After working in the construction industry for more than 20 years, I have seen many houses built. Working for large project builders, through custom home builders, with only a limited number of homes per year, I have the opportunity to talk to buyers at all levels. This is a common theme, not only with people I met early in my career, but also with many friends and family in the process. They want to solve one thing overall - communication.
In 1993, I worked for a huge residential construction company. They are number one in Perth and are building small first-time homes through affordable two-story homes. That business is like a machine that transforms houses on a large scale. I met several customers who were built with the builder there, and they all complained that no one would tell them what happened on the construction site. Communication is terrible.
It is almost 2011, and for many home builders, complaints still exist. In fact, it is incredible that many high-volume builders have not yet learned this lesson or have taken appropriate steps to change the status quo. There are still products on the market that can automate a large number of simple communications, and after discussing them with many owners, they will actually satisfy them. Some of the software used by many home builders digitizes all the processes in a residential building, and when subcontractors are booked on site, materials arrive, and certain construction phases are completed, they can automatically send an email to the customer - you can name it.
Although this may satisfy some customers to a certain extent, there is another major communication method that customers value. Face-to-face communication with the site supervisor. Many home builders do not provide customers with their supervisor's mobile phone number because it can save too much time for idle chats and affect the progress of the building - and it's simple, with only a few customers causing builders to implement this policy. However, arranging face-to-face meetings on site every two weeks will satisfy customers and make building progress updates easier.
This is one of the reasons why I really like the owner operator builder. They usually meet face to face on a regular basis, which is very different for many customers. That's one of the reasons why these custom home builders don't need to show their homes because they continue to get word of mouth recommendations.
If you are considering building a new home, check the type of communication system your builder will use. Otherwise you may be trapped in the dark and find that your home building experience may not be as enjoyable as you would like.
Orignal From: What is the biggest complaint about the home builder of a home buyer?
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