Reputable home builder Asheville II

Once you have found your reputable home builder in Asheville, you have only reached the starting line! Usually by this time you have found the land and perhaps even purchased it. In order to get financing for a new build, the land must be owned by you.

To protect you and the builder, a reputable home builder in Asheville should have a Construction Agreement for you to engage in or you can enlist the services of an attorney to help you with this.

Here are the minimum elements that should be included in any New Home Construction Contract:

1. Parties of the Contract (You, the builder/developer)

2. The identification of the building site. You would think this would be a no-brainer, but it's not unheard of for a backhoe to start digging only to find out that he's on the wrong property. And in a new development one lot can look just the same as the next.

3. Listing out the scope of work. Does the building work include a lawn? A paved driveway? You should have a specification sheet attached to the contract to spell out everything down to the bathroom fixtures, cabinet knobs, the type of maple tree you want planted in the front lawn. A lot of developers have a show room where a consultant can help you with the choices you have to make. They can show you floor finishes, window treatments, plumbing, counters, cabinets... There's a lot of stuff that goes into a house. Too much to list here. The show room concept can really simplify your choices and put it all in one specification list and help you keep to the budget.

4. Financing should have been the first thing on your list of "to-do's" when you started thinking about building. A good mortgage person should be able to steer you in the right direction with financing. For contract purposes, the loan particulars would be spelled out.

5. Conveyance of land to the builder for construction loan purposes. There are different mechanisms in place in different states, but the land and home become joined legally as well as physically. And for legal reasons the land is provisionally assigned to the builder.

6. Site considerations such as utilities, survey, deed restrictions. This can be pretty confusing, actually. I was working with a client once when they asked about a sewage easement going through their property. Turns out it was a stipulation covering the whole subdivision and the sewer easement didn't touch their property. Deed restrictions can determine materials used on the outside of the home, colors, the home's placement on the lot and a lot of different factors. The builder must understand these restrictions and proceed accordingly.

7. Pricing and payment terms including purchase price, allowances, deposits, progress payments, and change orders and extras. If you want to see the finished price of your home sky rocket make a lot of changes while construction is underway. Changes can nickel and dime you to death. It's important to have a solid plan and stick to it.

8. Completion terms. Stipulate a completion date, Occupancy provisions, Acceptance by owner, incomplete items, owner's inspection. Why would you need to inspect a new home? It is after all new, isn't it? You need to walk through with your check list making sure everything is there that you agreed to, including the right counters, switch plates, flooring. It's worth making sure everything is operating correctly like the various mechanicals, well pump and even the toilets. This is a good time to examine the home for appearance items like wall dings or gouges, kinked or dented ventilation, dented appliances, etc.

9. Warranties. In some states there is a period of time deemed the warranty period for new construction. It can be a year or two. Some builders offer additional warranties. Appliances are usually covered by their own warranty.

10. Here's a sticky one and almost every home owner signs off on (and that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do): Arbitration. Most Home Construction Contracts contain an Arbitration clause. If there is something wrong with the home, you agree to going through the arbitration process instead of going to court. This is dealt with differently in different states so I would recommend running this by a qualified real estate attorney. What's wrong with arbitration? Arbitrators are less likely to award damages to homeowners than juries. Signing this clause usually means you have just waived your right to take the builder to court.

All of the above comprises a short list of items that should appear in a new construction contract. The content of a contract like this varies from state to state. More often than not, they are in place to protect the buyer. Any changes to the contract should be in writing. While some oral agreements might hold up, a written document gives all parties something to go back to.

A good real estate agent should be able to provide you with worksheets to help you sort through a lot steps above and what to do if something goes wrong in the building process. When we hear stories about builders in the news, it is usually bad news. The good news is that it makes the evening news programs because these occurrences are rare. Most Asheville area builders are honest people with a valuable talent and really want to build the best product possible.

For more helpful articles like this, home building checklists and even a free scheduling worksheet I invite you to visit www.reputableashevillehomebuilder.com.