Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Home Builder In Dallas
Building a custom home requires a huge investment of both time and money, so our objective with this article is answer the top ten questions that people most frequently ask their home builders.
How Long Will It Take to Build My Home?
On average, from opening to final closing of the contract, the time period is about 8 months. However, the time required for the actual construction of the house is considerably shorter, usually only taking 4-6 months.
2. Can I Walk Through My Home While It’s Under Construction?
Generally the answer to this question is yes, but with conditions. For insurance reasons, most custom home builders will only let you walk around the construction premises if you’re accompanied by a representative of their company.
3. Can I Use A Realtor?
Yes and no, most home builders will only allow the use of an agent if they were the ones to set up the appointment for visiting a model home of the home builder’s, or if they procured the deal themselves. Otherwise, in most cases, the answer to this question will be no.
4. Is It Possible to Get a Discount by Not Using a Realtor?
Sometimes, but don’t expect to get the entirety of the 3% the realtor would’ve taken. Such discounts are usually only given if there wasn’t an agent in the picture from the start, and most builders will do this to protect the realtor from being cut out of the deal after having already invested their time and effort.
5. Is the Price Negotiable?
Most often the answer to this question will be no, but there are a few cases where there is room for negotiation on prices, such as at the end of fiscal quarters, or if the builder has some completed model homes that haven’t been purchased yet.
6. Do Builders Offer Price Incentives or Discounts?
Yes, but they’re often quite small and will sometimes be contingent on using the builder’s preferred lender or construction partners.
7. Do I Have to Use the Builder’s Preferred Lender?
No, but as mentioned in the last question, doing so may allow you to negotiate a discount on your home. It is perfectly acceptable to go to another lender to compare rates to your builder’s lender, to make sure you’re getting a good deal.
8. Can I Choose My Own Colors and Other Options?
If you are building a truly custom home, the answer is yes. However, if you are buying into a development where construction has already started, your choices may be limited because many of the materials used in building take weeks or longer to arrive, so may be difficult or even impossible to change the plan once the building process has begun.
9. Is It Possible to Push Back the Closing Date?
This answer is almost always going to be a hard “no” for this one, because every day that the house remains unpurchased after construction costs the builder a substantial amount of money.
10. Can I Close Early?
Usually, this will also be a no because builders want to ensure they have all the time they need to deliver a completed house with minimal flaws, so closing early is rarely an option.
These seem to be 10 of the most commonly asked questions of home builders. With this information, we hope to provide you with a better idea of what the processes surrounding buying and building your own home are like.
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