Typically in a custom home project there will be "allowance" items, which usually are budgetary amounts that are preset for certain selection items such as flooring, plumbing fixtures, appliances and the like. For instance, if a builder quotes a $600,000.00 fixed price contract amount to construct your home, and you have a $40,000.00 allowance budget [...]
Be Wary of a Builder-Driven Choice of Construction Lender Many of you that are contemplating building a custom home will likely end up borrowing money from a construction lender to finance the construction. The construction draws that the lender provides generally fuel the construction. Some builders may attempt to steer you to a builder-friendly lender [...]
Minimize the number of owner-hired contractors Sometimes owners want to hire some of the contractors directly. Generally in my opinion the fewer owner-hired contractors the better since if problems arise the builder may attempt to blame these contractors, and contend that the builder is not responsible for their work. Similarly, when an owner hires a [...]
Consider hiring your own stage inspector(s). You may have little protection from lender-driven and governmental (i.e. permitting) inspections. The lender's inspector most probably will not be conducting quality control inspections, and instead most probably will be looking primarily at the stage of completion in relation to the amount of the draw requested. Further, many loan [...]
Many of you may be considering building your dream custom home. I have represented many individuals that unfortunately have had difficulty with this process. I will be providing information on a continuing blog basis concerning issues that may arise with respect to the construction of your custom home to minimize the chance that your dream [...]
Some of you may be considering purchasing a home with prior foundation repairs. The seller or one or more real estate agents may tout the “lifetime” warranty provided by the foundation repair contractor as your protection against future problems. However, many buyers discover unfortunately after closing that the warranties provided by foundation repair contractors may [...]
Improperly Designed Foundations Before actual construction commences, builders/developers typically hire geotechnical engineering firms to analyze the characteristics of the soil in a particular area or subdivision. The geotechnical engineer analyzes the characteristics and sufficiency of the soil in a subdivision or area, and usually writes a report, including foundation design parameters based upon their study. [...]
How many times have you seen or heard the phrase that a contractor/remodeler is “bonded and insured”? Probably plenty. But what does this phrase really mean? Usually, it is used to make you, the potential customer, feel at ease - that if there is a problem an insurance or bonding company (usually called a surety) [...]
If you are experiencing problems with your home or other structures that you may own, remember that seeing is believing! At some point in the process the visual evidence of damage (cracks, water damaged materials, etc.) may be covered over, altered or removed. Preserve the visual evidence of this damage as best you can (by [...]
A common cause of foundation repair in San Antonio and Central Texas is due to homes being constructed with foundations that are inadequate for the soil conditions existing on the site. When an area of town experiences high growth, homes built on marginal land that has volatile or insufficient prepared soil can become more common. [...]
