For many homeonwers, once was enough. They got the house of their dreams or pretty close to it the first time they built, or they were so exhausted they swore, “Never again.”
But, for others, once is barely sufficient. They might have had limited funds the first go-around. Or, maybe, they decided they wanted a different location, a larger house or a different style. Sometimes even twice is not enough, and they go on to build No. 3 or 4.
The real benefit of going through the home-building process time after time–besides keeping the economy churning and, perhaps, testing the strength of your marital union–is that experience is a wonderful teacher.
“Homeowners are much easier to work with when they’ve previously built. Their expectations are more realistic regarding problems,” says Wilmette-based architect H. Gary Frank. “When they build for the first time, they think everything will be perfect. The fact is we live in an imperfect world.”
Mike Holigan agrees. A builder based in Dallas and host of the Discovery channel show “Your New House,” he says, “The first-time builder is stunned if something goes wrong, and goes ballistic, but the second- or third-time builder understands and knows that everything can be fixed.”
Exactly what can go awry? Everything and anything. Nevertheless, there’s good news. Although the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in Washington, D.C., has no statistics on how many homeowners build multiple times, the following tales indicate, anecdotally, that many homeowners choose to build repeatedly and sometimes with the same pro.
In the process, most learn lessons that can help novices avoid or pare problems the first time out. The following dozen represent some of their most useful, along with some morals:
1. Carefully select workstaff. While you may not be able to guarantee success, carefully making hiring selections will alleviate fears and some later problems, says Chicago architect Roland Lieber. How do you do so?
You can never check references too many times, whether you hire a builder, contractor, architect or developer, and build a production, semi-custom or custom home. Look at finished work, talk to the professionals you plan to work, find out how responsive they are to your calls and questions and talk to their past clients. Write a contract no matter how straightforward the project.
Homeowners Patty and Jim Rhine found out the hard way the importance of doing this. When they built the first time, their builder went bankrupt and the bank foreclosed before they could take possession. They lost their $6,300 down payment, but persevered. Now building again, they decided to go with a larger builder, Town & Country, and are constructing a two-story Colonial-style house at Sumner Glen in far northwest suburban Lake in the Hills. “That’s not to say there aren’t good small builders, but we felt more secure and got better quality. We also had to spend about $40,000 more,” says Patty, who attributed the extra expense to an unrealistic price on the first home they tried to build, and also to price increases since their first home-building experience. She expects the new home to completed this month.
Moral: Never take anyone’s recommendation on blind faith.
2. Educate yourself about residential architecture. Most repeat home builders have learned to read a blueprint, which saves time and lessens mistakes and misunderstandings, says David Hoffman, president of Red Seal Development in Northbrook.
Second-timers also usually are good about analyzing what they liked about their first home, looking through home shelter magazines, design books and visiting model homes for ideas, and carefully deciding what works best for them rather than simply copying hot trends.
Moral: You’re less apt to get tripped up if you have some grounding in architecture.
3. Do your other homework. Repeat home builders generally do a good job of finding out what products and materials are available, what they cost, and what options or upgrades are possible in a semi-custom or production home, including whether rooms can be enlarged and rearranged, says Beverly Jacobs, project coordinator-manager at James Cos. builders in Barrington.
Because seasoned home-building consumers are more refined, professionals focusing on the move-up market tend to offer more options. For example, at Concord Homes’ Concord at Interlaken in north suburban Libertyville, each of the five plans has 10 to 12 options. Among the possibilities: a two-story space that can become a fifth bedroom, larger bedrooms, fancier kitchen appliances, a three-car garage, a technology center and more elaborate hall stairs.
In trading up to a semi-custom, 3,000-square-foot home, architect Kevin Kazimer, with the Palatine office of Bloodgood Sharp Buster, Architects and Planners, opted for clapboard siding, front and back staircases for his young sons, a large laundry off the kitchen and a third-floor studio for him. Completion of the Victorian-style home in north suburban Gurnee–he left behind a 1,900-square-foot tract house in Vernon Hills–is expected in late spring.
4. Retain some skepticism. More experienced home builders are more skeptical, which helps them dot i’s and cross t’s. Some who had a positive experience cut the risk factor by working with the same professionals. Five years ago Amy and Mark Kramer built a townhouse with Town & Country in Mundelein. Now parents of two young children, they are building a single-family house at another Town & Country project, Long Meadow Estates, also in that northern suburb. In addition to gaining a detached home this time, their major change is to put more money into the house itself rather than into building upgrades.
Moral: Optimism is great, but a bit of the doubting Thomas keeps you on top of the situation.
5. Share the nitty-gritty and listen. Experienced home-building consumers learn not to hold back, says Highland Park architect Richard Becker. “They know the importance of giving their builder as much information regarding their budget and stylistic preferences, even when that data seems personal, such as whether they want a bidet or toilet,” he says. At the same time, many repeat home builders have become better about being open to suggestions by the professionals advising them, says Chicago designer John Wiltgen. “That usually comes from a confidence developed through the years,” he says.
Moral: Know your wants and prioritize before you meet with builder or architect.
6. Understand the building process, which varies according to the type of house you construct and the particular stage in construction. People who are repeating the building process add two to three times the amount of time for them to make choices. That’s because it becomes harder for many to decide, due to their wealth of knowledge, says Hoffman. At the Hybernia development in Highland Park, where homes range from $600,000 to several million, owners have 90 days to make selections, versus 30 for first-time buyers in less pricey communities.
You also need to understand the construction phases and that the framing process may go fairly rapidly, but the electrical, plumbing and mechanical may crawl, says architect Frank. One way to shorten construction is not to start until everything has arrived and been checked, even if that means storing items off site, suggests Lieber.
Moral: Rome and most houses were not built in a day.
7. Know that the unexpected can–and will–occur. Rain and other inclement weather, unexpected structural problems and out-of-stock building materials and appliances can delay jobs, sometimes considerably.
Moral: Remain flexible, anticipate the worst and know that most problems have solutions.
8. Weigh whether bigger and better are best for you. Often homeowners think their second or third house has to have everything they didn’t include the last time, even if they’re empty-nesters.
Case in point: Many second-time home-builders seek a whirlpool tub because they may not have been able to afford it the first time. But they often find that they use it only when they move in and before they sell, so they don’t always include it in the third house, says Kazimer.
Moral: Only go the bigger, better route if it makes sense for your pocketbook, lifestyle and length of anticipated stay.
9. Be prepared for costs to escalate. Are repeat home-building consumers better at watching costs? Not necessarily, but they are better at understanding that prices climb because of the unexpected or because of their change of heart.
Moral: Try to stick to original decisions, but psychologically allow a 10 to 15 percent give in your budget.
10. Consider resale. Since they’ve sold once, repeat home builders know that they may sell again and should make some choices with this in mind, says architect Kazimer. “This is the reason we still have living rooms and formal dining rooms even though many people never use them,” he says.
Moral: If you’ve built once, know you may build again, so make choices with a next buyer in mind. Go creative, but not bizarre.
11. Know that any building project tests a family’s relationships. Building can test the strength of a relationship, so plan getaways (if you have any money left), have a friend you can complain to instead of just your significant other, be sure to retain your sense of humor, and keep in mind it’s only a house, even if it’s your biggest investment.
Moral: Remember the adage about not having a child to strengthen a marriage? Don’t build a house to strengthen it either and if yours is on shaky ground the foundation of your house may also be wobbly.
12. Be prepared for some deficiency in your knowledge. After building hundreds of houses a year, builder Holigan says he’s still amazed that most owners don’t understand how much house they can afford, how much they should put down, and different types of mortgages.
Moral: No matter how many times you build, your customized wish list, site and budget dictate new demands and potential problems. Be prepared to keep your learning curve curving up.
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