A custom home is built in stages

Kim Hibbs, owner and general contractor of Hibbs Homes in St. Louis, Missouri, breaks down the custom house construction process into distinct stages rather than a series of clearly defined steps.

Discovery

First, there is what Hibbs calls the "Discovery" stage. That's when we get to know the customer and find out what they want to achieve," says Hibbs. Hibbs offers them a "Needs, Wants, and Wishes" worksheet, provides references, and tours them to previously constructed houses.

Hibbs also assists the purchaser with locating a lot, getting pre-approval for a mortgage, and selecting a designer at this point. The wife of our protagonist, Kim, is a professional real estate agent who works at Coldwell Banker Gundaker. Yet half of their customers already have enough. Kim arranges and attends many client meetings with candidates to discover the most suitable architect for her customer.

Hibbs says, "This requires a lot of hand-holding," which might be exhausting, but it's exactly what a customer seeking a bespoke house wants. They want you to be there for every step of the process. It's crucial that customers have consistent interactions with the same individuals at every stage of the process, and that they feel relaxed at all points.

Planning and Cost Estimating

All the planning and allotting of funds take place before construction begins here. During this time, the company works with the purchaser to do a site evaluation, create a preliminary construction timetable, establish a financial plan, and start a dialogue about available choices. Over-designing is common among architects, as Hibbs points out. In this stage, it is important to make sure the architect is working within the set budget.

Furthermore, during this time, customers are out shopping for their purchases. Hibbs estimates that customers must make about 35–40 important choices on their project's selections, finishes, and colors. A genuine complicated house, he says, might have as many as fifty. Then, "it's vital to know exactly where to set our allowances for client choices," he continues.

Hibbs offers his custom-home purchasers the opportunity to create an environmentally friendly and cost-effective dwelling by designing a "green home." Hibbs Homes is an official Energy STAR partner and RESNET Certified Builder. The company has constructed the first Active House in North America and has completed Net Zero Homes. Hibbs has the NAHB's Certified Green Professional designation.

For further reading, please see "How to Construct an Eco-Friendly Custom Home."

Construction

The building process has now entered its first phase. The building process is simple, as Hibbs points out. "The construction phase takes care of itself if you've done everything right up to that point" (identifying requirements and desires, locating a lot, designing, and selecting).

The average time to build a Hibbs house is 12 months. However, this range from 6 months to 18 months. According to Hibbs, if the architect fails to fulfill timelines, it is the second most disruptive factor when the customer takes too much time deciding between available options.

Hibbs explains, "As a custom home builders, we anticipate some adjustments." However, we make sure that everyone knows from the start that if a modification order is issued, work will only be done in the field once we obtain a signed permission document and a purchase order from the relevant vendor.