There are many Sequim contractors and home builders.  In the good years, it is a great and profitable business.  During the recessions, home building is one of the hardest hit industries.  But one of the greatest untold stories is the story of how the vast majority, I repeat “vast majority,” of home builders around the country build to look good but not with quality construction beneath the surface.

I call this the greatest untold story, because the vast majority of consumers don’t know how building shortcuts with material and labor effect the quality and long term comfort of their home.  One could write a book on this subject, and maybe I will (but consumers probably wouldn’t read it until they had already hired the wrong builder), but for now let’s just touch on one simple issue, and there must be a hundred like this one.

A client recently asked custom home builder Rick Anderson about the risk of sub-flooring getting wet and swelling, which could eventually cause problems with the flooring, like creaking.  Rick is building a home for clients from Henderson, Nevada in a peaceful little valley not far from the Dungeness Spit in Sequim.

The vast majority of contractors will save money wherever they can, including sub-flooring.  Rick explained to his client that if it rains on the sub-flooring before the house is closed in, not only does he dry the interior thoroughly with heaters before covering the floors and framing (believe it or not some builders do not thoroughly dry the interior), he also spends the extra money out of his pocket to install sub-flooring that does not swell at the seams even if it does get wet.  Ever wonder why your floor squeaks?  This is why, but Rick Anderson’s homes do not have squeaky floors.  Not even after 10 or 20 years.  Again, this is not something consumers know about, and your average builder will never raise it.

If you want to buy a lot to build your home, may I boldly suggest you hire a buyer’s agent with experience (that would be me, thank you), and a home builder who doesn’t take short cuts when you’re not supervising?  That would be Rick Anderson, a Sequim Home Builder.

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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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Sequim home builders are different in a 100 ways.  They draft substantially different spec manuals, their bids are calculated with different formulas, and project management varies dramatically.  To the public or to a retired couple planning to build their retirement home, Sequim home builders all look the same, but they are not.  (More in a later article about these dramatic differences and the implications for retirees.)

While they are substantially different, all home builders must abide the same question from 95% of all potential clients.  What is the one question that almost every single person asks all Sequim home builders in their first conversation and often in the first 30 seconds?  Can you guess?  If you were building a home and shopping for a builder, what would be your first question?

“How much do you charge per square foot?”

This is the first question out of  most people’s mouths when they first talk to  Sequim home builders, and this is the question asked before any information is shared about the house, the architectural plans, the quality of materials to be used, the building site, or the size of the home.

It may be obvious that I believe this question is not the best way to start a conversation with a contractor.  Why not?  Asking a contractor how much your home will cost per square foot as a starting point in your first conversation is a bit like walking into your Costco and asking the card checker at the front door how much your groceries are going to cost.  Try that sometime and see what kind of response you get.  It could be interesting.

Builders will bite their tongues when they hear this question and politely ask a few questions in return.  Before Sequim home builders can even begin to quote a price per square foot, they need to know what you intend to build.  What size, what type of materials and what quality of materials?  Will your lot require additional excavation and more concrete foundation work than a flat lot?  What heating and cooling system do you want?  What type of flooring will you have installed, and what about kitchen cabinets, appliances, and siding and roofing?  A good spec manual is a dozen pages or more.  How can a builder shoot from the hip without knowing what you want any more than a Costco clerk can tell you as you walk in the door how much your groceries will cost?

How do I answer the question, “How much do Sequim home builders charge per square foot?”  I like to say, “The price per square foot ranges from $65 to $300.  Where do you want to be?”

Want to find out who the best Sequim home builder is?  Call me for a free consultation on building your home.  Gathering information and doing your due diligence could save you a lot of money and stress, and the right builder will build your retirement home the way you want it without surprises and cost overruns.

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Sequim contractors and Sequim home builders have many of the same challenges contractors are having around the country.   As they say on Wall Street, “Timing is everything.”

When the real estate market started to head south in late 2007 some home builders kept building spec homes. It amazed those of us who have been through a few real estate cycles, especially because it seemed so illogical to build a spec home and tie up so much capital on a gamble that someone would buy it when buyers were showing up less and less.

Building a spec home might be a great idea when the market is hot and the builder is actually building homes people want, i.e. a 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch with 1,800 square feet and a double attached garage. But when the market is cold, it is not wise to build a home that people don’t want, i.e. an odd or unconventional floor plan on an unusual lot crowded by adjacent houses.

Why would I mention this? Because there are builders who have done exactly this, and now their spec homes sit on the market aging, most likely stuck with a line of credit that may now exceed the fair market values.

As I show houses like this, some of the feedback I get from clients is that the floor plan “is just weird,” or this rhetorical question, “What was the builder thinking?”

How do you define or describe a house like this? I don’t know precisely, but I’m reminded of a Supreme Court Justice who was asked how he defines pornography, and his answer was, “I don’t know how to define it, but I know it when I see it.”

Buyers are not excited about buying a spec home that has been sitting on the market for a year or two, especially one that no one else wants either. If you want your own retirement home built precisely the way you want it, then you want a custom home. A custom home is simply a home built the way you want it. The floor plan suits you, the kitchen is perfect, the master bedroom and walk-in closet are exactly the way you want them, and the garage is just the right size.

If you can’t find the perfect home in the existing inventory of MLS homes, it may be time to buy a lot at rock bottom prices and have your dream home built by a custom home builder.

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One of my greatest concerns for consumers involves home builders who suck people into their office with ads promoting ridiculously low price per square foot rates.   Once might ask why I write about this issue, and the answer is because people keep falling into this trap for the unwary.   Again and again.   Here is a real testimony of a consumer who hired one of these “low price per square foot” builders.   I’ve left her words as she wrote them.   I prefer not to specifically name her builder in this article, but this company is not the only one like this.   This is the reason I harp on doing one’s due diligence when hiring a home builder.   Here’s her true story.

Where does one begin when dealing with [name deleted]? They make it sound like a breeze (promised 4 months and our house would be done) HA! About 1 year and 3 month later we moved in but the house still wasnt complete. We have been in the house 4 months and the house is still not done. Of course they say that once you move in (which we were told to do by the site supervisor since we were way past out move in date) nothing on the punch list will be completed. So we withheld the last payment for carpet (about $3500) and they put a lein on our house! All this after our first back wall fell over (with the windows in!) so they were just going to put up the wall again. My husband told them NO WAY so they rebuilt the wall and put the damaged windows back in! So needless to say we had to fight for a month or more to get them to replace the windows and I think one is a damaged one. My husband was there everyday checking on things and making them do things over and over again. It was NEVERENDING.

Holes in walls that wires were coming through going nowhere.
Bowed walls from sheetrock over warped boards.
Cabinets sitting in our living room for over 4 weeks.
Doors not shutting or fitting properly.
Wrong counter top installed in bathroom.
Crooked siding.
Downspout placed in wrong location.
No ducting or vent in laundry room.
No electricity to the jetted tub.
Cabinet drawers and cubboards not operating properly.
Outlets wired backwards.
No power to outlets on one wall in bedroom.
No window screens ever delivered.

Unfortunatly their repairs were almost worse than the original problem. To fix one of the problems with the sheetrock they sent out 2 guys who worked for 6 hours (we also fed them lunch) to repair 2 spots the size of a small book. And still it looked horrible so he said ‘your done’ and we had his brother fix it. In fact we paid ALOT of $ out of our pocket to my brother in law to fix their mistakes. We went through 2 site supervisors and many delays. The things I have listed above are still not corrected. The company was ALWAYS calling us on the 5th of the month if they didnt get their draw check but do you think we ever got a call about our problems OMG NO! We got NO response from them until filing a complaint with the BBB. NOW they are willing to meet with us. Please Please Please read their contract it was written by them to profit ONLY them. They dont care about you only your CASH $$$$.

There you have it.   How do you avoid this kind of nightmare?   Find the best builder in the area. How do you do that?   Talk to the right people.   Be careful, even this builder in the story above had employees and some others saying how great they are.   Be very careful.   If you’re building in Sequim or Port Angeles, let’s talk.   I won’t mislead you.   Did I tell you I offer my advice free?   Where are you going to get a retired 20-year real estate attorney who knows most of the builders in the area, and who is a real estate broker who can advise you on building your next home . . . all free of charge?   Right here.   Chuck Marunde at 360-775-5424.

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Here are ten tips from a retired real estate attorney and practicing real estate broker on how to find the best home builder, or how not to hire a bad one.

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