Built to order
Custom homes offer big rewards but test nerves
Two years ago, when Kim Hopper was hunting for a new home, she realized she didn't want to buy someone else's old house. Instead, she said, lured by "the appeal of having something new," she decided to build from scratch on a tract in Franklin.
When Janet and Paul Worcester became empty nesters in September, they decided to downsize and upgrade by custom-building a new home that would be their last.
"This was going to be it for us -- our retirement," Janet Worcester said, adding that building in a planned community in Plymouth allowed them to "have the setup the way we wanted."
Thousands of buyers across Massachusetts --12,726 single-home building permits were issued last year -- have opted to build from the ground up. Many will choose a lot in a suburban development, pick a house plan from a builder, and fill each room with luxurious upgrades like whirlpool tubs and hardwood floors.
The opportunity to customize is a big draw for many buyers, but it can be nerve-racking, as each new decision presents buyers with opportunities to make costly mistakes. "Building a home is not for the faint of heart," said Sam Schneiderman, president of the Massachusetts Association of Buyers Agents and owner of Greater Boston Homebuying.
Houses have hundreds of components, Schneiderman added, and buyers don't always know how their choices will affect their future costs. For example, he said, homeowners don't realize they can upgrade to a certain type of roof shingle that only costs a few hundred dollars more than basic roofing, but will last twice as long.
He said that little things, including where the house is placed on the property, "can be tweaked," as long as the foundation has not been poured. He once represented a client who negotiated to have a house put farther forward on the lot, so there was a larger backyard and smaller front yard than the developer intended.
Schneiderman noted that developers offer limited house styles and floor plans to make construction as efficient as possible, and advised that buyers looking to hire their own architects should not purchase in a planned community.
Buyers also make many of their most important choices almost as soon as they sign the sales contract.
The Worcesters, who bought a 2,200-square foot, two-bedroom, 2-bath town house in the Pinehills development in Plymouth, had to make crucial decisions -- called "red options" by the developer -- within one month of signing a purchase agreement.
For their red option, the couple chose to finish a room in the basement of the condo. About four months into the process, the Worcesters had to deal with the "green options" -- including carpets and flooring. They upgraded to hardwood floors in the living room, dining room, family and breakfast rooms, added recessed lighting, and installed an in-ceiling audio system, a favorite of Paul Worcester's. "I never liked the fact that we needed four sitting speakers," he said.
Their total upgrades came to $20,000, bringing their purchase price to $470,000.
Even seemingly minor choices can have large quality-of-life consequences. For instance, Hopper had to figure out where she would put her furniture, including the television set, so that she could tell the builder where to put in a cable outlet. At the time, she thought she wouldn't want a television in the family room of the four-bedroom home she purchased in 2002, so she didn't put in a cable box there -- a decision she now regrets.
Some of the upgrades she has no regrets about are the installation of central air conditioning, dark wood floors, a commercial stove in the kitchen, stainless steel appliances, recessed lighting, and a built-in stereo system. All together, the additions came to an additional $30,000, on top of the $460,000 price for the house.
Susan Morrison of Franklin recently built her fifth home in less than eight years. "We're into new," Morrison said. "We're not fixer-upper people."
At this point, she is something of an expert in building homes. "We've learned from every house," she said, adding that the most important lesson was to "stay on top of the builders" and visit the building site as often as possible. In one house, she requested a specific type of hardwood floor, but didn't notice until it was too late that the contractor had used the wrong flooring. Other common-sense advice for buyers is to check out the builder's reputation before signing anything. "If you feel uncomfortable with a builder, walk away," Schneiderman said. A good builder will be amenable to change and will warranty the house for up to a year.
Most buyers upgrade at least some features, usually at a cost of about 10 percent of the purchase price, said Skip Kelleher, a vice president for the New England division of Toll Brothers, a Pennsylvania home-building company. When buyers customize, said Kelleher, they pay particular attention to bathrooms and kitchens. He said that many buyers want whirlpool tubs in the bathroom and more expensive tiles. In the kitchen, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances are in such demand, they now come as standard features in some developments.
Hopper spent about half of the total cost of the upgrades on the kitchen -- it was an important room to her, and she thought a state-of-the-art kitchen would improve her resale prospects. "You always have to think on the other end -- what you're going to get back," she said.
Buyers should also know that some developers impose conditions, known as restrictive covenants, that limit homeowners' rights. These restrictions will be recorded on the deed and with the county.
In Pinehills, for instance, the Worcesters can't landscape their front courtyard until they submit a design plan to two homeowner associations. Other rules prohibit the outside storage of recreational vehicles or parking broken-down cars on streets or driveways, Worcester said.
Philip Lapatin, counsel to the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, said a developer typically enforces the rules until he has sold all the lots. Then, either a homeowner association takes over or enforcement is left up to individuals. Either way, it means neighbors have to take each other to court to enforce the covenants.
Some developers are hesitant to impose too many limits, said Stephen Marcus, a Braintree lawyer who represents community associations. "Builders don't want to lose a sale because they're too restrictive," he said.
