I read an interesting article on “How to vet a builder” a few days ago.  The link to the article is below.  It’s short and sweet, but covers the main points very well, in my opinion.  I thought it might be useful to give a builder’s take on the subject.  Here goes:

The first point in the article mentions hiring a “good real estate attorney” to review the contract.  This is an interesting point, and I’ve had a few customers take my contract (a version of the State Homebuilders’ Association form) to an attorney for review (although I’ve never had one ask for any changes afterward).  Even though most builder’s contracts are standard forms approved by the state Homebuilders’ Association, I suppose an unscrupulous builder might try to throw something in there that works to the customer’s disadvantage.  Hiring an attorney isn’t cheap, but if it makes you feel better, it’s worth it.  Here’s the single caveat I’ll throw in, though: if you don’t trust the builder, and think you need to have an attorney review the contract, then why are you letting him or her build your home in the first place?  If you think there’s something in the contract that’s going to cause a problem, what do you think is going to be in the house?  Unless you are a uniquely savvy buyer, and have all day, every day, to watch the construction, there’s no way to check every detail of the home being built.  What’s my point?  Hire a builder you trust, and you won’t have to worry about getting cheated.

Other great points in the article, with which I agree completely, as will any reputable builder: Investigate!  Search the builder’s name on the internet to find any information, good or bad.  Also, ask other home owners in the neighborhood who bought from that particular builder.  The big question to ask: did the builder meet your expectations?  It’s all about expectations, and a good builder knows to set the customer’s expectations up front, then live up to them (and exceed them).

Here’s the link to the original article: http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2010083005?OpenDocument

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Tim

Many of us tend to think old-school when thinking about how long it takes to build a new home.  Take your time and do it right.  I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly.  So, when you take your time and do it right, it should take longer to build a new home, right?  Wrong!  Want to know why?  Read on…

“Doing it right” means planning every detail, down to the last stick of lumber, the last tile, and the last light bulb.  It means painstaking work designing plans, poring over them to find mistakes and problems that will crop up during construction.  It means re-drawing plans, visualizing how the heat & air ducts will run, where the plumbing will be, and figuring out whether a particular framing member will be in the way of a vent, fixture, duct, or wire.  Most builders skip these critical, time-consuming steps, knowing that they can always solve the problems “in the field”.  The problems always crop up, causing the builder to go back and re-work something, like having to remove framing components to route an air duct, which takes time, costs money, and reduces the overall quality of the job.

When you fix problems like these on paper, rather than on the job, the job moves more smoothly; when the job moves more smoothly, it moves faster.  Many builders will tell you it takes them a long time to build a home because they take their time and do it right.  Don’t be fooled.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

We’ve all heard the old saying, “Measure twice, cut once”, but it’s really just an old saying, isn’t it?  Well, it’s not, and it doesn’t just apply to your backyard home-improvement projects. We usually think of the saying as it applies to cutting a particular piece of material, such as a board, but the assumption is that we know how long the board needs to be in the first place.  How do we know how long the board needs to be so we can even measure it once, not to mention twice?

To answer that question, I’m going to shift gears a bit.  Think about the assembly line where a Lexus or BMW is built.  Do you think the person on the factory floor installing the car’s doors figures out how big to make the door, what material to make it out of, what tool to use to cut the shape, and what type of fasteners to use to attach the door to the car?  That’s ridiculous, isn’t it?  Even the worst car in the world isn’t built that way.  Who would buy a car that was built that way?  Nobody, yet chances are that is exactly how your house was built.  Your house!  I’m willing to bet your house cost more than the least-expensive new car, but for some reason, it’s OK to let the guy with a tape measure and a pencil figure out what kind of material is best for the most critical elements of your home!  That's a bit scary, isn't it?

When you’re shopping for a new home, ask your builder who designs and fabricates the critical structural components: a licensed Professional Engineer and a team of trained technicians, or a framing carpenter (who, in Oklahoma, practices without any formal training or license)?  In most cases, you’ll be shocked at the answer, and yet you’ll be expected to pay six figures for a product that was designed and built on the fly by people who simply don’t have the qualifications necessary to make the decisions they’re expected to make.

Don’t settle for half-baked, seat-of-the-pants construction techniques. It’s your home we’re talking about.  You deserve better.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

The more things change, the more they stay the same... Those words strike a chord during these economic times, and it's no different when you're talking about your home.  Whether the economic news is good or bad, one thing never changes: people always want (and deserve) the most for their money.  That applies to a home, whether new or used.  How does that affect you?  

Well, since each home is unique, there is really only one thing that's common from one house to another: square feet.  Put your Buyer hat on for a moment: if you're shopping for a home in a certain neighborhood, and you come across two that you want to compare, what's one way to determine which is the better value?  Price per square foot, all other things being equal.  How does that affect you when you are the Seller?  Think about this: what's the first thing an appraiser does when trying to determine the value of your home?  She measures it.  She doesn't look at the landscaping, doesn't look at the lovely stainless appliances or the high-end travertine tile.  If you want to maximize re-sale value, the safest bet is square footage.  You want the most house you can get for the money.  Ever heard the old saying, "Buy low - sell high"?  It applies to square feet too!  If you can get a lot of square feet for the money, it's like buying at the bottom of the market; those square feet will always have value, but the stainless appliances and stained concrete might not.  Think about those avacado-colored appliances your parents or grandparents had.  Think those add value to a home today?  What do you think might happen to the things that are in style today?  Guess what - square footage never goes out of style.

Thanks for reading!

What type of foundation is the best for my new home?

There are three basic foundation types you’ll find in central Oklahoma, and the “best” type depends on many factors, such as soil type, home type, construction standards, and budget.

§                     Pier and Grade Beam: This type of foundation is fairly common, and it is referred to in different ways, such as “pier and grade” or “pier and beam”. Its defining characteristic is that it is visible when the home is finished, almost always on the sides, and sometimes on the front. It is an engineered system, meaning it must be drawn and approved by a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.). It is made up of a steel-reinforced concrete “beam” that sits on top of the ground (anything on top of the ground is referred to as being “on grade” or “on finished grade”, hence the name “grade beam”). Every few feet, the beam is supported by a pier that consists of a vertical column of steel-reinforced concrete set at least 18” into the ground. The main advantage of this foundation type is cost: since the foundation is set up and poured in one step, it requires less labor. Since it sits on top of the ground, it requires less concrete and less brick to cover the exterior walls (the brick sits on top of the grade beam, which is why the foundation is visible after the home is complete). The big disadvantage is realized when this foundation type is used on top of expansive (clay) soil. As the Oklahoma red dirt absorbs water, it expands. The opposite happens when the dirt dries out. Since the top layers of soil are the most susceptible to changes in moisture content, the grade beam is subject to the heaving and settling motion of the soil at the surface. This soil movement can result in vertical and horizontal foundation movement, and in some cases, twisting. While such movement isn’t necessarily an indication of failure, it can be a nuisance when it causes drywall and/or brick cracks.

§                     Footing and Stem Wall: This is possibly the most common foundation type found in central Oklahoma. It requires no engineering because its design and construction specifications are detailed in the International Residential Code, the guidelines used by the vast majority of cities and counties in Oklahoma and elsewhere. Its big advantage is ease of construction; since it is so widely used, any foundation contractor is well-versed in its installation requirements. It consists of a “footing” (sometimes called a “footer”), which is a steel-reinforced beam set into the ground at the home’s perimeter. Once the concrete in the footing has cured sufficiently, a “stem wall” is formed from plain concrete (non-reinforced) directly on top of the footing. Sometimes the stem wall is tied to the footing with steel reinforcing bars (re-bar), sometimes not.  The home’s exterior walls will be framed on top of the stem wall. The brick will sit just outside the stem wall on top of the footing. The disadvantage of this type of foundation is cost; it consumes more labor, concrete, and brick. It is not as susceptible to soil expansion as the Pier and Grade Beam, but it is not immune.

§                     Post-Tensioned Slab: This is the least common foundation type found in central Oklahoma, but its use is growing due to the foundation’s robust design and construction. This type of foundation has been used for years in commercial construction, where larger loads and lower tolerance for cracks are common. The post-tensioned slab consists of a footing and floor slab poured as one unit. Inside the slab there are high-strength steel cables running front-to-back and side-to-side through the slab and foundation. Once the concrete has cured for a few days, workers return to the job and pull the ends of the cables using hydraulic rams, putting them under high tension; once tensioned, the ends are allowed to pull on the concrete, compressing the concrete. This makes the foundation and slab become a single, extremely strong unit. This type of foundation is extremely robust, and can tolerate very high amounts of soil movement without showing any signs of deflection. Owners of homes built this way report fewer effects of movement, such as cracks in drywall and brick. One disadvantage of this foundation type is initial cost, although over time the absence of significant movement, or “settling”, probably outweighs the initial cost.

Now, to answer the question I initially posed, "which is best?".  The answer is, it depends. You'll find existing homes with all 3 types of foundations, with the Footing and Stem being the most common. You'll also find movement and the related cosmetic problems on many homes built with the first 2 types, while you'll also find plenty of homes with the first 2 types that show no evidence of movement. That depends a great deal on the soil conditions, which can vary widely.

The third type, the Post-Tensioned Slab, is unquestionably the "best" in terms of performance over the long haul. You just need to decide whether it's worth the extra cost. Some builders might charge extra for this type, while others absorb the extra initial cost, knowing it will pay off in fewer warranty calls and many more happy customers. There is a reason why commercial builders have been using the post-tensioned slab for years; it carries the loads better over a longer period of time, and isn't subject to the vagaries of soil composition the way the others are.