Are you thinking about moving to the Des Moines metro area, building your first home, or upgrading your current home? If you are thinking about designing and building a custom home for you and your family, you need to find a builder that is a good fit for you. How do you know whether it’s a match made in heaven or a relationship that won’t work out? Consider these four things when choosing a home builder in Des Moines.
Reputation
New home construction is a business that relies heavily on reputation and word of mouth. A great builder crafts not only quality custom homes but also sturdy relationships. Look at a builder’s online reviews, testimonials, referrals from previous clients, rankings in local business guides and with the Better Business Bureau, and community reputation before trusting them with your own home project. A builder with a reputation for shoddy work, poor communication, or unsafe building practices isn’t one you should trust with your business, no matter how good the quoted price – it will likely cost you more in the long run and turn the experience of building your dream home into a nightmare.
Response Time
Summer is the busiest season of the year for home builders. Nevertheless, a builder who doesn’t get back to you quickly doesn’t deserve your business! You should have an open line of communication with your builder and scheduled points of contact throughout the construction process. A good builder will work with you to lay out and explain a construction schedule that works for you and be responsive to you throughout the process. If you’re getting the runaround from a builder before your project even starts, your communication during the project will only get worse.
Process
If you want a truly custom home, look for a builder who is involved in the entire design-build process, from start to finish. Your builder can help you find land, acquire financing (whether through public programs, VA loans, private lenders, or a combination), figure out a home design and floor plan, and oversee the construction from start to finish. Your home should be as unique as you and your family – don’t settle for a builder who wants to shoehorn you into a cookie-cutter subdivision model home. A full-service builder should work with you in making decisions about everything from the floor plan to the finishes while keeping an eye on your budget to keep it in line with your expectations.
Warrantees
All new construction goes through a period of settlement. In your home’s first year, it will undergo minor changes that may present unavoidable problems. You may also discover small imperfections that weren’t obvious at first, like squeaky doors, sticky cabinet drawers, or cosmetic issues. There’s always the small possibility that something will turn out to be defective, too, like a faulty appliance, a leaky window, or a malfunctioning electrical component. A quality builder will offer a first-year warranty to repair or replace the things that have become less than perfect in the first year you own your home at no cost to you.
Many appliances, hardware, fixtures, and other components of your home also have manufacturer’s warranties. For example, your appliances, windows, plumbing, and heating/cooling (HVAC) or other mechanical/electrical systems may have warranties from their manufacturers, which your builder should also pass along to you.
Selecting a home builder is a process of choosing not just a professional but also building a personal relationship. After 37 years and almost 500 homes, Homes by Brill in Des Moines, Iowa, is proud to build not just quality houses but quality homes. We make sure that construction stays as close to budget as possible, and we make the building process fun for you and your whole family! Contact Homes by Brill today to get started on your own custom home.
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