Researching Online

Before you start getting serious about finding your dream home, your smart move is to get pre-approved or at least pre-qualified. More on that below and in The Mortgage Process. We strongly encourage you to consult with one of our Preferred Lenders.

Researching online, though, is where the home search begins for most new home buyers today. You can do a virtual search from home, no matter where that may be. We have designed our website to make it easy to learn about our communities, the floor plans we offer, any "ready to move-in" homes available, or even how to build on your own lot.

We have soldiers overseas in war zones planning their homes from their computer in the barracks so they have a new home ready for them when they return to the States.

A family living in Japan chose their community, lot, and plan plus made all of their custom selections via the Internet. We built it, and they had closing within a couple of days after they arrived back in the USA. Technology and the skill of our highly trained New Home Consultants make this possible.

Visiting a Community

Home buyers use their online research to eliminate more than to choose. Home selection usually requires a visit to the community to check out its location and to actually experience the builder's quality and style.

Our onsite New Home Consultants have a wealth of information and can help you decide which floor plans suit your lifestyle.

Selecting a Home Site

Once you have decided upon your community and selected your floor plan, the next step is to choose your lot. Your New Home Consultant can help you consider all the important aspects of choosing a home site.

The perfect lot will both suit your aesthetics about location and meet the requirements of your home's footprint.

Building Your Home on Paper

Now you have chosen a community, a floor plan, and your home site. At this point, you'll sit down with your New Home Consultant and look at your plan in detail with an eye to any changes or upgrades you need or want. You'll want to think it all through so you and the builder have a clear idea of the cost of the finished home.

We have a wide variety of features and options from which to choose.

Writing a Purchase Agreement

This is the big step! Writing up a purchase agreement is more involved than when buying a resale home. Your New Home Consultant will go through all the details and the process of building a new home with you and explain what costs are involved. Together, you will work through each aspect as each situation is different.

Most new home buyers find it surprisingly less expensive to build than they had imagined.

Making a Loan Application

If you were not "pre-approved" before you started shopping for a home, you must do so now through the loan application. (If you have a "pre-qual" letter, that simply means you appear to be qualified for the loan amount you need, but none of your information has been verified yet.)

So, as soon as you receive your accepted Purchase Agreement, take it to your lender to start the official loan application and secure your loan approval. You should notice a financing contingency on your Purchase Agreement with a specified number of days for you to get your loan approval.

Refer to The Mortgage Process for details on what will happen.

Selecting Your Colors & More

After you and the builder reach agreement, your New Home Consultant will set an appointment with you to come in and make all of your exterior and interior selections on siding, cabinets, countertops, flooring, fixtures, and much more. At this meeting you will also have a chance to add any upgrades or features you may not have included on the original purchase agreement. It is best to do this without bringing others along. Friends and relatives have the best of intentions, but in the end, this is your home. And children usually are much happier doing something else. Above all, you want to be free to focus on these all important choices.

Be prepared to spend about two hours making your selections.

Ready to Build

While you were doing your selections and getting your loan formally approved, we were working diligently behind the scenes on getting purchase orders prepared and applying for our building permits. All of that takes about a month. By the start of the second month after your Purchase Agreement was signed by all parties, actual construction of your home should be about ready to begin.

To understand what happens next, see The Construction Process.