One of the most important decisions you’ll make when building a new home is choosing the right custom home builder. Thankfully, researching home builders and the selection process itself has never been easier. Today, more than ever, it’s possible to find the ideal builder for new home construction. H.W. Holmes, Inc. – custom home builders in Ventura, CA – offers five ways to pick the right home builder for your project.
Define What You Want & What You Need
You need to know your budget and the size or type of home you want. Many custom home builders are adept at building a broad range of homes. Others specialize in the construction of homes within a specific type, style, or price range. For instance, it’s rare to find one builder specializing in both multimillion-dollar homes for affluent homebuyers and starter homes for first-time homebuyers. So, the first thing you need to do is look at a homebuilder’s portfolio and determine whether or not there’s a fit. Does their portfolio include samples of the style of home you want?
You will also need to bend a little when it comes to sacrifices. Like the Rolling Stones sang, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” You need to be prepared to make sacrifices.
Factor In Experience
Gaging experience in this industry is tricky. At some point, even today’s most experienced and established custom home building companies built their first home. In fact, every day there are seasoned highly-skilled pros stepping out on their own after years of working with other builders. For this reason, you can’t automatically discount a new home building company. Even if it’s a new firm, ask to see past samples of the work of the builders on its team to get a feel for their overall experience. But always assess experience! Experience certainly matters!
Seek References & Referrals
Ask for references from past clients and always look online for feedback and reviews. A good builder will almost always offer references and referrals. If they don’t, make sure you ask for them. When you speak to their reference or referral, ask if they’d use the builder again and why they would or wouldn’t recommend them to friends or family.
Verify License & Insurance
Make sure you’re working with a licensed home builder in your area. Be sure to also ask about the insurance carried by them and their contractors/subcontractors. You need to ensure that they and you are sufficiently covered through the building process.
Tour & Research Past Homes Built
Once you’ve comprised a short list of prospective builders, see if it’s possible to tour any model home they’ve built that’s open to the public or an occupied home by appointment.
If this is possible, take note of the home’s look, feel, and quality of construction.
If a walk-through of a past built home isn’t possible, ask for addresses for drive-bys or to research them online. For instance, you can look for Realtor ads specifically mentioning the builder’s name to see if the homes they’ve built have maintained value five or more years down the road.