Building 101: Questions To Ask A Builder

A version of this blog was posted in 2020, but I’m reposting it for today’s Building 101! You will likely meet with several builders before choosing the one that will build your home, but you should go in to every meeting prepared with questions. We met with three builders, I’d recommend you meet with more than one! Asking a lot of questions helps both of you to be on the same page and have the same expectations going into the long and sometimes stressful building process. Building is an investment and you don't want to be unprepared.

Here's what you should ask before you choose a builder:

1. How many houses do you build in a year? Some builders build a lot of houses in a year and some build less. This is totally personal preference but it's good to know so you can make your decision based on that.

2. If I sign with you today, how long before we break ground? It's good to know what sort of timelines you're looking at for your build.

3. What are the warranties on the house?

4. How long will it take to build the house?

5. What is standard for your company? What's included with our build?

6. How can we change things down the road? Are there fees with change orders?

7. Is landscaping included?

8. What are we responsible for? If unexpected things come up in the build, you'll want to know what you're responsible for paying for and what the builder will cover. For example, code required us to change the exterior lumber sizes and since it was a coding issue, our builder paid for that.

Other things to talk about:

• Make sure your builder knows your budget. Be up front and honest.

• See if you can tour a home that the builder has built.

• Plan for the future. If you know you're going to want an exterior structure in the future, or if you're going to want to convert unused space for a bedroom, make sure your house can accommodate that.

• See if your builder has plans to visit your property before you sign.

• Ask about allowances included in your quote.

• If you know you're going to want to have certain finishes in your home, share that so the builder can give you the most accurate quote.

See you next Wednesday on my stories for another Building 101!