Continuing our build on your lot section. We tend to get a lot of the same questions from a variety of people, backgrounds and reasons. Some of the top trending questions are:
What will the final costs be? Your builder shouldn’t be able to answer that right off the bat – as a variety of things can influence costs. Even your lot can substantially influence that, ie; if you live near Buffalo Bayou, your soils will more than likely be mucky and expansive – meaning a PTS Post Tension Slab will not work. A Geo-technical Soils Analysis of your lot will tell us this – but if this is the case, then you’re need some type of Pier/Beam foundation vs PTS. There are many other factors – but most Houstonians easily understand this one. *But they should be able to start you out with a solid start. I can start most people out at $175/per foot depending on the level of features they are looking for in their homes. All builders should be comfortable enough to have their standard features and plans at a quotable price. *Note – this is a great starting point for you the homeowner. See what that is, what all it entails – mark off what you don’t want & add what you do, then coming to a particular price structure is much more realistic for everyone.
The next one is what if I live in a home that I’ll need to sell or rent. Zander Homes works with a few preferred realtors who can list your home for you during the process as well as help prepare you for your move. We’ve even help our new homeowners (who are now sellers) do a few items to complete for their buyers inspection as well. Most builders should have that capability, charge less than the industry stnd 3% and be more than willing to help you along.
Plans – What if I have my own, or do you have any others? YES & YES. One of the biggest things I see are people who spend thousands of dollars on these beautiful plans, but don’t understand the cost structure that may prevail from that plan. Engineering that plan, with a huge cut up roof line or cantilevered patio, others can become expensive. Even placing so many can lights everywhere on the electrical side. Some builders have in house architects or designers while most others work with a few good ones, so we have multiple plans at our disposal. Builders typically have a few bread & butter plans that are nice exterior designs, open and functional layouts that fits a lot of people with minimal customizing. We also are familiar or more absolute on that pricing since we’ve built it before. So Yes we can use your plan – Yes we can use ours – Yes we can customize any of them. But it is wise to know what cause and effects plans can have on your bottom lines. And use a builder who can incorporate windows for natural lighting vs more can lights costing more on the house and your monthly electric bills.
Warranty – What kind of warranty do I get with my build? The same as you would from buying from us in a subdivision/other setting. There really should not be much that would influence this answer – only in special circumstances. That’s a 1-10yr warranty. Year 1 is more bumper to bumper defect in materials or workmanship. Year 2 is defects in your
mechanical systems – such as electrical, HVAC, plumbing – even whats hidden in the walls. Year 10 is structural failure of the foundation, load bearing walls/others. One main difference is does your builder self insure (or) get a actual 3rd party policy. Biggest difference is the 3rd party policy is just that a policy purchased – which is transferable (in case you ever sell) as well is still there if your builder is not.
Inspections – Can I have my own private inspector. Yes with Zander Homes. We are used to working with various inspectors from private homeowners, city municipalities, engineers and others. This can be a point of contention sometimes though – as most build have to build to a municipal code – or if outside that areas at minimum to IRC Building Code. Everyone should do this or better. *IF you ever hear we build to code – stop and think! Because yes you do, but that’s not to brag about, that’s the minimum expectation. So there should be better building practices happening – via engineering, current trends of homebuilding or others. Now granted most municipal codes meet and exceed the IRC; but if your builder is doing that and better – and there is a point of concern from you/private inspector – talk and decide. Understand that ultimately if people are meeting/exceeding Code – but there is a opinion on a better way of doing something again talk & decide. Its very easy for anyone to say what you should or could have done better. Don’t we all get that almost daily from our current employers. Yes there are some things absolutely more serious than others – but that’s where we can not be black & white on any issue.
How long will it take? This one can vary greatly. A builder should be able to give you a typical time frame of construction of their homes. Yet not be able to give you that answer until gathering all the facts of plans, features, selections and others. There are so many things that can effect this answer with the top being: Weather. Construction is like math in many aspects and you have to do something’s first and weather can help or hurt with that. Trades/Vendors – did you know or realize that a Building Boom like Houston is experiencing actually can slow construction. There are not enough qualified workers and orders of products/materials become back logged. Selections – there are millions of selections for you to choose from, just go to a paint store. So now multiple that by each item it’ll never stop. Most builders have various levels/standard packages they offer to help you out here. But if you can have selections done before hand – we can then order it with sufficient time as well as a buffer if anything happens – then its just on your builder to perform. Your builder should enjoy that if its all ready to go – as well you can start to enjoy watching your house be built from ground up.
This seemed like it took much longer – yet with homebuilding there are no black/white answers (1+1), those guys are building the exact same house 100x over in the neighborhoods down the street. This is a custom to semi custom build on your lot.
Be on the lookout for Houston’s next Build on Your Lot update.
JustinBuild on Your Lot – Frequently Asked Questions
