Becoming a Home Builder
If you have an interest in building homes, becoming a home builder could be a great career choice. The work involves designing and building new houses as well as major renovations of existing structures. You’ll need to know how to manage a construction project and how to oversee contractors. The best home builders understand the value of a good relationship with their customers, which helps them deliver quality work and ensure that satisfied clients recommend their services to others.
Before you choose a home builder, take time to research and compare various options for your new home. You can do this by contacting your local home builders’ association or checking online to find out who is building in your area and what type of homes they build. You can also visit a few recently built homes and talk with homeowners to learn more about their experience with the builder.
Customizing Your Home: A Custom Builder
Using a custom home builder, you and your architect can design a one-of-a-kind, site-specific home that’s unique to your tastes and preferences. The design process allows you to choose a lot, and personalize your home in many ways — such as deciding what size bedrooms and bathrooms will work for you.
You’ll also be able to select design features and home styles. You’ll be able to specify appliances, cabinetry, countertops, carpet and flooring and other products for your new house.
Customizing Your Lot: A custom builder can build on any type of land that has a potential for constructing a house, from small parcels to large parcels. This is often an ideal option for those who want a home on a specific location or who have a special need such as aging in place.
As you may expect, a custom builder can be more expensive than a production home builder. The higher price is due to the fact that custom home builders are not able to enjoy the economies of scale and labor efficiencies of a production builder. They must also buy land and building materials at a higher rate than production builders do.
The custom builder also is responsible for ensuring that the home they build meets all state and local codes. This includes submitting plans to the local zoning board for approval and securing permits before construction can begin.
In addition, a custom home builder must conduct a thorough inspection of every building site to make sure that the structure will meet local code regulations. In addition, the home builder must also inspect each piece of material that goes into the house to make sure that it is free from hazardous materials and meets the manufacturer’s warranty standards.
A home builder must be a highly organized individual in order to get the job done right and on schedule. This is because he must be able to manage a network of materials suppliers and trade contractors, schedule his employees and keep track of construction timelines and budgets.