In early 2009 I began looking to purchase my first new place. What began as a search of one bedroom condos in downtown Edmonton eventually became a decision to build a detached two bedroom house on the outskirts of the city. Naturally, this meant looking at plenty of real estate agents, salespeople and showhomes (don't get me wrong, I love looking at showhomes). It also means I was collecting a lot of information: dozens of floorplans, different neighbourhoods, each builder's construction specs and building schedules.
Quick aside
I should explain - when it comes to making significant purchases (iPods, laptops, vehicles, houses, etc.) I'm anything but impulsive. I get a kick out of looking at all the options, comparables, prices, etc. And if you're going to be a responsible consumer, it usually means expert and customer reviews. Sure, not every online review is of equal value, but if you look at enough of them you start to get a idea of what to expect. It's like one of those 3D puzzles from the 90s - you stare at it long enough and a picture begins to emerge.
Ok, so it took me a few months of shopping around to work my way up from a condo, to a townhouse, to a duplex, to detached homes with detached garages to finally landing on a two bedroom, attached garage home. In the end I found a neighbourhood and floorplan I liked. I signed a contract mid-June 2009 and looked forward to a 6-8 month build - after all, the city's building market was still recovering from a sharp downturn at that point. Long story short, I'm looking at a 12 month build at the earliest, which is cutting it awfully close to my wedding later that summer.
Looking back, there are probably a few things I would have done differently. But this website isn't meant to document the story of my building process. It certainly isn't going to be a venue for me to bellyache about my frustrations (after all, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be happy with how the house turns out. It's just taking an obscenely long time and I have a hard time getting answers from people. Ok, that's it for the bellyaching).
Instead, the one tool I wish I'd had as I was considering builders and houses was more information from people who have gone through the process. I couldn't find a website where people could share stories about their experiences building a new house in Edmonton. Sure, this could mean what went wrong, but also what went right, what came out of left field, some questions to ask if you could do it again, and what seemed like a big deal at the time but turned out to small potatoes in the long run (or vice versa!).
So my vision, if that's not too grand a term, is for a place where people can share stories and lessons learned, and potential home buyers can get access to both a greater quantity and quality of information.
So if you've gone through the process and have some nuggets of wisdom, please share. If you're about to embark on the process and have questions, please ask. I'll post whatever comes my way and with any luck this could turn into something of value.
Mike
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What a great idea....sounds like your're very frustrated!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I think there's some value in a forum for unfiltered opintions about all aspects of the home building process in the city.
ReplyDeleteHave you built? Thinking of building?
My girlfriend and I decided to build back in 2006 just before the peak. It was impossible to buy a used home in our price bracket without making an offer right away and forget about requesting a home inspection. So we built new. It was nice picking the selections and in the end having a house we wanted. Will I ever build a new spec home again? Hell no. The builder was an absolute pain to deal with after the house was completed. It took forever to have things fixed, the build quality was poor. We ended up having a home inspector come in after we had some water leakage in the master bath and he pointed out a few other things that were not done properly. Never again. Our situation was a bit different as we built during the boom but I would still have a home inspector run through it after it is completed.
ReplyDeleteThat's good advice. I certainly plan on going over every inch of the house once it's done, and what I miss I know my fiancee won't.
ReplyDeleteAny advice? Would getting the design you want (along with the hassle of the build issues) outweigh buying resale and compromising on design?
Mike,
ReplyDeleteDid you get a written contract from the builder? It should include the commencement date, the completion date, their agreement to provide regular updates during construction and to advise you of any expected delays and the reason for the delays.
No builder I talked to would put any sort of completion date in writing until 45 days before closing. They would say that builds were typically 6 months, depending, fo course, on weather or other delays.
ReplyDeleteMy only communication with my sales contact during the build was the occassional phone call letting me know I owed them money. They would then dance around any sort of commitment to come up with a firmer deadline for completion (the usual line being "We won't have any idea until the drywall is done").
I should point out this is a legitimate master builder, not some fly-by-night operation, and there were no unforeseeable delays that I could see - not a flooded basement during excavation, a month of snowstorms, etc. I know they pulled the framing crew off my house the correct the mistakes on another house, and that framing sat without passing inspection for 6 weeks because no one had plans on site. To me, those aren't typcial unforeseen delays - it's poor project management.
Do you know of a builder who will put a completion date in the contract?
It sure is poor project management....is the other blogger who is building with Coventry having similar difficulties!
ReplyDeleteWhat's stopping you from meeting with their project manager if the builder is not helpful to get answers and some accountability?
Sounds like they need someone on their case on a daily basis!