Building a custom home is a big undertaking. There are a lot of choices to be made, but perhaps the most important one is who you will enlist to build it. Choosing the right custom home builder is a big decision. Not only does it impact the building process, but it also affects the quality of your home. If you’re thinking about building a custom home, we’ve got some tips on how to select a custom home builder in Park City or anywhere else you choose for your custom home site.
Understanding Your Needs
Before beginning your quest for the best Park City home builder, deciding what you want and need in your home is important. This includes considering the square footage, number of rooms and what they will be used for, type of community and neighborhood, design aesthetic, and more. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to better understand your needs when building a custom home:
- How will the home be used? Will it be your primary residence or a vacation home?
- How many people will be living in the home?
- Do you need space to host visitors?
- Which of the following are important to you?
- Easy access to conveniences such as a metropolitan area, entertainment, dining, or the airport
- A community with amenities such as a golf course, pool, fitness center, etc.
- Easy access to outdoor recreation
- Innovative energy-saving features
- Sticking to a tight budget
- Resale value
- Plenty of space to entertain
- A gourmet kitchen
- Easy maintenance schedule
- Space between neighbors
- High-quality materials
- Picturesque setting
- Green building practices
- Where will the home be built, and do you need help selecting a lot?
- What is your ideal home style?
Starting Your Search
When you first begin your search for a Park City home builder, you may feel like you’re looking for a needle in a haystack. It may seem impossible to know how to find THE BEST home builder among all the choices. Starting your search by plugging in “best Utah home builder” or “Park City custom home builders” to an Internet search engine will yield hundreds of results, and it’s hard to know which ones to trust.
While the early search for a custom home builder in Park City may seem a bit tedious, it’s all part of the process of building a custom home. Here are a few tips to help you put together a strong pool of potential custom home builders:
Ask Around
Do you have friends, family, or coworkers who have used Utah custom home builders? Ask them who they built with, their experience, and if they would recommend their builder to someone looking for Park City custom homes.
Visit Neighborhoods
There’s something to be said for getting in the car and driving through neighborhoods. As you do, you’ll notice different styles of homes you’re drawn to, and different communities you like and get a feel for some of the things you want in your custom-built home. When you find the best Park City homes, inquire who built them and add that builder to your list—your realtor or architect can be helpful with this.
Search the Internet
As we said earlier, the Internet is a helpful tool, but sometimes it can lead to information overload. However, using it in your search for a custom home builder in Park City is a good idea. Using Google in your search does require taking good notes to remember which custom home builders caught your eye and why.
RELATED: The Benefits Of A Custom Home Builder
Find Truly Custom Builders
Many builders say they build custom homes in Utah, when they are really just adding some customized options to their pre-selected offerings. Make sure the custom home builders on your list are truly custom, and not semi-custom.
Read Reviews
Reviews are perhaps the single most critical part of how to find the best home builder. Read through as many reviews as you can to get a feel for people’s different experiences with custom home builders. It’s important to remember that one bad review does not a bad builder make, but if the majority of reviewers are disgruntled or highlight certain problems, it can certainly be a red flag. On the other hand, if the majority of the reviews talk about positive experiences, then that can be a good sign. Reading reviews of custom home builders can also give you a good idea of what a builder does well so you can see if that aligns with your needs.
Questions To Ask Potential Home Builders
Once you’ve narrowed down your list of the best Park City home builders, it’s time to find the builder that best fits your needs. One of the best ways to do this is to speak to each builder directly. Think of it as a job interview because that’s what it is. You’re interviewing the custom home builders to see which one you like, trust, and want to hire to build your dream home.
Here are a few interview questions you may want to consider asking as you talk with Utah custom home builders.
What is your experience in the Park City area?
Park City has unique building codes, regulations, and climate considerations that a builder should be aware of and know how to navigate. You’ll want to select a builder with a lot of experience in the area. If you’re not building a custom home in Park City, you can ask about the specific area where you are building.
Can you share examples of your previous work?
Looking at a builder’s portfolio showcases their capabilities, and can serve as inspiration for your own custom home. Some builders are more comfortable building a specific style of home, while others have a wide variety of projects to their credit. Looking at examples of previous work can help you determine if the builder’s style is a good fit for you.
What building services are your specialty?
Most builders have a few areas of expertise. Some are better at new construction, while others specialize in remodeling existing homes. In addition to standard building techniques, some builders will have additional certifications in green building or specialize in exteriors or other areas of the home. That’s why it’s good to ask the builders what services they offer, and what their signature areas of expertise are.
What is your construction process?
While each custom home is unique, any custom home builder worth their salt will have a proven and methodical approach to building a home. Don’t be afraid to ask what that process is and inquire about what they see as the key steps along the way.
How do you communicate with clients throughout construction?
It’s of the utmost importance that you find a builder who will keep you in the loop as much or as little as you want. The best custom home builders in Park City have systems in place to communicate with homeowners throughout the process.
What type of warranty do you provide?
In a perfect world, everything in your brand-new home would work flawlessly for many years to come. Unfortunately, the real world doesn’t always work that way. Discuss the type of warranty each builder offers. This helps illustrate their willingness to do quality work from the start and gives you peace of mind in the event that something does go wrong down the line.
How do you handle changes or challenges during the construction process?
No matter how much you plan and prepare, there will always be unexpected situations and unforeseen circumstances that arise during the home-building process. It’s a matter of when not if. At the end of the day, it’s not the surprises that make or break a build but rather the way your custom home builder deals with the challenges and changes. Learning how they navigate tricky situations is important.
Are there any past clients I can speak to?
A good custom home builder should end each build on good terms with the homeowner. If that’s the case, they should be able to provide references for past clients willing to vouch for them and their experience throughout the construction process.
Evaluating Potential Builders
As you ask the previous questions to each of your potential Park City home builders, you can evaluate them based on the following criteria:
- Experience with local terrain and climate
- Quality of previous projects
- Client testimonials and feedback
- Ability to deal with changes
- Communication style and processes
While you want your custom home builder to have established processes in place, a big part of your evaluation should be how well they can adjust to your needs. In other words, can they customize their customer service experience to fit your expectations? Unlike the builder, you don’t build custom homes every day. It’s likely not your job, nor your area of expertise. A good builder understands that, and will communicate with you in a way that best suits you.
As we mentioned earlier, part of your research into the best custom home builder should include researching their portfolio. However, there are no hard and fast rules about how to rank the builder based on what you see. Instead, you should evaluate the builder’s style, the quality of their work, and their ability to be innovative. It’s a good sign if those things align with your wants and needs.
The builder’s willingness to share information about previous projects can also give you a clue about the quality of their work. A good custom home builder will be proud of what they have built, their reputation, and their relationships with homeowners and subcontractors. If a builder hesitates to share references or provide information, proceed cautiously. Take the time to evaluate the information builders give you. Read the testimonials, call the references, and look closely at the portfolio. Take note of their reliability, even in the evaluation phase. In fact, especially in the evaluation phase. If a builder isn’t reliable during vetting, they likely won’t be much better once you hire them.
The Best Park City Home Builder for Custom Built Homes
Whether you’re searching for a custom home builder in Park City, somewhere else in Utah, or another location entirely, these tips will help you find the best custom home builder. By implementing these suggestions while going through the process of understanding your needs, creating a list of potential custom home builders, and interviewing and evaluating each one, you will be better positioned to make the best decision for you and your needs.
A custom home is a big investment, and it’s important to make the right decision as you select a builder. At Tall Pines Construction, we have more than 20 years of experience building quality custom homes in the Park City, Utah area. We would love a chance to talk with you about your new home. Contact us today to learn more about our services, and find out how we can help you build your dream home.
