How to Choose a Custom Home Builder in Williston, ND

Choosing a Custom Home Builder: The One Factor That Changes Everything

The biggest deciding factor in choosing a custom home builder is not price or even reviews. It has everything to do with whether the builder is actually a custom builder or a production builder pretending to be one.

The National Association of Home Builders advises you not only to shop the companies as you would houses but to look into references, financing, and the level of customization available before signing a contract.

Williston homeowners need to be especially leery of this practice because a production builder primed and ready to snap out a dozen cookie-cutter homes every year will not have the resources or flexibility to accommodate the occasional custom order with special trusses or a different foundation type.

A true custom home contractor builds homes from or with the input of your architect’s plans and understands that design changes alter schedules. The contractor will ask tons of questions before groundbreaking and have no issue discussing the depth of the frost line or how many inches your build site can actually bear.

This is because in north-central North Dakota, an 80+” frost line will change footings and foundation requirements from what you would see in the southern states.

A production(builder) and semi-custom builder will only offer an array of pre-engineered designs and floor plans with only a few options available to upgrade finishes. Not a bad approach for some, but if you are looking for a custom home, this is not the right way.

A good custom home builder checklist should flag a specific roofline, an attached shop, or any other layout detail a plan book simply can’t offer.

Unless you want your home to look like everyone else’s and have few choices, it is best to stay away from a production builder, who typically builds several custom and semi-custom home designs yearly.

Custom Home Builder vs. Production Builder vs. Design-Build Firm

Local building associations and cost-estimate industry websites generally agreed that the primary reason for the discontent among homeowners is that they choose a builder from an inappropriate category instead of a “bad” one, yet here is how the three biggest categories differ after the hard selling has finished.

If your lot is a typical in-town parcel and you want one of three or four floor plans the builder now has available, you want a production builder

If you’re building on acreage in Williston and need a design not available from anyone else, you probably want a custom home builder or a design-build company, not a production builder

Hidden Factors That Change the Outcome

Utility hookups are the absolute factor that most homeowners don’t consider. Rural sites in Williston require wells and septic systems from county health departments before foundation plans can be pulled, and that process alone can take an additional 2-3 weeks in some cases if not done ahead of time.

A builder who has worked rural McKenzie County sites before will bring this up in his very first meeting with you. A builder who hasn’t might learn this lesson the hard way right around the same time you do.

Weather sequencing comes into play on a far greater scale than you might expect as well. The window for foundation work and framing in dry-in work is far narrower than in more temperate climates, so a less experienced builder with only a few local jobs under his belt might build his schedule around a general timeline, not the actual conditions he’ll be working in come April or May.

Licensing, Insurance, and Best-Practice Guidelines

Every custom home contractor who works in North Dakota is required to have an active license from the North Dakota Secretary of State; that license should be backed by liability insurance and, if they have North Dakota employees, proof of workers’ compensation coverage through Workforce Safety & Insurance.

This isn’t paperwork you take on faith. The North Dakota Secretary of State’s contractor licensing portal lets any homeowner confirm a contractor is registered and in good standing before signing a contract.

Asking a contractor if they have liability and workers’ compensation insurance is always a good idea. You should ask to see their certificates during your meeting instead of verbal confirmation.

After all, any legitimate custom home builders will have nothing to be ashamed of and hide. A contractor’s hesitation is, in fact, one of the most significant red flags one could come across.

Choosing a Custom Home Builder, Step by Step

The seven steps below are a ready-made set of questions to ask a custom home builder before you ever sign a contract.

1. Establish your must-haves before making any calls, such as a lot size, square footage range, or preferred garage, basement, or first-floor features. This will greatly narrow your search.
2. Call upon your local home builders association to come up with a list of active builders within your state. Cross-reference this list by contacting these builders in person or via email. Never rely on what is published on the builder’s own website; check licenses and insurance with your state.
3. Ask for two to three completed references with current contact information, and ask them the same questions. Ask for a copy of their change order packets, which should explain in writing how changes to the buyer will be handled.
4. When asking for proposals, ask for the same allowances. The total price is only one factor when considering value.
5. When speaking with prospective contractors, ask what they have done for other jobs. The best general contractors should be able to describe in detail the change order packet, which should explain in writing how changes by the buyer will be handled.
6. Builders who can’t explain it to you in one sentence will undoubtedly “work it out” when the time comes, a sure sign of added expenses down the road.
7. Remember to read the fine print, especially the time frame. What are their specific terms for weather or permitting delays?

Bonus tip: Ask them to show you a project that they are working on, not one that is already done. Seeing a house being built lets you see the cleanliness of the jobsite, the quality of the framing, and get a sense of how the crews operate, things you can’t necessarily garner from seeing a completed project in a portfolio.

Common Mistakes Homeowners Make

The most common mistake is hiring a firm based on the most up-to-date and impressive portfolios, without paying attention to how long the company has been operating in the market. According to NAHB guidance, it typically takes 3-5 years for a construction company to become consistently profitable and able to provide the needed guarantees.

A more recent company does not necessarily mean a bad option, but it is essential to ask more questions and have the backup needed in case of failure.

A second common mistake is to skip the reference calls because the builder was so nice in the sales meeting. Sales and execution are two very different skill sets, and the only way to evaluate the latter is by talking with people who have been through the execution process.

A third mistake, specific to the local market, is to assume that any builder who did oilfield housing during the Bakken boom has experience building custom homes.

While man-camp and workforce-housing construction during the Bakken boom has its peculiar challenges, it’s fundamentally different than custom new home construction. It’s a much more standardized process, with many of the same components reused over and over again.

Experience with this type of work can be valuable, but it’s not nearly as relevant as experience with custom-built production homes.

Things to Consider Before Making a Decision