8 Questions to ask your New Home Builder

1. Is the new home builder full time?
This may seem like a silly question to ask but there are a lot of builders out there doing it on a part time basis or only building a few houses on the side. CMS Homes has built hundreds of homes in the Lincoln County and St. Charles County area.

2. Does the New Home Builder keep a written construction schedule?
Organized timely builds make for better homes built more efficiently. Ask your builder to see a copy of their current build schedule and find out what their average build time is. You will be surprised that a lot of builders don’t even have a written schedule for their subs and vendors to follow.

3. Is the builder active in the St. Louis Home Builder’s Association? On the surface this may not seem that important but it is.
We spend time on a weekly basis either getting training or working on various builder industry issues. The St. Louis Home Builder’s Association gives the builder who stays involved an edge on new code requirements, industry trends and quality construction techniques. Dale Black one of our owners serves as an officer on the St. Louis Home Builder Association and is a industry leader in our area.

4. Will you make custom changes to your plans and elevations?
Many builders won’t make changes to their plans because it takes a lot of effort and communication with subs when you make changes. We feel it’s worth the effort to build a home for our customer that fits their needs perfectly.

5. Can I visit the site during construction?
Even though unscheduled visits are discourage due to safety and schedule disruptions your CMS salesperson will be happy to arrange visits to the site for you.

6. Can you give me references?
Getting feedback from people who have went through the process with the builder can give you a good idea of what to expect.

7. If I am building a custom home on my lot do I have to get a construction loan?
We provide a service for our customers where instead of having to obtain 2 loans and making a 20%-25% down payment they make a 10% down payment and we get the construction loan for them. This means they only have to deal with one loan closing and one set of loan closing cost.
See Custom Home Building Made Easy

8. What is your warranty do you provide and what is the process?
Your peace of mind is worth a lot. We provide a 1 year limited warranty on all materials and workmanship based upon the National Home Builders Association current construction performance standards. Years 1-2 we provide warranty on the systems in your home. Years 1-10 we provide warranty on your homes structural components. As to see a copy of your builder’s sample home warranty booklet for details.
Get more details including sample warranty.