5 Tips for Choosing the Perfect Home Builder

Few decisions are as important as building a new home, this is the reason why when it comes to doing it, you should be aware of the fact that even if having green fingers is enough for gardening, it does not mean that having basic building skills is enough for you to build your own home. When it comes to such a decision you should rely on the motto: “Leave it to professionals!”.
But nevertheless when it comes to choosing the perfect home builder you can encounter some issues due to the fact that it’s advisable for that you follow a few basic but significant steps.

1. Write down a list of possible candidates

In order to have a wide range from which to choose the candidate that suits you the best it is vital that you use all the resources available in order for you to be able to solve this deal in the best manner possible, and find the perfect new home builder. When doing this research you should take into account the following : recommendations from people you know, word-of-mouth, online search, home shows, newspapers, magazines and even flyers.
Before going to the next step it is proper for you to exclude the candidates that are not consistent with the job due to matters such as geography and reputation or any other that you consider important.

2. Do background checks

There is a great amount of information you can find out without having to talk to the builder just by asking friends, people you know, community members about his work and dedication to it. Depending on how dedicated you are to this background check you can do one or all of the following :
- run an online check of the builder to see the financial stability of his business
- go to the courthouse and determine if there are any pending, past or current actions against the builder
The aim of this step was to narrow down the list of candidates to 5 to 10 builders in order for you to be able to interview them in the next step.

3. Interview the builders

Face-to-face interview is one of the most important steps of the decisional process due to the fact that this is when you can ask all your questions and know the man with who you are going to have to deal during a long period. There are certain things you will learn due to this step which are of utmost importance for the choice you are going to make at the end of the decisional process. Points you should reach during the interview :
- relevant experience
- longevity and financial stability of the business
- duration and quality of his relationship with his subcontractors
- insurance coverage
- the status of his builder license
- 5 former client references from each builder

4. Check references

After narrowing down the list to 3 to 6 people the next obvious step is to check the references they gave. There is no better way to know the builder you are going to work with than by asking questions to the people that live in a house built by that builder. Write down a list of questions taking into account the following : quality of work, how easy it was to work with him, cost of management practices, respecting the contract, long-term schedule. Last but not least and utterly important “Would they hire him again?”.

5. Negotiate the contract

Due to the fact that this is a very important step you should get a bit of help when putting pen to paper in order to get a proper contract which benefits both parties, in order for you to have the home you want and the builder to be satisfied with the payment and treatment he receives.
While there are no guarantees in life, following these steps can better assure that you’ll ultimately be more satisfied when the builder hands over the keys to your new home.

 

Although you can carry out background research, you can never guarantee that the builders you choose will do a good job, it really is a gamble. It’s always advised that you have a valid home insurance policy in place to cover your investment. If you haven’t got a policy in place already you can get home insurance quotes today fromVirgin-Money Home Insurance. They compare a panel of providers to give you the best quote.