How the best homebuilders insure homeowner satisfaction
Have you heard of a “punch list”? This is construction industry jargon for a checklist of things that need to be completed, repaired or replaced. It’s a quick and easy reference to the status of the work, as well as a useful way to communicate with our trade partners and clients. Most importantly, the punch list is a key tool to make sure our homes meet the high expectations of our custom home buyers.
The best companies build quality assurance systems into their practice.
What separates great builders from good ones? A lot of things do, but part of the answer is that great builders are obsessive about small details. And taken together, those small details leave a big impression.
Most builders really want to do good work for their customers. They strive to craft high-quality homes and respond quickly if the customer has a serious problem like a leak after move-in. At the same time, many builders lack formal systems for finding and correcting small errors during construction and for making sure they don’t happen in the future.
For best results, narrow down the options up front
Allowances—that is, budgeting general costs for items before the specific items are chosen—are a fact of life on many projects. Some homeowners have trouble making decisions before work begins, most commonly for appliances, cabinets, floor coverings, and plumbing and electrical fixtures. In those cases, the builder can assign a dollar amount to each category and let the homeowners choose specific products later.
Quality homes and satisfied customers don’t happen by accident. The best builders have systems to ensure those outcomes.
If you have a complete set of construction documents, including accurate blueprints and product descriptions, then material and labor costs won’t vary much between equivalent professional builders. Most of the price difference will rest with the builder’s fee—the overhead and profit built into the home’s cost.
What does that fee cover? And is a lower fee always better?
Post-contract changes need not be a problem, but they absolutely need a clear process
Professionals who build fantastic homes for satisfied customers share some important traits. One trait is an obsession with details, and another is clearly communicating those details to the homeowners. Great builders are great communicators, and part of being a great communicator is documenting every part of the job.
The best builders engineer their homes for health and comfort
Efficiency, health and comfort—a great new home delivers all of those. But creating that home using today’s construction methods takes more knowledge than most people realize. That knowledge is one of the benefits of working with a professional builder.
Lots of homeowners ask questions about energy efficiency—questions about insulation, the heating and cooling system, the lighting and the home’s likely utility bills.
How professional builders avoid some of the most common and costly construction mistakes.
Most people judge a home by the obvious: a floor plan that’s a joy to live in, a streetscape that wows passers-by, great natural lighting, and lots of storage. The list goes on.
But some less obvious details have just as great an impact on the homeowners’ satisfaction over time. While homeowners have little control over these details, a professional builder with a sustainable business will make sure they get done right.
The best builders know that the initial meeting is about earning your trust
A big factor in someone’s choice of a builder is their comfort with the first person they meet from the company, whether it’s the owner or one of the staff. Natural rapport is important, but gut feelings also play a role—feelings some homeowners aren’t sure how to interpret.
Prevent surprises and delays by getting answers from the top.
There are lots of things homeowners can do to keep their building project running smoothly. Number one is making timely product choices, but another key step is to direct all change requests and questions, no matter how small, to the builder or the builder’s representative (usually the project superintendent).
The quality of the paint job can make or break the look of a custom home.
Many homeowners expect plumbers and electricians to be expensive but are shocked at the prices charged by other subcontractors.
