In our previous post we talked about three available options when you’re looking to buy a new home in Northern Virginia: one built on spec, a semi-custom development home, or a custom home designed and built to your specific needs. In this post we’ll concentrate on questions to consider if you decide to choose the custom design build route.

Is a Custom Build Right for You?

You might think – since we are a custom design build firm – that we urge every homeowner we meet with to choose a custom home. But building a custom home is not the right choice for everyone. It asks a lot of a homeowner and, though we believe the end result is well worth the journey, if you don’t have the time and wholehearted passion to see it through, it might not be the best choice for you.

To help determine if building a custom home is in your future, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I comfortable making a multitude of decisions, sometimes under pressure, that may have significant consequences?
• Once I make a decision, do I move on to the next one, confident in my choice?
• Do I understand the difference between quality and perfection? Do I understand that getting from point A to point Z will involve some minor imperfections, and that I’ll need to trust the process?
• Can I accept that sometimes things are out of my control and I’ll need to adapt?
• Is my personal life stable enough to take on a large, time-consuming project? Am I willing to commit to a process that extends for several months and needs my frequent input and participation?

There’s a big difference between buying an existing home and having a custom home designed and built to your specifications. The custom home process requires a higher level of involvement on your part, and not every homeowner is up to the task. But if you can answer yes to all of the above questions, a custom home built by the Foley Family Team may be just the solution for you and your family.

After the Decision’s Been Made

Once you decide a custom home is right for you, but before you hire a builder and sign on the dotted line, take the time to do a little homework so that you know you’re getting the best house and experience for your money.

• Be sure to perform due diligence on your builder. Research the various custom home builders in your area before making a decision on who will work best for your unique circumstances. In particular, make sure you are working with a true custom design build firm, not just a production builder who offers to make modifications to existing pre-designed plans.

• Protect your investment with the builder’s warranty. Inherent in every design-build contract is the builder’s duty to properly design and construct your new home. Your builder should provide a minimum one-year warranty that covers defects in workmanship and material, a two year warranty on the mechanical equipment, a manufacturer’s warranty of varying lengths on equipment, and a 10-year structural warranty.
• Don’t skip inspections. Your contract should provide that a third-party inspector should offer an impartial report at various stages of the design build process, including at the foundation, framing and final stages, as well as the permit inspections required by local ordinances.

The Foley Family Team Choice

At Foley Development Group, we strongly believe that the process of building your new custom home should be a fun and rewarding experience, and we’d love to build you a home that satisfies all your needs as well as your personal sense of style. If you’ve decided that a custom designed and built home may be right for you, we invite you to contact us to learn more about our process.