Choosing Your Builder: Tip #2 for Buying Lots and Land

Today we’re looking at the second of our 8 Tips For Buying Residential Lots and Land for a New Home.

So you think you’ve found an area, neighborhood or even lots for sale that fit your community style. Well, at the same time you should be evaluating potential home builders – or even just the types of builders – that you may want to use.

Know Your Options

Investigate your home builder options carefully. Some vacant lots or land for sale allow you to use any builder you want, but in other areas your choices for builders may be more limited since your perfect building lot may come with a particular home builder already attached.

Also, home builders often have styles and reputations for which they are known, including construction methods, types of options and house designs offered. Think carefully about your budget, timing, desired home style and how much effort you wish to spend on the design and construction process. Your options can range from a personalized custom home architecturally designed just for you, to a stock house plan (possibly with options) built by a high-volume production home builder.

Match Your Plans with Your Neighborhood

Make sure your choice of house plans – or builder – are not prohibited in your favorite neighborhood. You don’t want to find that your ideal modern architecture home plans will be rejected by the architectural review board in a strictly Spanish Revival-style community or that you do not like your limited choice of house plans on a lot owned by a specific builder.

Consider Potential Savings

Starting from the ground up by finding your lot first can be smart and save you money. Home builders usually like to have buyers who want a built-to-suit home because it keeps a builder from having to take on the risk and uncertainty of building a speculative home without a specific buyer lined up. The cost savings may be passed on to you. Also, being involved in your home’s construction can ensure that it meets your needs or style upfront, which helps you avoid costly renovations like changing out kitchen counter tops or cabinets that are outdated…or just plain ugly.

Consult Before You Buy

In all cases, consult with a builder before you buy your lot because experienced home builders can provide valuable insights about potential problems, the amount of site work or improvements that may be required and unanticipated costs. Builders also can help you evaluate the feasibility of your house plans and your budget, as well as offer alternative plans or designs for you to consider. Always be sure to crunch numbers and compare your options carefully.

Over the next few articles, we’ll be expanding more on the 8 Tips For Buying Residential Lots and Land for a New Home. To help you with your lot and land buying efforts you should complete a free registration with LotNetwork.com that allows you to use our member-only Search Tools (like Saved Searches, New Listings Alerts and Saved Favorite Listings). You also can sign up for our free newsletter with regular updates and advice on buying and selling residential lots and land. And be sure to check out our page dedicated to Tips & Resources for Buying Lots & Land, where we provide helpful resources for lot and land buyers and tips about using LotNetwork.com to help you in your search.

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