Hellobee Boards

We were planning to build before we bought new. Research any contractor; some states don't require contractors to be licensed; some do. Check to see if any complaints have been filed against him.

Using a single contractor for all finishing touches instead of subbing out that work on your own is generally going to be a fair bit more expensive and will limit your options. It's also less headache; so it's a trade off.

He should be able to customize any plans as well as any finish work; and I would seek outside quotes before signing paperwork. One thing to watch out for is your allowances. If you just get "20k allowance for woof floors" and they don't really itemsize for you each and every cost for floor ahead of time, you don't know if what you pick/get is 20k worth of flooring, or more like $15k.

The awesome thing about building new is getting what you want, and that you can also make use of new green technologies. I would inquire about those options as well. The initial build is the easiest/cheapest time to install some of those systems.

Our second new build (as you just commented in my thread!) will be on its way up this Spring!

We got the call today and booked appt for Monday to look at what counter's, cupboards, etc SO excited, but with this being our lifer house I feel more pressure to make the right choice, current house we made pretty for resale (and it paid off!) But now it's like.....what do we reallllly want!

We had trouble finding land where we wanted; and then this new build hit the market with even nicer touches than our builder had quoted us. We really wanted out of our former house, so the timing was perfect!

I think the absolute best way to go about building is to hire a retired contractor to act as agent on your behalf so you don't have to wonder about the deal you're getting.

Building is exciting though, good luck!

@babyjmama: we close Aug 29th! So not far off what you were given! Bigger builders in our area are into 2014 closings already (insane!) and where we are our build to closing timeline is probably the best there is outside of buying off inventory or model home!

For us, both builds we had until X date (usually 5 business days) to satisfy having a lawyer review the Purchase and Sale agreement, and then sending our mortgage agent our P and S agreement so she could get a rate hold and ensure we were 100% good to go on financing.

We had different builders for each house, so each had a different deposit structure, first one was $5k deposit on offer, remainder of downpayment (whatever we could come up with, was $12k) at closing. This one is $5k at offer, $20k at 90 days after signed contract, then whatever else at closing (what we made on our current house will go into new house).

Our "approval" for financing was based off lot price and base home price, once we did upgrades (and do them again this time) an amended purchase and sale agreement with the new purchase price will go to mortgage ppl (and lawyer) and as per our mortgage agent she did our base approval for $100k more than base price just so we had peace of mind that we were well qualified and could do "whatever" for upgrades (we'll prob do $30k or so in upgrades).

Ummm does that help? I know when we looked into more "from scratch" building we had a builder who would hold the mortgage (lot and house price for $10k until closing and then either hold mortgage for us once we took possession or transfer where we wanted mortgage, but so long as we had approval for whatever we wanted to do for house + upgrades he'd hold it for us until house was ready...!

We bought a turn key home. It is 14 years old, but the previous homeowners made some stylish changes/upgrades. Would I have made all of the same style decisions NO, but unless I could direct an architect with a really custom floorplan I am okay with not having my dream house.

I am in the process right now! We closed in December and will move in May. Basically, you need to check your builder's reputation VERY thoroughly, first and foremost. It's generally best to go with someone who does more custom work than a regional or national builder -- they don't allow you much latitude and may cut more corners to get stuff done quickly.

It's super easy to go over allowances, especially when you have no clue what something will cost from the get-go. We have reasonably generous allowances (since we went with a custom builder) but it's still hard -- I'm looking at our lighting quote right now and we're $1000 over and definitely didn't get anything extravagant! Also, they can be sneaky on what is/is not included. Our appliance allowance didn't figure in the cost of a fridge, for instance. Um, that's like $2000! And the lighting quote is also a lot of stuff like wiring, cans, etc -- not just fixtures.

Anyway, it can be fun picking things, but it's time-consuming and there is lots of back and forth and I would really like to be done with it all

@babyjmama: That's good. Definitely still do some Google searches/Angie's List and what not just to confirm, though.

I'm also champagne on a beer budget, so I hear ya. And yeah, it would be easier if they just said "X Y or Z" but with the exception of a few things, it was more "This is our supplier, here are things that other people have liked that will keep you in budget, but you can really get anything you like (if you're willing to pay)." Cue me not liking ANYTHING in the lighting showroom, and spending a week on manufacturer's websites to find stuff I did like

Despite the extra work, I'm glad we'll have something we're really happy with from the get-go instead of builder basic that I want to upgrade.