1.         Nonconformity:  Changing your home may hurt maximizing your home investment.  What you may prefer in your home may not be conforming.  As an example – at a previous company I worked for, one home buyer wanted a washer and dryer in the master bathroom.  Although this arrangement was preferred by them, it hurt the appraised value and was hard to resale.

2.         Time:  Looking at plans and changing walls and rooms around can be daunting as well as take an enormous amount of time.  She wants one way, he wants another, and the kids want something else.  Many times I’ve seen families give up because satisfying everyone was exhausting.  In addition, moving walls around is like a Rubik’s Cube – move one wall and it changes everything else. 

3.         Customizing:  Using a builder that allows changes to the floor plans will effect your home by disrupting the synergy of the building process.  More than likely homes that have changes will take longer with rescheduling and delays.  If you do not make changes to your floor plan, but use a company that allows changes, your home may be effected by the changes the other clients made due to contractors servicing “the bad apple.”

4.         Order fulfillment:  Sometimes what you order may not be what you get.  Volume builders are able to offer the price they do because they are “selling” to subcontractors.  Homes that are open or transparent floor plans, big long extension walls, and “assembly line” concepts are the plans that were sold to the subcontractors, but changes to the plans end up making the contractors frustrated.  These types of builders go through a lot of subcontractors and superintendents.  It is inevitable that human error always accentuates these changes.

5.         Red Herring:  Some might wonder if the company already made the same changes why can’t I just order that plan.  Good question – it can be summarized with “cash cow.”  When the company is able to charge money to clients that want change, even if change has been previously made, it is a source of revenue.  If they really want to keep cost down, why not let you have an opportunity to see previous changes?

6.         Experience:  Who makes the changes to the floor plans?  Are they a professional?  A very good question – after all we are talking about your largest investment, your family’s safety, and your resalabilty.  Does the person making changes have real world experience or just computer experience?  Have they framed or built homes themselves, or are they just really good with a mouse instead of a tape and hammer? 

7.         Pricing:  How much will it really cost to get what you want?  Is it reasonable?  You will have to pay when you change a stock plan.  If the builder gives you changes for free, refer back to 1 – 6 to see why you get what you pay for.  Following is why you will pay $250 to “the sky’s the limit:” 

After you’ve been approved for a loan, bank rules allow you 90 days to use it or back to the starting point again.  When you change a stock plan it has to be reengineered.  This will likely cost you $400 to $800.  It will take longer to get your plans and the timeline on the loan is ticking.  Often the engineer gets the plans back to the construction company because some changes may simply not be possible.  Client has to come back in, approve changes, and incur an additional charge.  Plans go back to the engineer, then to the city or county and are possibility rejected.  It’s a vicious cycle with days, weeks, and even months ticking away. 

In review:

• Nonconformity may cost you more than you think.
• Time and money is spent and you still might not get what you want.
• Customizing plans causes delays for you and other clients.
• Order fulfillment might not be met due to turnover in subcontractors and superintendents. 
• Red Herring tactics used to get you to pay for a change that has previously drawn up by another client.
• Verify Experience of person making changes.
• Pricing changes require a fat wallet and lots of patience. 

 

In closing, the above concerns are things I have witnessed first hand on numerous occasions.  Please think long and hard before you become the next stray.

Best regards,