Things to consider when building

Do you know what comes standard and what items are considered an extra cost when building a new home with a production builder? When production builders build a model home in a neighborhood they often times make it very appealing and put a lot of the extra items that they offer into the home. They are, in a sense, giving the home a WOW effect with upgraded flooring, cabinets, fixtures, vaulted ceilings and other such items. The best advice I can tell you to do before building is to make a list of everything you would like to have in a house before going to the final selection appointment, visit the model home and make a list of everything that you like in the home that way you can ask the builder representative at the final selection appointment if certain items are considered an extra cost or if it comes standard with the house. If you are thinking of adding structural items such as a third car garage or possibly a basement, in my opinion, you are better off adding those items now and forgoing some of the upgrades (i.e. fixtures, flooring, etc.) the builder offers. Remember, you can always change flooring, but it is extremely difficult and costly to add structural items once a house is complete. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me. Remember to check next month; I will be posting questions and answers from an interview with Linda Hogan and Mike Trotta, President and General Manager of Sentry Homes.

Introduction

A little about me; I am a graduate of Roncalli High School, class of 2001, and a graduate of IUPUI, class of 2005. While attending IUPUI, I received an Associate of Science with an emphasis on residential construction and a Bachelor of Science with an emphasis on construction technology. I have had an interest in construction since a very young age and became actively involved with it my sophomore year of high school. I took 3 years of drafting and considered attending Ball State to major in architecture. However, my drafting teacher, Jim Ratliff, told me about the construction management program that Purdue, IUPUI and Indiana State offered. After a little research and talking with Mr. Ratliff and my parents about the advantages, I decided to pursue a degree in construction management. I decided to live at home and attend IUPUI for several reasons, but one of the main reasons was family. We had just started construction on our new office building and I thought it would be a great learning experience. Fortunately, I was able to implement what I was learning in the classroom into some of the design elements of the new building.
The following summer I decided to work for Princeton Homes as an assistant to a new homes consultant. I learned a lot, but realized that this was not what I wanted as a career. I started working for Mike Watkins Real Estate Group the same year, typing fliers, formatting pictures and doing other odds and ends between classes. By the summer of 2003, I had my real estate license and was helping the buyer department with incoming calls. My job quickly evolved to not only helping with the buyer department, but also helping clients that we represent who decide to build. For the clients who decide to build, I negotiate with the builder to get the best possible price for them. After all, a builder is more likely to negotiate with me because I can potentially bring eight to ten clients a year to them where a single person may build a house every 5 to 6 years. Once the construction process starts, I try to attend every construction meeting that our clients have with the builder. Those usually include, but are not limited to, a pre-construction meeting, pre-drywall and the final walk-thru. I also try and check on the new home periodically between meetings, but stress to our clients that if a question or concern arises please call me and let me know what the problem is. I try to be as readily accessible throughout the construction as possible.
You will see in our monthly blog frequently asked questions and concerns that clients have during the construction process. We are also going to interview builders and post tips to think about when deciding to build. If you have any questions please feel free to reply.