Every buyer of a new house wants the story to end with, “And they lived happily ever after.”
Unfortunately, the plot line can read more like a cautionary tale.
One of the biggest causes of problems is that the buyers don’t spend enough time figuring out what they want.
Every house is the sum of a thousand details. Go through every room in your current house and note the pluses and minuses.
For example, if your house is 40 or 50 years old, storage is likely to be an issue.
The single bathroom shared by all the bedrooms will predate bulk purchases of toilet paper, an extensive collection of body and hair-care products and a blow dryer.
As you assess where you live now, start a “must-have,” “would-like,” and “marginal” list to help you prioritize the features you would like to have in your new house. The list will change and your priorities fluctuate as you start to visit models.
Eventually though, you’ll have to make some agonizing choices: No no one can afford everything.
While you go back and forth, some of the choices may be “get it now or add it later.”
As a general rule, changing the finishes a few years hence is easily done, but adding on space such as a morning room (a larger breakfast room that can be a great place for kids to do homework while one parent fixes dinner) will be more costly and much more disruptive because you will be living in the house while the work is going on.
Don’t spend all your time agonizing over those countertops, though.
Choosing your builder is the single most important decision that you will make in your new home project. A great design, fabulous views and exquisite materials can never compensate for poor workmanship, mushrooms on the windowsill or a leaky roof.
When you’re nailed down price range, location, floor plan and narrowed your list to one or two builders, check out their bona fides and don’t get seduced by price. You want the best house you can afford, not the cheapest one or the biggest one for the money.
The first question to ask: How long has the builder been in business? Developing the requisite expertise, skin as thick as an elephant’s hide, and the ability to act with grace under pressure generally takes three to five years.
Of course, a production builder you select may have been in business for many years.
Many home builders started out as carpenters and site superintendents, but the managerial and business skills are equally important and these don’t come overnight.
The second question: How long has the firm has been building in your market? Delivering a house on time and on budget requires a reliable network of suppliers and subcontractors, and this takes about two years to establish.
Next, get feedback from some of the builders’ recent customers by spending several weekend afternoons talking with people already living in the communities you are considering. Ask about their experiences during construction and after they moved in.
The other group a builder must please are his subcontractors, so ask for a list of the main ones from firms that you are considering–the framer/carpenter, the electrician, lumber supplier, plumber, electrician, and the heating and air conditioning man–and contact them.
Ask each one if he’s satisfied with the builder’s payment performance and how long they’ve worked together. If the builder and subcontractor have a long history, that’s a good sign.
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Genevieve Buck is taking time off. To read past House Hunter columns, go to CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/HOMES
