The process of buying a semi custom or custom house is one of the most enjoyable and potentially stressful things that you can do during your home buying life.
The reasons in general why they stress people is because it stress tests your finances, you need to make so many decisions, and you are trusting a new team of experts. The reasons why it is enjoyable is because you get to create your dream- one selection at a time!
The process of building a house is easier than renovating, but more complicated than buying an existing house. You need to identify your lot, your builder, your budget and timeline. Some communities have builders who are well financed, or self financed. That means that these builders have enough money on deposit, or a good enough profit margin that they can borrow the money to build the house and still sell it to you for a profit after recouping their “cost of money”.
If your builder does not finance the properties, or it’s a semi custom or full custom home, you will be required to get “construction financing” or pay Cash. Construction financing is done by banks who do traditional financing- Locally, I like to use a group of experienced banks, call me 513-500-7474 to get a list of Lenders. The banks manage the construction “draws” and are another protection for you- the consumer.
There are two contracts that can be used in buying new construction. The two are- lawyer drawn contract that binds the builder and customer together, or a State of Ohio Realtor Board Contract that binds the brokers to their clients and then attaches addendums to the contract. It doesn’t matter which is used, but if the first is used, I would hire a real estate or contract lawyer to review the contract and explain the details and position of the contract. Whoever draws up the contract will be protected more than who is bound by the contract!
Typically, the construction schedule is a 6-8 month schedule and I would always recommend building with a well laid out schedule. Materials can overcome some of mother natures curveballs, but you need to make sure that your specifications match your environmental risks.
For all of your site/ builder identification, negotiations and building representation needs, please contact John Payne at 513-500-7474.
