead of a custom property, you should be able to communicate with your contractor, at least in terms of price and timeframe. With custom builders, this is even more significant, and the communication must be kept alive at every step of the project. Some custom builders even use smartphone apps like Co-construct, so that the homeowners can access all the project information whenever they want to. Make sure your contractor is willing to listen to your wishes and adapt the project to them. This relationship should be mutual. You should value the experience of the builder you have chosen and accept the advice you are given when something doesn’t turn out as you would wish.

Building a house is a major milestone, and choosing a good home builder is a crucial factor in making this experience a successful one. Make sure you go through each of these steps to avoid making a mistake. A friendly reminder: double-check everything, and you will be twice as sure that you have made the right call.