Deciding to build a granny flat is simple, designing and building the extension can be a lot harder. You'll have a lot of questions to answer along the way. Can you use a general contractor or is is better to use one who has built a lot of granny flats before? Is a template design better than a customised one? Should you let the person who'll live in the flat have a say in what it looks like? Luckily, I'm here to help. My name is Maria. We moved my Mum into a purpose-built granny flat last year, so I've had to answer all these questions and more. I thought it'd be useful for other people to see how we managed the process, so here we are — get reading!
3 Important Aspects About Custom Home Builders
When engaging a building company, you will have three options. Your first option will be to hire an architect or designer who will design your new home and then later on higher a builder who will build the house based on the designs. Your second option will be to go with a standard project builder and make a choice from the off-the-shelf display homes available. Your last option, which might suit you best will be to work with a custom home builder who will take care of everything, from the design to the actual build.
Before hiring a custom home builder, note a few valuable tips to ensure you get quality services.
Find a Reliable Custom Home Builder
Referrals will be your best choice. They can come from your friends, local lenders or reputable realtors. You will get quite a number of custom home builders to choose from, and you can shortlist them by looking at various factors. For example, does the builder specialise in custom or speculative homes? Does the builder have a track record of projects similar to yours? How many references did you get for a particular home builder? When the list is short, maybe to about two or three builders, you can hold interviews.
Interview the Custom Home Builders
This is not really an interview, but a form of exchange, where you sit down with a builder and try to see if your needs and requirements can find common ground. You will have questions and so will the builder. You may like the answers that the builder gives, but the builder might not take up your project maybe because you might not be able to meet some requirements the builder may expect from you.
During the sit-down, you will discuss various issues like the project budget, how long the project will take, warranty, compensation and insurance among others. If you are considering a loan, you need to make sure everything is okay to cover your bases. You can even check the financial solvency of the builder or builder's agency.
Notice Instances that Raise Red Flags
If there is unclear work history, lack of insurance or the amount requested as a deposit is quite large you should think twice about hiring that custom home builder. Additionally, if the builder does not want to answer or is elusive of various questions, it is a bad sign, and you should steer clear.