Thinking about building your next home here in Minnesota? One of the first steps is finding a professional custom home builder you can trust.
Many people fall in love with a model home or the outcome of a builder’s decorated model. But how do you know if a particular builder is someone you want to hire?
Minnesota Custom Home Builders: How to Find Them
Alright, so you know that you want a custom home for you and your family. How do you go about finding a reputable company to work with?
Step 1: Get Referrals and Contact Them.
Though this sounds relatively straightforward, you may be asking yourself, “what do I do after contacting them?” Unfortunately, most people don’t know what questions to ask clients about their experiences with a specific home builder.
Be candid, since things can go awry, ask how the builder handles such a situation during the build process.
Questions to Ask About a Minnesota Custom Home Builder:
– Did the builder respond defensively and/or was unwilling to take responsibility?
– Did they listen and understand where things went wrong and look to facilitate a good solution?
– Did they point blame at the client at any point in the process?
Finding the right team is key to building your next home.
Step 2: Decide Which Minnesota Custom Home Builder is a Problem Solver.
You want to hire someone who understands and accepts that many client decisions can eventually lead to an “oh, no” moment. Once there, did the builder help everyone find satisfactory solutions? If the answer is yes, you have the type of builder you should hire.
Step 3: Gain Insight into Pricing
As Minnesotans, talking about money can feel tricky. But take it from us. You want to know what you’re getting into before signing that contract.
Add the following three essential questions to your list:
– Was the builder transparent in their bids and pricing?
– Does the client see all invoices before they are paid?
– Did the client understand what they were paying for?
It’s important for you to understand costs. If you don’t understand what you’re paying for, how can you decide whether you want to make trade-offs between selections such as standard quartz or Cambria countertops? To establish a trusting relationship with a builder, both parties should be open and transparent about pricing.
Set Realistic Expectations with Your Home Builder
Now that you’ve chosen a qualified custom home builder, you may wonder whether you should let the builder know your actual budget. If you want a successful project, the answer is always yes!
And Here’s Why: Often, we meet homeowners who don’t want to reveal their true budget numbers. This lack of disclosure almost always sets the stage for disappointment.
Such reluctance is understandable. Perhaps your own experience, friends’ experiences, or even the majority of the online advice you read about hiring a contractor tells you to treat the process as a poker game with the contractor as your opponent. This mentality often leads people to hold their cards close and creates a non-collaborative environment.
In reality, the adversarial approach is the least effective method if you’re planning a custom bespoke home. Think of it this way: you’re not engaging in a one-time transaction. You’re partnering with a professional who will transform your design vision into a stunning reality. Success demands that you choose a builder and architect with whom you have enough trust to discuss how much you’re prepared to invest. If this still feels like a difficult task, you can always give a range rather than a hard number, but remember to keep it as realistic as possible.
A reality-based budget is a crucial tool in the construction planning process. Most people have preconceived notions of what a house should cost based on square footage prices they have seen here or there. But these assumptions seldom support the designs and products they envision, and the results tend to be frustration. Putting your budget cards on the table is the only way your home builder can paint an accurate picture of what’s possible.
Creating Minnesota Luxury Homes
The best approach for building a new home is to bring your design ideas—a full set of plans or a rough concept—along with pictures of styles and products you envision. Lay them out along with your budget during the project’s planning phase. The builder will help evaluate these against your budget. If there’s a gap, having complete information opens the doors to new, creative solutions.
Solutions usually involve a dash of value engineering, a systematic approach to making intelligent tradeoffs that satisfy your priorities while still working within your budget.
Value engineering may include altering the layout, such as reducing square footage in a way that doesn’t take space from the rooms you consider most essential. The process can also include specifying less costly products that can easily be upgraded later, including floor covering, appliances, plumbing, and light fixtures. The builder will also help ensure you make the best decisions today on items that aren’t easily upgraded, including cabinets, windows, foundation, and tile.
Your builder can’t do this creative work without an honest and accurate budget. In other words, a frank and open discussion about money is a prerequisite to getting a result that will satisfy your needs!
Choosing a professional builder you can trust is tantamount to a successful project you will feel proud of, and more importantly, you will have gained a friend.
Read what you need to know about building a bespoke home in Minnesota.
Time to Create Your Custom Home with ADŌR!
At ADŌR Bespoke Homes, we pride ourselves on being open, transparent problem-solvers for every client we have the pleasure of working with! As Minnesota’s leading luxury custom home builders, we offer over 31 years of experience in luxury custom homes. We understand how to help clients make the best decisions for their unique build!
We want you to feel you’re getting a fair value and a valued partner throughout their entire home build. Our clients can view every cost, including the professional fee ADŌR includes on a project — right down to the last penny. This establishes mutual respect with our clients and provides ongoing support from design and construction to completing your dream home!
Connect with us today to get started on building your very own Minnesota luxury home!