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Thad Reardon

Thad Reardon

Based on years of experience, and as a second-generation builder, Thad Reardon, of Greencraft Homes recommends you pick a builder as your first step. Even before picking out your home site and selecting your designer.

The content in this blog was extracted from an informative must have book that Thad wrote for anyone building a custom home. The book title is “So You Wanna to Build a Home?”. Thad uses real-life stories and amusing anecdotes, to show that with the right builder building a custom home doesn’t have to be a daunting experience. To get your very own copy of the book please visit our Request Book page.

There is little doubt that hiring the right builder could be the most important decision you make. Your builder knows all the tricks of the trade, and their advice can be invaluable in choosing your home site. The builder is the person who will make your dreams come true … or will be a frequent source of stress. If your builder is willing to go with you, let the builder help you choose the home site. The experience the builder possesses will help you avoid hidden pitfalls.

Some builders, though not all of them, have a pretty good handle on the types of home sites available in your area. Whether he does or doesn’t, we also recommend getting the help of an experienced real estate agent. He or she will know what’s available for sure; after all, that’s their job!

Let’s say you don’t involve a builder and a realtor and you decide to purchase a home site on your own from a private individual. They’re going to tell you all the wonderful things about it and leave out the negatives. Conversely, a real estate agent will tell it like it is. That same home site the private individual just told you was so great; well, it might seem completely different to a real estate agent. A real estate agent might tell you something you’d never know until it was too late, like, “Perhaps the Architectural Review Board (ARB) will only allow you to build a home 2,400 square feet or larger, even though you only want to build a 2,000 square foot home. Then, what?” It’s the little things like this that could make the difference between happiness and disappointment.

Here are a few examples of the valuable ways a builder can help you.

A couple I know purchased a home site in a high-end community. They were excited and very eager to begin construction. They were on a very tight budget and expressed that to me when they hired me to build their home. One look at the home site was all it took for me to know I’d be the bearer of bad news for them. The site was so low it took 50 truckloads of dirt just to make the place “buildable,” whereas most places take no more than about 15.  I could have easily saved them from this extra expense had I seen the home site before it was purchased.

Another way a builder can save you from disaster: If you don’t have water and sewer, you may need a ground test to see if your home site can accept a septic tank. What if it couldn’t? You’d be stuck with a piece of property you could never build on.

In other scenarios, the soil’s stability might need testing, or maybe there are some trees in bad places that would need to be removed. He could also tell you something like, “This place, even though it’s on a golf course, is a bad deal because it’s too close to the maintenance building. The guys in the maintenance building start up the lawn mowers every day around 6:30 am. In addition, the site faces the wrong way for what you’re planning to do.” These are all things that might not even cross your mind, but they are things that a builder can point out.

In life, there are people you instantly click with … people you feel a kinship with because you either have something in common or your personalities mesh well. There are also people you just cannot warm up to. Think of your workplace or anyplace else you spend a lot of time. Hey, most of us even have a family member or two we could do without!

What kind of relationship should you have with your builder?

It’s best for everyone if it lies somewhere between love and hate. If you get too close to your builder and become good friends, it becomes too difficult for you to say anything negative you might have on your mind. Meanwhile, your builder will have the same problem with you. On one hand, if you hire a builder you dislike simply because you respect his talent level, you are setting yourself up for a constant back-and-forth full of bickering and complaining on both sides. On the other hand, if you hire a nice guy but he is not the most competent builder, how does that help you? Is that what you really want during a time that should be fun and exciting?

A nice balance means you can be friendly at all times, but when the time comes to talk seriously this can be done effortlessly without worrying about hurting a friend’s feelings. But at the end of the project, you may even become friends due to the fact that you’ve earned each other’s respect.

Not counting personality, I believe there should be six things to look for in a potential builder.

Professionalism

This means your builder will be where he says he’ll be when he says he’ll be there. You should never feel like “just another customer.” A good builder conducts himself in a manner that is always appropriate. He considers his reputation to be important, and therefore acts accordingly. He does not believe in taking shortcuts, even when he knows he could get away with it.

Knowledge

How long has the builder been in business? Who did he learn from and what organizations does he belong to? You will lean on this knowledge a great deal, so it’s important that the builder be available on the home site – or at the very least he must have a very knowledgeable foreman who is always there. It is important to know who holds the license. Quite often, large companies’ licenses will be held by one individual, meaning the person who is actually doing the building may not really be licensed at all! You should also find out if the builder has kept up-to-date on the latest in technology and new products. If not, you could miss out on something that could improve the quality of your life, save you money – or both!

Efficiency

There is one obvious reason this is such an important trait: You want to move into your new home as quickly as possible, yet you still want it to be your dream home when it’s finished. But the reason for efficiency goes beyond that. Consider all the drawbacks that an inefficient builder causes. Need examples? Once the walls are closed in, a builder is using your air conditioning and electricity that you’re paying for. If he’s slow, he’s costing you money in the form of electric bills.Meanwhile you’re still not in your home, so you have to arrange for alternate living arrangements until the contractor is finished. Plus, you could be paying interest on a loan for a place you’re not even living in – adding insult to injury!

Quality

This is one you don’t need to guess about. If you are considering a builder who is experienced, he should be able to take you around your community and show you homes he’s built.I’d like to give you a word of caution here: The more homes a builder is constructing at any given time, the less time he can spend with you on your project. The fewer homes he’s building, the more time he can devote to you. Bigger is not always better.

Service

While this overlaps with professionalism a little bit, service should be its own category. You want the builder to think of himself as a part of the team … a vital piece of the puzzle to help you achieve your ultimate goal, which is to construct your dream home.The builder should work with you from Point A to Point Z to do everything within his power to make the entire home-building experience one you and your family will look back upon with happiness for years to come.

Price

By the time you’re at this point (choosing your builder), you should already have a working budget in mind. If you don’t have a budget, slam on the brakes right now until you come up with one! There is little doubt that hiring the right builder could be the most important decision you make. The builder is the person who will make your dreams come true … or will be a frequent source of stress.

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