How to Survive Building a House

Buying a home is an incredibly stressful process. Building a home is even more so. It is exciting and fun to watch your personalized dreams become reality from the literal ground up. However, it is also a very demanding and arduous process, and this is something I have learned firsthand over the past few months.

Here are a few pointers I wanted to share, from one homebuilding newbie to another:

1. Ask an insane amount of questions. In detail. And get everything in writing.

There are a lot of people involved in buying/building a home. Assume that you are not getting all the information. It’s just easier that way.

• Ask for specs on the house- everything that is included in the price you are paying. And if you are told something is included, get it in writing! You’d be amazed at how quickly things change (or how quickly your builder will forget they agreed to throw in that extra window or high-bar counter, and will try to charge you for it). Documentation is your friend.

• Ask for the layout and accurate floor plan- these things may change without anyone telling you. It’s weird, but true. And if you make changes to the floor plan, get a copy of those, and make sure the builder and subcontractors have copies, or you are facing major complications later.

• Communicate dates ahead of time- inspections, walk-throughs, projected finish date, all of it. Do not assume the builders have read the contract- communicate directly!

• In fact, don’t assume anything. Question everything, and verify everything. And again, get everything in writing. Good record keeping will be your salvation!

2. Visit the build site regularly.

Though this may irritate the subcontractors, it is absolutely vital for you to keep track of the progress on your home.

Make a point to go out to the build site at least twice a week. Doing so will help you to catch any mistakes early. Because unless you have a saint for a builder, any mistakes they make (and the extra time and materials it takes to correct them) may end up being passed on to you in terms of added expenses. Make it your responsibility to know what is happening on your home. Don’t be a pest, but definitely be involved.

3. Stick up for yourself.

Unless you are one of the lucky 1%-ers, you will be building on a pre-determined budget. If so, fight for what you want. The budget your builder gives you is there solely to ensure they get the maximum amount of profit from the build and sale of the home. The cheaper your choices, the more money they make. But I assure you there is plenty of room in that budget for reasonable requests. It is possible for both parties to win, so negotiation and a little stubbornness can go a long way.

You are the one paying for the house; you are the one who has to live with it for years to come. Make sure you love everything about it. Don’t be greedy and unrealistic, of course, because that will only result in the deterioration of your relationship with the builders. But do make sure the house is in keeping with your needs, wants, and tastes. One tip I recommend is to talk to the suppliers and see what kinds of deals they can work out for you (contractor’s discounts, etc) to get the most bang for you buck.