When it comes to custom homes, there are two main ways developers go about these projects.
The first is design/build. With this approach, one contractor is the point person from start to finish. This contractor or lead developer takes ownership of building your home and can ensure that the budget for everything stays in line with what was allocated. If flooring comes out 5% higher than expected, the contractor will work with their relationships and subcontractors to make up the cost overrun somewhere else. While you may not experience cost savings, most likely this project will come in less expensive than a custom home approach. This is because this project benefits from simplified communication and efficiency. Project delivery is integrated, which allows for faster timelines and workflows. In the construction world, we also call this value engineering. When a change order comes up, as it inevitably will, your lead can work with you and look at the budget from the overall big picture to see what can be done. Incentives and objectives are aligned. There are definitely some drawbacks though to design/build. For someone that has a very particular vision in mind of what they want every square inch of the home to look like, (from the chandelier over the curved stairway to the faucet color), this might not be the best method. Unlike traditional construction methods where owners are deeply involved in design and procurement, this method assigns this responsibility to the project contractor. With less control, a picky homeowner may find themselves disappointed with some of the decisions the design/build team made. If you’re going forward on your home building project with a design/build contract, it’s extremely important that everyone signs off before getting started and that changes are minimal after commencement (especially after materials are ordered). For inspo, we love perusing Interior Design’s online publication. If you’d like to learn more, here’s a great resource for you.
On the other hand, some folks opt for a custom home build construction. This allows more control throughout the process as you’ll work with your contractor at every stage and get an OK before moving onwards. For example, you can select the carpenter that made the cabinets at your bestie’s house that you’ve been admiring the last five years! The design possibilities are endless, you can get EXACTLY what’s on your vision board! It’ll definitely cost you though. Not just in money and time but also in stress. The reality of managing separate contracts for all the key players working on the project is that it’s Challenging with a capital C. From getting the right guys to show up to the job, to managing invoices, and calling multiple project leads a day, these tasks can quickly become overwhelming for an inexperienced and first time home builder. When things go wrong and your left figuring out who caused the issue, all contractors are quick to point the finger to another. Keep this in mind when it comes to assigning accountability for each deliverable and when you’re managing your risks. Despite these downsides, you’ll wrap up your home construction with everything you ever dreamed of.
Now that we’ve explained these two methods, what do you want to choose? Good…scratch that…great advice is finding the right experienced and responsible contractor to lead the charge. If you go with Black Diamond Communities, you’ll be in good hands.