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Is he or she a member of the Northeast Florida Home Builders Association? Most builders who belong to this organization are
professionals with a long term reputation in the community.
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Look closely at the homes the Builder has
completed and has under construction. Do they represent the
workmanship you desire?
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Request the names of several of the most recent
customers he or she has completed homes for. Call the customer and ask for their recommendation.
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Has he or she furnished you with complete plans,
specifications, and a firm price for the home?
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You should feel comfortable with the Builder and
have a rapport with him or her.
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The builder should have experience in the size,
type, and price range of home that you are contemplating. Ask to see
completed homes in this area or price range. You may only be
able to view the homes from the street, but this should tell you
about his experience and the type of homes built. Each builder
employs trades people to create your home. If a Builder builds
predominantly lower priced homes he or she will normally use the same
trades people for your home. If a builder builds predominantly
executive homes he or she will use trades people who are experienced
primarily in that quality of home. This is very important since the
quality of your home will be only as good as those who helped create
it.
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Is he or she a full time home builder? Do they appear
organized? He should present you with plans, specifications, etc.
that appear professional. Does he have an office and an experienced
staff?
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Put everything in writing. There will be no
disputes if it is in writing and signed by both parties.
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Your builder should be
licensed by the State of
Florida.
This requires a three day grueling examination plus evidence of past
experience and expertise in the field he is building in. The state
requires the builder to renew this license on a regular basis. He
must provide the state with current financial information, insurance
certificates, etc. Do not contract with any Builder who is not
licensed.
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You should make sure that the principal of the
company is the license holder for the company. The license is the glue
that holds the builder's firm together and the builder does not want to
risk that license. However, from time to time a building firm will use
an employee as a license holder. The problem with this is, should a
problem occur, your recourse is with the license holder who may not be
an owner of the company. I would ask to see the license for the company
and be absolutely sure that the principal is the license holder and not
an employee. Do not take this for granted!
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Call the Better Business Bureau and ask for
references.
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As stated above, you should find out who really
owns the company. Sometimes things are really not what they appear.
For example, the builder could have the greatest name in the
country, but you might be contracting with a joint venture of his or
a franchise operation of that builder. If this is the case you
should forget the name of the known builder and determine the
strength of the actual parties involved. Are there venture partners?
Who actually owns the franchise? You need to know their experience,
financial record, previous local customer references, and more. If
the contract states that you are contracting with anyone different
than who you think you are this should be an immediate red flag!
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When comparing proposals for homes it is essential that you compare
apples to apples. It is easy to lower the price by using lesser
quality material, not including amenities, ceiling height
differences, leaving soil problems open, and much more. You should
carefully compare, item by item, what is being proposed. If there is
a large variance between two builder's prices for a similar home the
difference will almost always be the quality!
