Building a new home? Important Questions to ask your builder!

Building a new home?  Important questions to ask your builder

Building a new home can be an exciting experience but, like any major purchase, you’ll want to do your homework first. Here’s a list of questions that you should ask your builder before you sign a purchase agreement.

1. Ask how long a builder has been in business and how many homes they build annually. Remember that custom builders do less volume and it’s usually only the big “cookie cutter” builders that construct a high volume of homes.

2. Ask your builder for references. It’s a good idea if you can talk to both recent and past customers about their building experience. Don’t be shy about knocking on neighbourhood doors.

3. Ask how frequently they meet targeted close dates, what could cause a delay in construction and what the consequences are.

4. Ask the builder if you can view a model home so that you can see the quality of work. If they don’t currently have a model available, find out if they would be able to show you a home they have built recently.

5. Ask what’s included and what’s not and make sure you fully understand the building process. How much is the deposit? What is the cost for upgrades? Who pays for the Tarion warranty enrollment? Is any landscaping included? Are there any common element fees?  Who pays the HST?

Did you know?

Tarion is the official regulator of Ontario’s new home building industry. All Ontario builders and vendors must be registered with Tarion to build and sell homes legally in Ontario. In addition, all new homes must be enrolled prior to construction. You can check online to see if a builder has had any Tarion warranty claims at: http://www.tarion.com/_layouts/15/buildersearch/builder_search.aspx?gclid=CLGxkOKLrtECFcO6wAodq0UJdw.

If a builder is registered with the Better Business Bureau, you can also check out complaints lodged against them by going to https://www.bbb.org/. Make sure you ask your builder about any complaints so that they have the opportunity to explain the full story.

Additional resources:

https://www.newhomesource.com/resourcecenter/articles/questions-to-ask-your-builder https://www.nahb.org/en/consumers/home-buying/questions-to-ask-your-homebuilder.aspx