Which Builder Builds a Quality Home?

Building a Quality Home

Central Florida has over 30 builders. How do you pick the best one? Or even know who builds a quality home? We get this question a lot and know the answers!

Builders have standards by code from the municipality, segmented by regions. National builders also have their own corporate standards which they follow. A home will be built differently if it faces earthquakes or snow vs. wind and rain, as found in Florida. Many buyers research builders on the internet and find complaints in varying degrees and sometimes related to a different state. I have learned, that building a quality home is only as good as the construction manager assigned to that individual property. I do go on inspections and part of my job is to keep the construction managers aware of any concerns.

Construction Managers

Construction managers are not all equal. Some may be inexperienced and might not even hold a contractors license. Some managers are disorganized; they do not bother to walk the property or recheck repairs. Others simply have too many homes to manage, which means problems can be easily overlooked. Home buyers can ensure they are buying a quality home by hiring their own inspector to inspect the home. The buyers inspector will check the home at certain intervals during the building process. This is in conjunction with county or city inspections and their own final inspection.

There are no short cuts. If you want to have the best building outcome, someone has to be vigilant.

Pre-construction Meeting

Recently, I attend a pre-construction meeting. When I entered the room all information was perfectly displayed on the table. Blue prints, site plan, updated copies of upgrade list, and a crisp three inch binder for the property. My first thought this guy is well organized, so I felt like we were off to a great start…and I was right.

The buyers had hired their own independent inspector to do a slab inspection. The buyers inspector noted that a repair was needed in order to comply with the building plans. The construction manager consulted with the concrete contractor, his manager, and colleagues whether to correct this. They all recommended he NOT fix it, because its was not required on other similar homes.

Despite advice to the contrary, the construction manager agreed to have it fixed so it would be in line with the building plans. Bravo! Thank goodness! This side of the home was built into a hill, so it probably needed the reinforcement. Luckily, this turned out as expected and needed. That is why I say that the quality of a home is as good as the construction manager.

Products of a quality home

Construction materials and products can vary builder by builder. Surprisingly, all the builders use the same subcontractors, and many use the same cabinet, carpet, and tile manufacturer. Substitutions after contract, can happen. Most are acceptable, but some can be a downgrade.

Hiring a Buyers Broker

Many new home buyers don’t realize that they can hire a buyers broker when building a new home. Why not? They should! Home buyers would be shocked at the dozens of issues that come up that we solve the problem for. It can be something unexpected during the building process and sometimes even unfair changes that a builder is requesting.

Having helped hundreds of new construction buyers overcome building issues is just one part of our job. Recently, I discovered a “finished” home that had defective title floors! No one noticed it but me! The buyer would have easily closed and not realized it, because it was very hard to spot. Yes, and I did get the floors replaced!

Have questions? Let us answer them. Call us 407-539-1053.