Questions You Should Ask Your Home Builder Before Getting Started
Today we’ll be talking about some very pointed questions you should be asking your builder: How are you going to serve us? What are you going to do if things go wrong?
You may feel uncomfortable asking these questions while sitting across the table from your builder or on the phone or in a zoom meeting with them. This is completely normal! My advice is to send them an email. Believe it or not, they'll be happy to respond in a thoughtful way. Also, rest assured, nobody should get defensive in this business. We know things go wrong during construction, and it’s important to know how we’re going to mitigate the risk or how things are going to go before the process begins.
So, let’s dive in!
What’s included in my custom home’s warranty? Here’s the difference between your builder warranty and your manufacturer warranty.
Many of our clients have a difficult time understanding their warranty, which is provided with the house. All items installed come with a manufacturer's warranty. Those warranties vary based on the supplier and the manufacturer (extended warranties can be purchased and discussed prior to installation). In a nutshell, every product that goes into your home comes with a manufacturer's warranty—the flooring, the appliances, the exterior siding, everything. So, for example, if your prefinished floor finish starts coming off, and it's a manufacturer's defect, the manufacturer holds that warranty. In other words, this does not go through the builder. We, of course, would facilitate the process and help you through it, but that’s not within our builder’s contract. On the other hand, if it's an installation defect like moisture on the subfloor, then that’s the builder’s responsibility because the subcontractor of the builder put it in. In this case, the builder holds that warranty.
Here’s another question we get from some of our smartest clients: Before we start, will the builder provide an initial home warranty? If so, what would they include, and how long do they last? The builder home warranty is different from the product warranty. The product warranty is with the manufacturer and the builder’s home warranty is with the builder. Makes sense, right? At Springhouse, all of our homes come with a one-year warranty. This is typical throughout the industry. We will schedule a walkthrough with you at 11 months after your move-in date to generate a punch list of items that need attention (we’ll talk about punch lists in a moment). This gives the house an entire year of heating and cooling (aka, seasonal changes), and we will correct anything you’re not satisfied with by the end of your first year in the home. As a builder, we cover installation of the things we are responsible for, and we'll come to your home to fix anything urgent. However, you can expect non-urgent things to happen throughout the year like nail pops and settling. This is where we schedule a time at 11 months to do a secondpunch list. Punch lists are your friend, and should be taken very seriously. You need to schedule enough time to walk through your home and make sure someone is writing things down on a list filled with deadlines, timelines and priorities. You and your builder should put a punch list together that everyone signs off on—everything that needs to be done, when it will be done and who pays for it.
Is the home inspection included in the warranty cost?
For Springhouse, there’s usually a final home inspection by us included in the costs prior to you moving in—this is the first punch list I just talked about. This covers things like making sure every door opens and closes properly, that there’s airflow from every vent, that your windows open and close, etc. However, asking for a home inspection from another professional at the end is not a bad idea. Keep in mind, the builder does not usually pay for this, but some do, so it’s important to ask. But it’s always nice to have a second pair of eyes to take a look at mechanical and installation issues, making sure there's nothing fishy going on.
Are there any penalties incurred by the builder?
Let’s say your builder fails to meet the projected building dates on your contract. Maybe they go a little longer than expected. It’s perfectly reasonable as a homeowner to ask if there are any penalties to this. But the short answer is no. You need to trust that the builders are going to work their hardest, and are trying their best to do everything they can to get it done on the date you were told. Remember, a builder doesn’t make any more money to drag the process out. They want to create a really great project for you and finish as quickly as they can. But things happen to get in the way. For example, maybe Mother Nature says it’s going to be 18 degrees one night, which means the builders are not going to pour a slab—otherwise, it's going to pop and crack. This would be a disaster, so the timeline needs to be pushed a little.
Sometimes deadlines are pushed due to several factors beyond our control—whether labor shortages, or material fluctuations in price and availability. In fact, Springhouse has been running into that a lot with COVID. Therefore, there are no penalties for delays to the project schedule. However, we do build in some fluff into our schedule to accommodate for some of the items mentioned above.
Speaking of COVID, here’s another important question to ask your builder: Does the contract include a cost escalation clause for unexpected or even anticipated costs of building materials? Right now, we're in a critical time with COVID pricing. Prices are all over the place. So, at the moment, the answer may be that they currently do not carry an escalation clause. With the volatility in the current market, builders just can’t predict the future. At Springhouse, we do, however, lock in our lumber costs early to ensure that cost is not impacted during the construction of your home. If you’re working on a big project, talk to your builder about locking in pricing.
Have any questions?
I hope these questions help guide the initial conversations with your builder or architect. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their process of ordering things, getting price holds, punch list walkthroughs and warranties. If you have a good builder, they're going to be open with you, and more than likely won’t get defensive. Promise!
Although we covered a lot in this post, you may still have some other questions regarding initial conversations with your builder. Whether you’re involved in the custom home process now, or even just considering it, join our free Facebook group—we’ll help you answer any questions you might have! Also, feel free to invite anyone that you think would benefit from this collaborative. You’ll not only get advice from me, but from other people who have been through this, too.