SO YOU WANT TO BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME.  NOW WHAT?

The most common questions asked by those seeking to build a new home relate to how to seek and select a builder, and the financial process of building a home. 

Some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) Include: 

1. How do we select a builder?
2. When do we select a builder?
3. How do we compare different companies?
4. How do we choose a lot?
5. Who conducts soil testing?
6. How do we come up with a design to meet our needs?
7. Who finances the construction?
8. At what point do we pay for the new house? 

All of these are very valid questions that you should ask.  While there are numerous elements to investigate, essentially three approaches are common to most people and dictate both how and when to approach the process of building your new home.  From selecting a builder to why and when money should exchange hands, the following approaches will help you identify what plan will work best for you.

Non-Committal Approach 

Otherwise known as the "information-gathering" approach for clients who are trying to determine what to do. For the customer, financial costs at this time are minimal and limited to expenses such as gas, home plan books, etc. At Victor Myers Custom Homes, we simply serve as a resource servant to the client. During this time, we will talk about your dreams, expectations, budgets and other considerations with you. Our intent is to help guide our clients in the direction that best fulfills their dreams and desires.

Don’t get us wrong, we WANT to sell homes, but our ultimate goal is to uniquely satisfy customer dreams. We are here to serve YOU, and we do that best by providing you with abundant resources, as well as by educating you about the process of building your home from start to finish.

For example, if a client has questions regarding financing options or how jumbo loans work, we put them in contact with knowledgeable and experienced financing agents who can serve and teach. If a client wants to know approximate build costs, we will show them a variety of homes at different price points and help them understand what separates the cost differentiation. If they want to know more about green building, energy payback or specific items, we work to field questions and get appropriate answers.  If you have questions, the team at Victor Myers will answer them!

Even though financial investments are low at this stage, time investments are not. This is a time for customers to interview builders. You should find out what separates one builder from another. You should seek information about the builder's reputation, quality of work, industry recognition, financial stability, and likability among his home owners. Likewise, know that the builder is interviewing you as well. At Victor Myers Custom Homes, we don’t build for every prospect that desires our services. We, just like you, reserve the right to explore and choose not to partner with someone if we do not sense that the relationship will be mutually beneficial. 
 

PROS of the Non-Committal Approach: 

-  Little financial investment.

-  You get to know the builder and his company.

-  Both you and the builder get an idea of what level of customer service, quality, and price are realistic.


CONS of the Non-Committal Approach: 

-    Everything is speculative and generic.

-   You and the builder get an idea of what level of customer service, quality, and price are realistic.
 
-  You and the builder get an idea of what level of customer service, quality, and price are realistic.

-     Potentially large investment of time.

-  Enormous amounts of information to process.

-    Difficulty comparing apples to apples.

 

Self-Owned Lot or Design Without Holding A Lot Approach

So what if you own your own lot or if you are not quite sure you are ready to buy a lot from a builder?  At Victor Myers Custom Homes, about 50% of our clients fall into this category. There are a lot of choices you can make. Here are a few:

1.  You can choose to purchase ready-made plans from a magazine. Please do not do this. Even if you don’t build with us, please don’t do this. Generic plans are just that...generic.  And like the one-size-fits-all bathing suit, you will be disappointed with the fit. Even the best set of store-bought plans have to be modified and engineered to the specific lot. This presumed to be "cost saving" step will inevitably end up costing you money.

2.  You can choose to hire an architect, design your home, and then seek a builder. For people who have been through the process a time or two this can be a good choice. After all, the thought is that, as a client, you are reserving selection of a builder for the end, which will give you more negotiating power. To an extent, this is a valid reality. However, here is something to consider: Architects are not builders. Many have general construction knowledge, few have real world experience designing to fit a client's budget. This is not a slight on architects. They are gifted, creative individuals with a valuable skill set. What inevitably happens though is that clients spend months working with an architect to get the house just right. Dreams are coming to term as the plans are circulated among several builders. When the bids come back, even the lowest dramatically exceeds budget. Time and time and time again, we meet with people for whom this is the case. Countless clients have thrown in the towel because their dreams are crushed. Plans often come back 25-50% above financial realities. At VMCH, we are not saying "don’t do this".  But we bid plans on a monthly basis that have gone through the above scenario and we highly recommend that you prepare yourself to make some difficult choices and carefully weigh the benefit of going at it alone.

3.  You can choose to select a builder and involve them in the process. Perhaps a biased opinion, but, nevertheless, it is our suggestion. The reality is that when the dust settles and you move into your new home, most reputable, no-gimmick builders in any given market are going to be within about 2 or 3 percent of each other in cost.  Do your homework.  Interview 2, 3, 4 or even 5 builders in the area that you want to build in, and select one. Let your builder be an advocate and a voice of reason to help you with the scale of balance between cost and desire.

At Victor Myers Custom Homes, we handle this in a manner that we believe exemplifies the win-win we all desire. For clients who wish to partner with us, we enter an initial build agreement and begin design. The terms of this agreement are straight forward and outline what will happen. Usually this includes the builder working to interview the client, determine needs/wants/desires, determine appropriate budget, and work with an architect to design the home specific to the buyer. In exchange, the client pays an initial deposit which will be used to cover the hard costs of this process including architectural fees and soil samples for particular pieces of land. The deposit is usually between $5,000 and $15,000 depending on a few factors such as the square footage of the house, overall budget, and who actually owns the land.

At the end of the design process (which may take 3 or 4 attempts) the client will be given a specification document outlining the cost of the home. They then move forward to coordinate the financial arrangements. When the financing is in place, a final contract is signed, the loan is closed and construction begins. With our company, the initial deposit is applied to the contract price. For example, if the total build price of a home is $1,000,000 and a $15,000 deposit was rendered, then the balance is $985,000. 


PROS of the Self-Owned Lot or Design Without Holding a Lot Approach 

-   Smaller deposit translates to less initial financial investment to client,

-   Client knows what the product will cost before purchasing a lot,

-   Still retain the freedom to change builders if not satisfied.


CONS of the Self-Owned Lot or Design Without Holding a Lot Approach

-    No guarantee that the lot you are designing for will be available.

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