Your First Steps to Your New Home:

•  Financing - Make a call to a banker or mortgage company of your choice and set a time to meet with the lender. Talk to them about your ideas and thoughts for your building projects. If you have a plan show them. They will be able to tell you how much you can afford and what mortgage is best for you.

•  Family - Talk to every member of the family about the building project and get them excited about it. It makes the whole building process more enjoyable when the entire family is fired up about it.

•  Friends - Talk to people who have built new homes. They have gone through the process and could answer some of your questions. Ask them about the builder they chose. They will share their experiences about building their new home and what they would do differently.

•  Look - Tour some new construction homes, go to open houses, or tour homes on the CMBA Parade of Homes. This will give you an opportunity to see the quality of craftsmanship of different builders. This will give you an idea of what is new in design, and how much homes are selling for in neighborhoods in which you are interested in living.

•  Property - Make sure the location of the lot you're looking at will match your lifestyle. If you have children and you have to shuttle them to all their activities you may want a lot closer to their school. Consider a city lot with city services as compared to a country lot with private well and septic.

•  House Plans - It is recommended that you have a professional home designer draw up your house plans instead of buying them out of a magazine. Designers are familiar with the local building codes and are up to date on many types of construction practices. You can find home designers at most lumber yards, or look for independent home designers listed on this website.

•  Builder - This will be your most important selection. Talk to two or three different licensed builders. Ask them to show you some of the homes they have built. Ask them for several references. Show the builders your plans and tell them exactly what you have in mind. Make sure you tell each builder the same thing - be consistent. This is necessary to get a fair comparison with the bids. When deciding on a builder, it is important that you feel comfortable with the person you decide to have build your home. If you are uncomfortable or feel intimidated by him/her, you may want to keep looking. You need to have a good working relationship with the builder you choose.