If you have your plan settled, or choose to take an "off the rack" plan from your builder, the next trouble spot is likely to be agreeing on the contract.
Naturally your builder will want to get you signed up as quickly as possible, because then your "possible build" becomes real work. It is wise to determine exactly what you want your builder to do before either tendering or requesting quotations for the work. That way you will be comparing apples with apples and save the builder time (and possible loss of other jobs) while you make up your mind.
If like us you have zero skills at DIY, don't test your abilities on a new build! We had thought of putting sweat-equity in on our current build, but in reality, the time it would take the builder to teach us how to do even basic tasks would probably be better spent letting the expert do it!
In our first build, we told our builder (who happened to be our next door neighbour) what we wanted and assumed what we had said would all be incorporated in the house. Of course, being human, our builder did not retain all of that information and sometimes we found that he had completely overlooked something that was important to us. The handrail for our staircase was completely straight when it arrived, despite me having sent a drawing of the curved finial I envisaged by email.
We decided that a more detailed set of specifications was necessary for our second build, but some issues arose when, to meet our budget, a number of items were removed from the spec and the entire spec document was replaced by our builder's standard specs at contract signing time.
We were assured that the items we had specifically mentioned as important would still be included, but some of these came under fire where there was not also a written record of them by email.
Remember that until the contract is signed, you can change anything. After that it will probably cost you extra and may not even be doable.
Before you sign, be completely sure what is and isn't included (eg power/phone/gas connections, driveways/paths/landscaping, shelving, curtain tracks, flooring, fly screens, etc). Even if you are friends with the builder (perhaps especially if you are) a contract is essential for both you and your builder. I would recommend you go over your initial wish list as you read through the specs and make sure everything you really want is actually there in writing. If not hand write it in and initial it.
We had a couple of items not specified in our contract that we had definitely agreed with our builder on. In the end the builder agreed to include them, but we could have saved ourselves quite a bit of hassle if we had ensured there was a paper record besides our recollection!
If there is a commitment by your builder to hand over the house within a specified time frame, what compensation will you receive if that doesn't happen? (I say this as I contemplate our compensation clause kicking in this week!)
Most completion dates will be set well beyond the time in which the builder anticipates finishing, meaning that the chance of compensation having to be paid is very slight. Also meaning that if the clause does kick in it will seem like very cold comfort to the now depressed would-be home owner!
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