Understanding The Custom Home Building Process

The easiest ways to ensure your visions come to life is to be prepared and know what to expect during this process. At Moeder Construction our goal is to make this a pleasant, stress free and rewarding experience for you. At any time you have any questions, we encourage you to contact your designated building superintendent to resolve or adjust any work being done at your new home.

Choosing your lot and floorplan

Moeder Construction builds homes throughout and around Sedgwick and Butler Counties (including Wichita and the surrounding areas) in order for your new home to be located in your desired surroundings. Once a lot is selected, it will be drawn up with your house plan to make sure the lot will accommodate the size of the home. Which way to position your home on your lot will need to be decided upon. Keep in mind that drainage of the lot can play a part in figuring which side is best for the garage & we will go over all of these details with you before construction starts.

Selecting options

After you have selected your desired floor plan, you will need to decide on any options you would like to include making the home better fit your lifestyle. A contract will then be written up that includes all options to be in your new home. Any specific options that need priced out can be quoted from our office before contract signing.

The appraisal

Once the contract has been signed, a copy of your blueprint and lender information will be compiled by our office and delivered to your lender for an appraisal. The appraisal is to inform your lender that the home we are building for you is worth more than the sales price. In our many years of experience in dealing with lenders, it can be a much smoother process for all if a local lender is selected, helping to prevent any unnecessary delays to the buyer. Average appraisal completion usually takes two weeks. When the appraisal has been received by our office & loan commitments are in place, your builder representative will call to schedule with you a Redline Meeting. During this meeting you will sit down with the owner, Quentin Moeder and he will go over all of the details regarding your new home. A checklist of questions regarding items to be discussed will be provided to you prior to this meeting to better prepare you for all options that will need to be decided on. Quentin will go over every option you have in your contract & note it on your specific blueprint with a red pen.

Options

Remaining Earnest money will be due and collected at the Redline meeting. This amount will be written into your initial contract. If there are any changes after this meeting, they will be put on a change order form. Please save all questions about adding lighting, electrical, phone & TV jacks for your Electrical Walk Thru with your job superintendent & Electrician. This will make your decisions much easier as you will be able to walk thru the rooms of your home to discuss your options & decide exact placements.

You will be given an approximate closing date of 170 days from the Redline meeting. Do not lock an interest rate based on this date as we will give you a closing date once the trim carpenter is finished. Average completion time after trim stage is 30 days.

Brick selection

The Brick Selection sheet that you receive with your Selection Guide will need to be faxed to our office within two weeks after the Redline Meeting. If you wait too long to select your brick, it may result in backorder and you might have to settle for an in stock item. Read the Selection Guide that will be provided for you carefully for all information that you will need to complete your house selections. Wait to make appointments with our suppliers until after Redline. This will allow the Builder to update suppliers of your specifications. If you show up unannounced instead of making an appointment, they will be busy assisting other buyers and not be able to assist you in a timely manner.

Basement

Within 30 days from Redline you will have a basement! This can seem like the longest month of your life, but be assured that our office is busy ordering the construction loan, pulling building permits and ordering materials for your new home.

After the basement walls have been poured, the concrete will need to cure for approx. 10 – 14 days. Dirt will then be placed around the basement. Lumber will start to be delivered to the site. As your home is being framed it will feel like things are moving quickly. We encourage you to visit your new home as often as you like. If you are adding a security system they will need to be contacted at this time. Please also inform your Supervisor at the Electrical Walk Thru that this work will be preformed. At this point, you will have about two weeks before your job superintendent will call you for your Electrical Walk Thru. This meeting should take about 45 minutes. Please finalize all selections before this Walk Thru and have them ready to give your job supervisor.

Sheetrock

The next stage of construction is sheetrock, followed by trim & paint. After trim is done, check in with your lender to make sure that the loan is safely in place. You must get verification from our office before you allow your lender to ‘lock’ an interest rate. Our office will give you updates regarding any charges that are accumulated. Once overages reach over $1,000, you will need to decide if the amount will be added into your loan or pay the builder directly. If you plan to add the overages to your loan, an addendum will be written up to increase the sales price and given to your lender for approval. Do not make any personal financial changes during your building process that might change the conditions of your loan approval.

Final walk thru

Your job superintendent will notify you when it is time to schedule the Final Walk Thru. During this appointment they will explain functions of your new home and any maintenance information. At this time you will need to identify if there is anything you feel needs improved or corrected. All of these items will be documented and handled accordingly. Now is also the time to put all utilities in your name. Have them switched one day before closing as we have them turned off the day of closing.

Closing On Your New Home

What a gratifying feeling to be handed the keys to unlock your dream home. Now the real work begins as you build and grow in your new home.

The relationship we will build with you during the building process does not stop the day you close. It is very important to us that you are satisfied with your new home. Once you have owned your home for three months, if you have any issues arise that you feel need attention this is the time to let us know. Compile a list of all of your concerns and either fax, email or mail them to our office for review. Please be sure to include your name, address and the best contact phone number for you. Once we have this information a copy is made for your job supervisor and Quentin. Your supervisor will then call you to discuss these items with you and set up a time to address. Before your one year anniversary of your closing date has passed, a final list can be sent to our office in the same manner. Anytime there is an issue of urgent concern, please contact us right away.