Have you been thinking about building your dream home or a family cottage lately?

Before committing to that decision, one of the most important things you should do when you are about to build a cottage, be it a timber frame design, a log home or a traditional custom home, is to select and be comfortable with your builder.

How do you decide between the many different home builders available?

In the 40 years Normerica has been building award-winning custom homes & cottages all over the world, we’ve found that a few steps will help you in this journey.

1. Make a list of potential builders

Once you decide what type of home you want, the size of your new home and your price range, make a list of potential builders who can help you build your home. If you have no idea where to start, you can contact your local builder association and they will help you with a list of builders who can construct in your area. If you have friends or relatives that have built in your area before, it is always a good idea to ask for recommendations.

After you have your list ready, it is time to start interviewing your potential builders. Ask as many questions as you possibly can, and make sure you are comfortable with the person you choose to work with as they will be in this journey with you for a long time. It is also a good idea to ask for referrals so you can speak with a few past clients about their experience working with the builder.

Besides references from past clients, you should independently determine the reputation of your home builder. Your prospective builder will only give you good references but you can check with lumber yards, building centers and other stakeholders in the building industry to get a better sense of who you might be dealing with.

Not every area requires builders to be licensed, but making sure you choose a licensed and insured builder is still very important. Always ask the builder the type of insurance and coverage they carry and make sure it will all be covered during the building process of your home.

4. Make sure you understand the quote

This is one of the most important steps of the process as you want to avoid budget blow outs. Building a home is not something you do very often, and understanding a quote for building your home can be very tricky. Ensure you sit down with your builder to understand your quote as it will be help you be more successful through the building process.

It is always important to get different quotes from different builder so you are able to compare numbers, quality and reputation. Never assume that the cheapest quote is the best one for you, saving money is always good but if someone offers you a quote that is much lower than other ones, you should keep searching. Grouping a few quotes together will give you some clues as to what the right price is to complete this project.

If You Are Trying To Find A Cottage Home Builder On Your Own…

…you should do a lot of research to avoid being disappointed with your Dream Cottage experience.

We Recommend Cottage Home Builders…

If you are building a Normerica timber frame home, we can build your home or cottage for you or help you find a great builder.

We recommend builders from our extensive network of custom home builders to prospective clients in the event that we are not building the timber frame home ourselves. We ask the same 12 questions of our home builders before we align ourselves with them so we’re confident you’ll be comfortable with the process and satisfied with the end result. Contact us and we can help you get started on your new dream home today!

In any case, do the necessary work to make sure you are comfortable with your builder. It will go a long way to ensure your satisfaction with the building process and your finished home or cottage. Don’t forget building a home should be a dream not a nightmare! Begin designing here.