I am neither an architect nor a home builder, but in all my work I have always had a sincere desire to seek the truth, wherever that may lead.  As a real estate attorney for 20 years I saw repeating patterns in which consumers kept getting the short stick in their relationships with other professionals (lawyers, accountants, financial advisers, architects, contractors, real estate agents, auto mechanics, and the list goes on).  After years of recognizing the pattern that was far from consumer-centric, I learned to ask new questions.  I learned that it was not wise to assume, but much wiser to do one’s due diligence and to carefully reconsider conventional wisdom.

It is conventional wisdom that if you are planning to have your next home built,  you should first hire an architect.  It is that part of me that has been through the school of hard knocks on behalf of hundreds of clients who got hurt by such assumptions, that causes me to question it and to review the entire process and experiences of many who have gone before.

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We know lot sales are down and new home construction has been slow, but are Sequim or Port Angeles contractors building homes?  The answer is yes.  Rick Anderson, founder of Anderson Homes, LLC, is building homes.  Rick has built over 400 homes in Clallam County since 1981, and has a reputation for quality homes at affordable prices.  It is almost certain that Rick Anderson has the highest customer satisfaction rate of any local home builder, and I can say that because hundreds of clients talk to me about their builder experiences.  There are other good builders, but I know of no other builder who has so many clients who are truly pleased with the end product and the entire process.

This photo was taken as the sun is setting across the tree tops.  When a home is under construction, it is hard to tell what it will look like as a completed home, but stay tuned because we are going to provide you with a video of the entire construction process of this home when it is complete.

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How do you know if your Sequim home builder will really build your retirement home with the kind of quality you have dreamed about for years?  Of course, one answer is that you won’t until you are living in it for a while.  The other answer, which is the better one is to find a home builder whom you are certain can guarantee that you will get the custom home you have dreamed about for so long.

You will know right away if your home was built with quality and attention to detail right after you move in, and typically you will have an opportunity to give the builder a checklist up to the point at which the one year warranty period ends.  In this article I’m going to share a little insider knowledge with you, but I think you will see the clear logic of what I share.

Some home builders around the country advertise that their home warranty team will come  after you move in and fix anything that wasn’t built right the first time.  That’s not how they phrase it.  The advertisements make it sound like this is a special benefit that only this builder offers, and that you should realize how lucky you are to have this warranty team to fix your home.  Frankly,  if I was a builder, I wouldn’t be advertising that I couldn’t get it right the first time.  The fact that a builder has to send carpenters to fix things in your home, and that this is part of his business model ought to tell you something.  Apparently there are so many things wrong in so many of their homes, they have to have a  regular repair team.  (By the way, you don’t need a home warranty team to fix standard fixes like screw heads that have punched through Sheetrock.)

If you hire the best custom home builder, your home will be nearly perfect when you move in.  There simply won’t be a list of problems to fix, because the quality builder has his own quality control right up to the walk-through before you move in.  Once you’ve been living in your new home for up to a year, you may have things that need to be fixed, but with a quality builder these will not be construction defects.  They will be simple things like a screw head that has popped through the plaster.  New homes do expand and shrink, and minor Sheetrock repair is normal.  The other noticeable issue will be small hairline cracks in the concrete floor in the garage.  In fact, a few small cracks in concrete are to be expected–this is the rule rather than the exception.  Concrete shrinkage is normal, but major cracks or droppage by a quarter of an inch is not normal.  That would indicate the subsurface was not properly filled and/or compacted.

Most builders do offer a one year home warranty.  That’s good because there may be some normal things that do need fixing.  But we’re not talking about major problems because the home wasn’t built right.  A one year warranty checklist might include an examination of the following items:  driveway, sidewalk, front stoop, patio, landscape/grading, siding, trim, windows, doors (including threshold, weatherstripping, locks), roof shingles, gutters and downspouts, flashings, deck, caulking, heat and a/c, electrical, and any Sheetrock issues in the house.

When you are interviewing builders in Sequim or Port Angeles, I recommend asking about their warranty, but it should be a red flag for you if the builder starts talking about how he has a regular crew of repairmen who come to fix all of your home’s problems right after you move in.  If that’s a standard practice, then defects are also standard.

Looking for a quality custom home builder?  Call me or email me for a referral.  You will not be disappointed.

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Building your retirement home in Sequim or Port Angeles?  How are you going to decide how to find and hire your home builder.  Hiring a general contractor is no small decision.  Does your home builder need adult supervision, or can you trust your builder to be competent and trustworthy?  Believe me, this is not a demeaning or unfair question.  I saw so many people who had nightmares with home builders as a lawyer, what happened in this video is not nearly as unusual as one might think.   All I suggest is that you do your due diligence in selecting your home builder, and if I can offer some tips from the school of hard knocks of hundreds of clients, what have you got to lose by watching this video?  Here’s another true story heard far too often by good retirees.

I want your move to Sequim or Port Angeles to be a positive experience, not a nightmare.  If I can help, email or call.

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Selecting the right Sequim home builder is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as you make your retirement plans, so a little due diligence on your part would clearly be wise. Here’s a short video on hiring a great home builder.

If you would like to discuss building your next home, email or call.  This is a free service with no obligation.  I know the Sequim home builders and Port Angeles home builders.

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