How To Choose Your Custom Home Builder

In the last episode of GOING CUSTOM - our weekly Live Show where we have all the conversations that help you as a homeowner make your custom home build successful - the team talked all about how to choose a builder.

You can watch the FULL EPISODE HERE, but if you’re looking for some quick tips on questions to ask a potential builder, check out what the team had to say below!

On Price Shopping

KATHY: To start, I want to just clarify a common way we see people looking for builders. They get a set of plans, shop it to three different builders, and then choose the best price. This is NOT something we would recommend.

COLIN: An important thing to remember when looking at price is that nobody REALLY knows the cost with one hundred percent certainty until the end. So, any builder that's giving you a real cost gives me some concerns right off the bat. Price shopping a custom home specifically is just not a good approach. 

NICK: Plus, there are a lot of other things that could end up overshadowing the cost, like: 1) how comfortable are you with with that builder, 2) how knowledgeable are they, 3) how aligned you are with their process, 4) whether you can actually see all the necessary updates with their software, or 5) how are they going to communicate with you. All of these things are equally important in figuring out the right builder for you.  

On Builder Identity (personality, strategic vision, creativity, ego)

COLIN: Personality fit or style of the builder is really important. This is someone that you're basically hiring as an employee, to execute this project for you over the next year. So personality fit and the way they communicate is really important. 

KATHY: When you're working together with a builder, I think it's really important that they are great problem solvers and they also understand how to execute strategy. Because let's be real. I always like to set really realistic expectations anytime I'm talking to a client where this is a custom built home. It has never been built before. There are going to be challenges on your build, regardless of how prepared anybody is. So a large part of your builder’s job is to identify problems when they come up and then being able to troubleshoot them and strategize and present great solutions. Being able to do that is a skillset that's often overlooked or undervalued. 

COLIN: Really, you want the builder to have a level of creativity. If you look at the “problem of, “how can we get this house to match the vision within the budget” that's a constant problem solving game.

KATHY: Make sure your builder doesn't really have an ego. Like, just because you're the builder, you don't have to always be right, right? Instead of someone who’s just going to say “this isn't going to work because of blah, blah, blah”, you want someone who says something along the lines of, “tell us more and let's work together to solve this together while it's still on paper”.

On Timelines & Budget

COLIN: Remember the three-legged pillar of construction; scope, budget and timeline. Depending on where your priorities lie, timeline commitments can be very important. Plus, understanding where you're at in the budget along the timeline is something that I think is a skill for builders as well. Because if you have a two million dollar budget and you're only twenty percent done and you've spent a million, the builders should know that.

On Collaboration:

COLIN: The construction industry has the reputation of keeping everybody in silos and you have the builder and the designer and the interior designer. For some reason, everyone thinks that if everyone gets together, there's going to be collusion or something. But having that collaboration is going to be the best way to have a successful project because everyone understands the same goals and they're working in the same direction. 

NICK: I've been in so many meetings where we get everybody in the same room and when we start talking someone will say, “oh, well, you're going to run into this if you do that”. Then we know from the get-go, if we're going to run into that, could we do this instead? And then everybody starts working together. But if you're working in a silo, nobody knows those things. 

On Substitutions

NICK: Always check if there's substitutions being made in the estimates that you're getting. Let's use tile as an example. If the tile you like is outside of the budget, and a substitution is made, is it a GOOD substitution? Is it too thin for that use? Is it wall tile being used on the floor, for example (which is never a good choice) or is there something else about it that doesn’t meet the end requirement? I mean, if it is a cost-effective solution and it suits, great, right? But make sure that’s the case.

COLIN: Also, there are a bunch of different types of builds. So you have to know what you are looking for in a builder. What kind of support do you need? We've all seen the old school builder that works out of their truck with a laptop and the console full of receipts, right? That's one thing. There's also a different type of builder that has a showroom, with maybe in-house or other different services. Those are very different builders. They can still accomplish the same goal in a different way, but which matches you? 

On When To Choose A Builder

NICK: I would say right away. Before we even get the surveys or anything else, let's start talking about which builders. What do you want to do? What finish level? What construction, quality level, everything. I'd want to be working with a builder right up front. Just making sure that everything gets dialed in and moving as smoothly as possible. 

KATHY: And maybe let’s clarify the difference between “choosing” and “committing to” a builder. The advice I normally give clients is to start talking to builders as soon as you can. The purpose of talking to builders early isn't necessarily to sign on the dotted line. It's more just to figure out how they actually operate, their communication style, their personality,etc. But then, when do you actually need to HIRE a builder? You technically have until your building permit is ready to submit to hire a builder. However, we never recommend waiting until that late because the earlier you hire a builder, the better it is for you as the homeowner because the builder gives a lot of valuable input and collaboration together with the design team at the very beginning, which is a great thing to have. 

COLIN: From the creative process of a custom design, I recommend to the client to get your ideas at least started on paper first BEFORE going to a builder. Because you want to understand YOUR vision first and foremost. Some builders have a tendency to push the design in a way that's more builder centric; or more construction focused as opposed to the creative side of it. So get your ideas on paper first. Plus, a lot of times when you're calling a builder and saying, hey, can we meet up to talk? The builder's going to say, “do you have a design yet?” The builder may not be willing to give you any time if they don't think you're serious.

NICK: I will say, especially with some of the more high-end designs that we've done, having that builder in early makes a HUGE difference. For example, I've got a project right now where we were discussing whether to install one, two or three elevators in the house (long story) but having the builder in the conversation really helped with coming up with good concepts. 

On Where to Find A Builder (NOT Google)

COLIN: I think most people are going to be asking their designer for recommendations. And we do work with a lot of builders, so that can make sense. If your design team knows what kind of house you are building and your timeline, we can make a good recommendation.

KATHY: Plus, as the design team, we really get to see behind the scenes, like, how do builders execute? Are they on budget? Are they running into challenges during the build often? And if so, how do they address those? What kind of challenges are they? I feel like design teams really have good insight into what works and what doesn’t and which builders are really tuned in. And it depends on your build too, right? 

COLIN: I would guess that most people find their builder by getting referrals from their friends that have done something similar. And, you know, likely that's going to be a pretty good path for personality fit, right? Because your friends are going to know you and your friends are going to know the builder. I would imagine that's a fairly good place to start as well. 

NICK: You can go on Google and find builders that way, but you need to know what you’re actually looking for. Are you looking for an award-winning builder? If so, why? What awards did they win and for what? Are they a member of a professional association? If so, which one? Usually there’s some kind of vetting to get into a professional association, especially like the Better Business Bureau or HAVAN (they have a very extensive builder directory). 

COLIN: And it might just be a matter of checking references. For almost anything I buy, I read the reviews, so I think reviews are huge. How have other people enjoyed that experience?

AUDIENCE QUESTION: How much do interior finishes affect a budget?

KATHY: It totally depends on the house. But generally speaking, your two major budget items are going to be 1) your architectural design (your structure and the actual bones of the house), and 2) your interior finishings. And they're always going to push and pull depending on the house so sometimes you know the architectural component is more than the interiors and sometimes vice versa. But interior finishes definitely CAN affect the budget in a very large way. This is actually more of a question when choosing your designer but a designer should be able to work together with the builder in order to execute the budget. So when the builder comes and says okay we have x amount of dollars for interior finishes, a good interior designer should be able to work within those budget parameters and also execute the creative vision to make it look beautiful.

COLIN: Right, collaboration. If the builder and the designer are on the same team, then you're going to select products that fit the budget, not blow the budget, right? 

NICK: Depending on your finish levels, you could go from an entry level finish costing maybe two hundred grand (for a 3000 square foot house). Or if you go to a higher finish level, it could be a million dollars. But there are ways to manage it. 

KATHY: Also, in the interest of sticking with how to choose a builder, that would be a really good question to ask instead of “how much does my house cost” 🙂 

AUDIENCE QUESTION: Will a builder want to change the design due to feasibility? 

COLIN: I hope they do. That’s how I would answer that. 

KATHY: It's a fine line. You want the builder to be open-minded to ideas, but then also when it's like, “okay, this is something that's actually not going to work”, I can also trust them to say that. 

OTHER GOOD QUESTIONS FOR BUILDERS:

1. How do you establish the budget for the home? 

2. Once that budget is established, how do you make sure that budget stays on track (and not just at the beginning of the project, but also all the way through construction)

3. How are things handled when unknowns come up?

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