Building a home is exciting. It's also one of the largest financial decisions most people will ever make. And somewhere between choosing the floor plan and picking out cabinet hardware, a thought can start creeping in:
What if I don't know enough to know whether we're doing this right?
That's a fear we think more homeowners have than they're willing to admit.
Most people will only build a custom home once or twice in their lifetime. We do this every day. So why would we expect you to walk into the process knowing all the right questions to ask? You may not know to ask about an outlet location until you're standing in your finished kitchen wishing there were one there. You may not understand what an allowance actually covers until you start making selections. You might see something on your plans and assume it means one thing when, in construction language, it means something completely different. You might not know there were three other options available until after you've already chosen one.
That's not something we believe you should be expected to know.
That's where your builder comes in.
Four words that can create a lot of anxiety during construction:
Was that included?
You shouldn't have to lie in bed at night wondering whether the picture you sent six months ago made it into the scope. You shouldn't have to scroll through old text messages trying to remember what someone said. And you shouldn't feel uncomfortable asking questions because you're worried you'll sound like you don't understand construction. You probably don't understand every part of construction.
And that's okay. You hired people who do.
At Crawford, that's one of the reasons we put so much emphasis on detailed specifications, allowances, selections, preconstruction conversations, documented changes, and communication throughout the project. We're trying to answer as many of those questions as possible before they become expensive questions.
We've talked before about something we believe strongly at Crawford:
Education instead of assumption.
We don't want to assume you understand what we're talking about simply because we use certain terminology every day. If we're discussing cabinets, we shouldn't just ask what kind of cabinets you want. We should help you understand your options. If we're discussing flooring, an allowance shouldn't just be a number on a piece of paper. You should understand what that number realistically allows you to select. If you ask whether something is worth upgrading, our job isn't automatically to sell you the more expensive option. Our job is to explain the difference so you can decide whether it's valuable to you. Sometimes the answer will be, “Yes, if this were my house, I would spend the money here.” Other times it might be, “I really don't think you need it.” Both conversations build trust.
Sometimes clients worry about being that client. They don't want to ask too many questions. They don't want to seem picky. They don't want to bother anyone. Ask the question. If something doesn't look like you expected, say something. If you don't understand a line on your specification sheet, ask us to explain it. If you've changed your mind, tell us. If you're lying in bed wondering whether something was included, we'd rather you ask than spend the next three days worrying about it. Good communication doesn't mean there will never be a problem during construction. Construction involves people, weather, materials, schedules, suppliers, and hundreds of decisions. Things will happen.
Good communication means you shouldn't have to wonder whether someone is paying attention when they do.
A quality custom home is a significant investment. Our clients understand that. What they shouldn't have to accept is spending money they don't understand. If the price changes, you should understand why. If you choose something outside an allowance, you should understand the difference. If the scope changes, that change should be documented. And if there is an opportunity to make a decision now that could prevent an expensive change later, we should be having that conversation with you. Transparency doesn't make construction inexpensive.
It makes the investment understandable.
And there's a big difference.
You shouldn't have to spend your evenings Googling construction terminology. You shouldn't have to personally inspect every inch of the jobsite because you're afraid something might be missed. And you shouldn't have to become the project manager of the project you're paying someone else to manage. You should absolutely be involved. It's your home. But there's a difference between being involved and feeling like you have to be in charge. Ultimately, one of the biggest things you're trusting your builder with isn't lumber, concrete, cabinets, or countertops. It's the responsibility of knowing the things you don't know to ask about yet.
You bring us your ideas. Bring us your Pinterest pictures. Bring us your questions. Bring us the “I don't know what this is called, but I want something like this.” And bring us the questions you think might be silly. Because you don't have to know everything about building a home.
That's why we're here.
