I hear it every time. It's the question ten out of ten people ask me when I tell them I design custom homes: "Oh? What builders do you work with?"

Anyone who's the least bit interested in building a new home is thinking about builders before they think about floor plans, decorating, building lots, or anything else. Why? Because the builder is the key player; the captain; the guy who manages the entire building process for you; the guy you'll be writing the really big checks to (and you thought house plans were expensive!).

And because everyone knows that the builder can make or break a project.

But how can that be? Wouldn't any builder you choose be working with the same set of plans? Don't all builders have to build to the requirements of the building code? Don't they get the same prices from their suppliers? Doesn't your building contract spell out exactly what the builder must do?

The answers to the questions above are: yes, yes, no, and maybe. But those answers have almost nothing to do with the success of your project.

How Much Do You Know?

If you read the other articles in this series, you might remember my comments about "test-driving" a house. You can't, of course - so without some knowledge you're completely dependent upon others. Through this site you're learning about how to make wiser choices of house plan designs. But if you don't take a few minutes to learn about builders, all that knowledge might just go to waste.

Let's be clear here - the world is full of excellent builders. Great builders, in fact - a few I know are extraordinary. I'd go so far as to say most builders I know do everything in their power to provide a quality service and product to their clients.

Those are the guys you're looking for. There are also guys to avoid.

Horror Stories

Remember that neighbor of yours - the one whose 2-month kitchen remodeling took a year? And then the granite countertops cracked and had to be replaced? What about your cousin who was quoted $300,000 to build his new house - and it ended up costing him $400,000?

Everyone's heard horror stories about houses and it's one of the biggest fears of new homeowners. It's not always the builder's fault when things go wrong - sometimes it's your fault. When it is, it's because you A) didn't thoroughly research your builder's credentials; or B) didn't prepare a detailed set of plans and specifications; or C) tried to get high quality work for a low quality price.

Differences In Expectations

Differences in expectations are the root of all evil in the design and construction business. I had an interesting conversation with a young couple at a party a year or two ago; they'd built their dream home with a local builder and everything had gone wrong. It took too long, it cost too much, and the builder declared bankruptcy before the house was done, throwing the whole project into chaos. What a shame!

I knew of the builder and I knew of his reputation (he'd declared bankruptcy several times before) so I asked the couple what had convinced them to go ahead with him given his checkered past. "We didn't know," they answered. As it turns out, they hadn't checked him out at all - the new model home and the sign in the yard was enough to convince them to hand over $500,000. I'll bet they spent more time researching their plasma TV purchase.

That builder has fled town and is now setting up shop outside of Nashville, Tennessee - watch out Vols!

Difference In Expectations Lesson Number One: just because the builder has completed projects successfully before don't expect that yours will be successful too. You must thoroughly research the qualifications and financial history of anyone you're going to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars too. I can't stress this enough - do it!

Difference In Expectations Lesson Number Two: don't sign a contract without a full set of construction drawings and complete specs. This is the cause of most problems. The neat features and details you saw in the model home won't be in your home unless you specify them in the construction contract. That's what "specs" are - a listing of all the finishes, fixtures, and features that will be in your home. Without that, you can only hope you'll get what you want.

Difference In Expectations Lesson Number Three: don't automatically pick the cheapest guy and hope that he'll deliver a quality product. There's a reason why he's cheapest, and it's not because he's giving away free granite countertops. I'm constantly amazed by how many otherwise intelligent and accomplished businessmen are drawn to the lowest bidder like a moth to a flame.