How To Get Your Best Deal On A Custom Home

How To Get Your Best Deal On A Custom Home

This is a Blog post that should get a lot of attention!

How do you as a Homeowner get your best deal when building a Custom Home?

Building a Custom Home is something new for most home buyers. How do you wrap your arms around this complicated process to make great choices and not over spend?

Design Build!

1) Interview 5 or less builders that you have researched thoroughly.

2) Select one of the Custom Builders to work with.

3) Use the Architect and Interior Designer he recommends.

4) Have "Selected Builder" produce "Scopes of Work" that detail exactly, what you want included in your home.

5) Using Scopes of Work and Completed plans, Selected Builder provides final pricing.

6) Submit Scopes of Work and Plans to 2nd choice builder for a check price.

7) Select Builder to construct your dream home.

Interviewing 5 Custom Home Builders will provide you with enough information to make a great decision. Don't overly focus on the price per SF as this number is going to change as the plans and scopes of work are developed. The price per SF number just needs to be in the ballpark of what you want to spend. You can count on this $/SF number increasing!

Select one of the 5 builders to work with (see Blog post, "How to Select a Custom Home Builder"). Pick the building Team that will be the best at developing your building plans and bid package.

Using an Architect the Builder recommends will insure the Architect is qualified to design your dream home and since they are use to working together the process will be smoother. The two of them will work out many issues behind the scenes that you won't have to be involved with. The Builder will help keep the final cost in check and make sure the Architect doesn't design something that can't be built in the field or will be high maintenance.

Have the Builders, Interior Designer help you specify all the pieces and parts you want included in your dream home.

Don't forget to ask your Builders, Realtor for their opinion of your plans and specification. After all, one day you will want to sell this palace and it will be too late then to fix floor plan defects.

The Scopes of work will specify all the building elements and the Interior Designers specification package will provided all the other details, from columns to flooring and appliances. Everything should be included at this point or contain an allowance amount if a final decision hasn't been made. The fewer allowances the better, as you want your Builder and team pricing out a complete package.

Now that the plans and scopes of work are fully developed, your selected builder has a complete vision and so do you. He has bid out the project with his team and able to tell you exactly what your dream home will cost.

Submitting the fully developed plans and scopes to your 2nd choice Builder will give you the piece of mind that you are paying a fair price for your home. When you hand him the bid package, make sure the 2nd choice builder understands that no substitutions will be accepted and that all you want him to do is fill in the line that says, price. All the variables between Builder 1 and 2 have been eliminated. This is extremely important, receiving multiple bids with different variables will not allow you to compare apples-apples. Believe me, no matter how capable your are if the variables are different between the two builders you'll never be able to determine which one is providing the best value.

Make your final Builder selection. By this point you have spent months with your 1st choice Builder. You've had an opportunity to see how he works with you and his team. Do you want to spend the next 12 months working with him? This Builder has spent months working with you and invested a great deal of time and money. Even if you are paying Builder 1 for his time you aren't really compensating him enough for all the help and guidance for the previous months. The fair thing to do is sit down with him and review the two competing bids together. 

If your 2nd choice Builders, check price, is lower, now you have a tough decision. This Builder is a relative unknown entity, as you haven't spent  months developing plans and specifications with him. Perhaps, he's not seeing the project as clearly as Builder 1. After all, Builder 1 by now knows your project from "soup to nuts"'. If you have any doubts, choose Builder 1 as he's the safest bet. He's spent months earning your business, he deserves it!

Remember there's more to consider here besides price.