Choosing the Builder
You are going to use great care and attention to detail in selecting your new home.  Apply this same careful approach in the selection of your builder.  You will find builders who are established and reputable because they have the professional skills and specific knowledge to consistently build high quality constructions. 

Examine the business practices of this builder closely.  Have conversations with the builder’s recent clients as well as with those of the past few years. Ask:

•  Would you purchase another home built by the same builder?
•  What, if any, is the resale track record with the builder’s products?
•  Have your homes withstood the test of time, both in maintenance and appreciation?
•  How long has the builder been in the new home business?
•  Are there any complaints on file with the Better Business Bureau regarding this builder?
•  Does the builder offer after-sale services? 

Continue your questioning into the history and future projections for the subdivision.

•  Have past promises been kept?
•  Has the developer made future commitments to the individual home buyers, the homeowners association, the local municipality?  If so, what are those commitments?
•  How will these commitments change the character of the subdivision and neighborhood?

Builders are generally motivated to sell

Unlike existing home sellers, the builder typically has little emotional attachment to the property.  Therefore, the buyer has an advantage.  The builder’s business can not succeed without selling a home.

Some of the most advantageous buying opportunities are:

·  In a “slow” or “down” market: Sometimes, builders have excess inventory.  Even if it means reduced profits through lowering the sales prices, a builder may want to keep his or her inventory moving and crews busy, especially when facing the pressure from construction lenders, suppliers, and subcontractors. 

·  At the beginning of the development process: At this early stage of the development, prices are often lower, and the selection is much greater.  Early sales help builders gain credibility with future buyers as well as construction lenders.  With such importance placed on generating sales momentum, builders many times are willing to negotiate extensively during this period. 

· The last home in the subdivision:  Builders usually have a large cash investment in the remaining units due to the way construction financing is structured.  It is at this point that builders are ready to move to the next subdivision.

·  The sales model, and if you wish, lease it back to the builder: Models typically have many upgrades and superior craftsmanship.