~ building a house in Naples, continued

If you're in the market for a new home, you should shop for your builder as carefully as you shop for your home. My girlfriend is building in a high end ~ high price point neighborhood, so quality and design are important for resale value. Best is to drive around the location and find the builders that are working in this area and have an understanding of her dream and your end of the road expectations.

1. Some may have spec homes that can be visited to view their work.

2. If there's a house you love ~ drop a note to the owner and ask for a reference of the architect and builder.

3. Google will give you several pages of builders names and their websites.

4. Visit the websites and view their work.

Do Your Homework

When you have a list of potential builders, it's time to start asking lots of questions — of both the potential builders and the owners of their homes.

Interview potential home builders to get the answers to all the questions you have.

Then, visit a builder's recently built homes and subdivisions. Talk to several owners, and try to get a random sample of opinions. The more people you talk with, the more accurate an impression of a builder you are likely to get.

Some questions to ask home owners include: Are you happy with your home? If you had any problems, were they fixed promptly and properly? Would you buy another home from this builder? Usually, people tell you if they are pleased with their homes. And if they are not, they'll probably want to tell you why.

At the very least, drive by and see if the homes are visually appealing.

When you talk to builders and home owners, take along a notebook to record the information you find and your personal impressions about specific builders and homes. Doing so will help you to make comparisons later.

Shop for Quality and Value

When examining a home, look at the quality of the construction features. Inspect the quality of the cabinetry, carpeting, trimwork and paint. Ask the builder or the builder's representative a lot of questions. Get as many specifics as possible. If you receive the answers verbally rather than in writing, take notes. Never hesitate to ask a question. What seems like an insignificant question might yield an important answer.

BIG QUESTION

How do they charge - straight fee - or percentage over cost. Be prepared for the one that charges 10% over cost - even though you feel it's a better deal - there are additional deals being made by the suppliers and the builders and you may not see the bottom line ~ and of course, this is illegal.

Question the builder that switches to a new supplier - do they do quality work for the lower price? I had to have several things redone because of poor judgement by the builder. I'm still correcting several minor things 2 years later.

I had a water hammer problem ~ big time ~ when every shower was turned on, or toilet flushed, when the morning pool pump began ~ and still on some of the sprinkler heads locations. Everything had to be rectified after we moved in.

Even our electrical wiring is still having problems. DO NOT GET LUTRON lighting. The cost and the complexity is ridiculous. Just get the normal light switch on the wall.

I would like to control it myself, as seen below, but they have it programmed that I cannot. I need an electrician for anything. The only time I like it is when it turns on the outside lights in the evening. Another thing about lighting ~ how many spots in the ceiling do you need in a home? Today's designs are overkill. I hardly use them ~ if ever ~ I have lower ceilings at 10 - 10.5 feet and like lamps for my ambiance.

Is landscape and driveway included in their final quote? Our land is 1/2 acre corner lot with the pool in the front of the house ~ therefore we needed multiple trees and bushes for design and privacy. We even have 4 raised beds for our veggie garden. Our budget was $60K for landscape (which I achieved) and $11K for driveway, which we went over by $3K because the walkways extended to the back of the home.

Decide what type of water heating ~ the typical hot water heater (you may need 2) or the tankless. We needed an aerator for our tankless to help with the 'knocking'. We still need to figure out how to get hot water that doesn't take 10 minutes to warm up ~ in any part of the house.

Just thought of this ~ it needs to be addressed with the architect but I have to highlight it. Make sure your pool equipment and AC units are NOT by a window or bathroom ~ especially by the master. If the pool is by the bathroom it will be enhanced because of the tiles. The AC turns on and off all night which can keep you awake.

Generator ~ this is Florida and after this last Hurricane Irma and being without electricity for 10 days ~ we didn't have one and suffered. It's been 10 years since Hurricane Wilma, and hopefully another 10 before the next, we are usually spared.

BE PREPARED

The more prepared you are after the architectural plans are finalized - the more accurate the quote by the builder. That's the time to take the plans and your selections of finishes to 3 builders to get competitive bids. You'll be surprised at the spread given to you. Many customers design as they build which will cause additional costs - and corrections.

My builder actually used the wrong set of plans the first 3 months. I didn't catch it until I arrived in town. Another hiccup, my architect had 10 feet outside the front door and only 3 feet inside. Please try to visualize that. WHY! I didn't have enough room inside for a proper entry with cabinet, mirror and bench. Luckily, I was in town at that stage and flipped the space. The manager actually questioned me why I didn't catch it sooner on the plans.

ASK: Do they have an in-house design team, or do you have to go outside and hire your own?

Ask how many houses do they finish a year - and how many will they be involved with when building yours. Do they subcontract their work or do they have their own team?

BUILDERS IN OUR AREA:

at least 7 that I know of in our area.

I cannot give any references.

STOCK

T. Jerulle Construction

Big Island Builders

Knauf-Koenig Group

Waterside Builders, Inc.

ARCHITECT MHK

FORSITE HOMES

BCB HOMES

Additional Builders:

Coleman Companies

Borelli

CUTTING COSTS

One way to cut cost is to keep the design simple. But that doesn't mean dated in design or boring. Find a classic for SWFL that will last.

One suggestion is the Dutch Bermuda style which is unique for the area ~ there are only a handful at this time. I also feel this design has 'longevity ~ it's not a cookie cutter that will date itself ~ which many of the simplistic West Indies introduced now will be in 10 years. Because of it's clean lines outside ~ clean lines can continue inside ~ keeping the costs down.

4th St South

Kirchhoff & Associates Architects

THE LOT

ZILLOW

Collier Appraiser

Note your set back lines. You're required feet of set back will start from the red line ~ not the street. We were surprised that our set back was 60 feet on both sides since we are a corner lot ~ not the 30 that was in Park Shore. Your lot foot print has to fulfill at least 2 garages, the pool/spa and outdoor covered lanai. Currently the house is 2272 sq ft with the one garage. There is usually a 10 ft set back on either side of the house - therefore, your current home is already most of the footprint. You will have to go up for more room. It seems your set backs by the water are very tight ~ which is a good thing.

Key West

For our old lot we designed and had plans drawn up for this Key West style home. Unfortunately, it didn't fit our current lot. We had to redesign a new home.