Choosing a Builder for Your Custom Home. 

If you have not been able to find the perfect house on the market and you decide to build on a vacant lot, you'll be faced with a very important decision - choosing a builder.  Your builder is someone you are going to have an ongoing relationship with for about 12 months.  Start your search by asking your real estate agent for a few referrals.  Once you have some direction, here are a few basic tips to help choose a builder and keep your project on track:

Get references - and don't hire a builder until you have visited 2 or 3 other houses completed by the builder.  Ideally, get the address of every house the builder has built in the last 2 or 3 years and contact several of the owners randomly.  Don't expect a perfect report card.  Building a house is tough business and it is almost impossible to make a homeowner happy at every turn. 

Pick a day and time to meet with your contractor each week and in person.  Don't ever miss this meeting - it will keep the project on track, keep costs and changes to a minimum and establish a great working relationship.  Make sure that all "change orders" are reviewed and signed during the meeting. 

Visit the builder's other working job sites to make sure that they run a tight ship.  Specifically, look to see if unused materials are organized and protected from the weather.  Make sure that there is some evidence of a temporary workspace to review plans. 

Make it clear to your builder that you expect progress every day of every week.  Your money is being used to build a house that you cannot move into until it is completed.  A day of inactivity at the site costs you money and you deserve progress in exchange for that money.

Don't expect your builder to have a crystal ball.  Do expect some minor deviations from what is planned.  You will have fewer surprises cost-wise if you take the time to make sure that every possible item is included in the construction price. 

Building a house can be a great experience.  Chances are, if you take this advice, you will move into your new house on time, within budget and as a happy customer.  The builder will be happier at the end also.

For more tips on real estate related topics- http://www.mcdevitttownandcountry.com

Noel McDevitt is Managing Broker/Owner of McDevitt Sotheby's International Realty in Pinehurst & Southern Pines, NC.  He is also a licensed attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in real estate and construction law.