What’s up World. As you may or may not know I was able to build my first home a couple of years ago during the pandemic. During this process I learned a lot on the fly, and since we are in the seasoning of giving. I’m going to share with you my experience and the top things that I learned while building my home.
If you would like to watch the video instead, here it is below.
The Contract
Starting from the beginning, when I first submitted my offer letter It was for $1,000 less than the asking price. Because my agent said that I should at least try to get a deal. They obviously rejected it because it is a sellers market. But once I resubmitted my offer for the asking price they accepted it.
I had to move in by a certain time due to starting work on a certain date. Normally builders do not like committing to a time frame of having the home completed, because they don’t want to be tied to a date and then something happens and they can’t meet the deadline. This was also during the start of Covid, so anything could have happened between me putting a contract on and closing on the home.
Selections/Finishing’s
Once I signed the contract in March the home had just been framed. Which allowed me some freedom to decide on the finishing touches. Such as:
- Carpet
- Flooring
- Paint Color
- Finishings
- Granite
- Cabinets
- Lights
- Appliances
This was super fun and I see why people enjoy interior design and decorating. I had to make sure certain colors and tones worked in the kitchen with the countertops and cabinets. While also making sure the paint color scheme flowed throughout the home. I became an expert in choosing paint colors, using the same color pallet to select a beige color that still had the undertones of the primary color, and all of that.
My experience was slightly different because it was during Covid and I was over two states away from the design center that my builder uses. So I had to rely on pictures taken from the builder when selecting the different cabinets and countertops etc.
The other thing that I asked for was my appliance budget because I wanted to try to find cheaper appliances elsewhere. They did not want to give me a number for the appliance budget. They even went as far as saying that they would throw in a refrigerator for no extra cost. This was shocking because I didn’t even know I wasn’t getting a refrigerator. It took them about a month to come up with a number to give me, but by this point I was over it and just let them supply the appliances like they were going to do in the beginning.
Administrative Details
Being able to decide on so many things, I did not notice some of the standard things that I thought came with the house were not there. Such as towel racks and toilet paper holders. They also didn’t put a shower door in my master bathroom, and wanted to charge an extra cost to have someone come out and do it. Since it is a sellers market I couldn’t really press them on anything too much. And I was also in a bind of needing housing by a specific date.
Since I was building a home out of state I couldn’t physically check on the process like I would have wanted to. I had to check Zillow a lot of times and hope that they updated the pictures there. That being said, they only allowed a couple of official visits during the whole building process. Understandably because some homeowners take things too far when checking on their home, like coming everyday.
Walkthroughs
When I was conducting my final walkthrough about a month before closing, I had to make sure I put blue tape on anything I wanted them to fix. So there were a couple of paint chips that needed to be addressed, some of the light plates were slightly crooked and the dryer plug was too close to the washer drain which didn’t look right. There was also some caulk that needed to be placed around the tub. So these were small miscellaneous things the builder addressed before I closed
Some of the good things about my builder is that they do a one month and eleven month walk through. This allowed me to live in the home and find any other things that were wrong like missing caulk, and or missing door stoppers. They do the one month walkthrough to come and fix any damage that might have happened during move in. The eleven month walkthrough is generally for anything to be fixed before warranties start wearing out. For my eleven month walkthrough the biggest things were just some bolts on my toilet that had started rusting and were an eyesore. So again very small things.
Rob’s Opinion
Overall I am very pleased with my home and I am so happy that my father pushed me to look at newly built homes. The biggest takeaway from this experience is you shouldn’t settle for anything less than your standard. Do not compromise when you are making a big purchase such as this. Because any small mistake that you overlook will come back to bite you once you are living in your home.
I hope the things in this blog will go on to help you with building your first home. If you have taken something away from this blog please comment down below. If you have any tips or experiences that you would like to share with others please comment them down below as well. Like always if you have any questions for yours truly please reach out.
