What you need to know when Choosing a Home Builder

Taking a leap and deciding to build a home is a huge decision and a lot of work. Finding the right builder that suits your needs and can exceed your expectations shouldn’t be a difficult process. There are several factors to consider before you make your final decision.

We look at how you can go about choosing a home builder that’s right for you.

How to choose a builder for your house

A good place to start first is to make a list of what you’d like. Your list should include everything from what your house will look like, what you want to achieve in your process with your builder, what you’re willing to compromise on and what you’re not, your budget and any questions you have. When choosing a home builder, you should know that some may only work with a preferred design plan in mind and it’s important to outline what you want and need.

Having this rough guide will help you to lay your groundwork first. Secondly, you should do some research as well as asking your friends, family, and work colleagues who they have hired in the past. Here’re some important elements to consider when deciding how to go about choosing the right builder:

  1. Price and budget

As you would have already done some rough research to know some costings you’ll be prepared for how much you’ll be willing to spend and what category you’d fall under. As there are specialist builders for any types of projects, there wouldn’t be much point approaching a first-home builder to build a custom home due to their business model revolving around standard design and budget. It’s recommended when choosing a builder, to do your research on a variety of home builders first before gathering building quotes so that you can see who a good fit for helping to build your home is. Also remember that cheapest isn’t always the best.

  1. Look for experience and skills

When choosing the right builder for you, one of the most important aspects is knowing how long they’ve been in the business for. Even if they have just started as a new company, make sure that they have experienced staff members and question whether they have the skills that you require. For example, if they only have experience in renovations and extensions then they probably aren’t a good fit for you if you were wanting to build you first home.

  1. Check out their portfolio and references

Probably something that needs to be checked when you do your initial round of research is checking out their previous jobs and reading all the reviews and references. Choosing a builder that doesn’t have any recent or good references or recently completed work projects would most likely not be a good idea to go with. Asking for references from different categories such as an architect, a previous client and a builder is always a great idea to have varying opinions. There are many new home builders Brisbane locals depend on.

We’d even suggest going to a current home in construction and talking to on-site tradespeople to have further insights on their work and the company. Make sure to ask both the professionals and previous clients questions about their overall experience, the quality of the build, did the build take long and if there were any issues and were, they dealt with in an effective, timely and professional manner, and if they provided a follow-up service?  If you have more of your own questions, make sure to ask and it’ll help narrow everything down for you when choosing a builder.

  1. Visit their display homes

An important way to figure out how to choose a builder for your house is visiting their display homes. You can gauge their quality, their service, and the overall vibe you get from what they can provide you. The right residential builder Brisbane residents build with will have quality products and service and will put the effort in by going the extra mile for you. Many small residential builders are the leading choice for many people nowadays in comparison to large-scale building companies who have had bad reputations or aren’t willing to take the time to understand each individual wants and needs.

  1. Warranty, service, and insurance

No matter what kind of build you’re striving for, choosing the right builder is easy if they are licensed, registered, and insured. Normally, all builders throughout Australia require mandatory insurance and will need to be licensed. As this can vary, it would be one of the most important questions to ask about the insurance that the builder and the contractors carry, and as a homeowner make sure that you’re covered. When you build your new home, it majority of the time means that majority of everything will be under warranty however look at a structural warranty of ten years or longer on the home itself (with the ability to transfer should you decide to sell down the track) for that extra peace of mind. The right builder will take the time to explain these terms and maintenance procedures with you.

At an absolute minimum, builders should have Public Liability Insurance and Home Building Compensation (HBC) although this does depend on the state. You can be proactive and check yourself if your builder is registered by asking the Housing Industry of Australia (HIA) or the Master Builders of Australia (MBA) for their list of members.

If you are able to find a builder that has all of the above features, it’ll be easy to separate the great builders from the merely average. Choosing a home builder that helps make your dream home a reality doesn’t need to be difficult. Get in touch with the team at LIVIT to start building today!

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