I doubt this thread will get much traction, since I know most in the Vizzed community are 25 and younger, but I'll ask anyway.

I'm thinking about buying a house this time next year. I already have around $55K saved up, and my girlfriend and I are about to move back in with my parents for a year in order to save as much money as possible for the down payment. Goal is to be able to put at least $100K down.

We're leaning towards building a new home rather than buying an existing one, because there are a ton of opportunities to do so in central Florida, where we would like to live, and the prices are comparable (and actually cheaper in some cases) than buying an existing house that people have been living in for years. There are a lot of different companies, but from what we've seen so far, Richmond American Homes has the most appealing floor plans within our price range. Problem is, they have awful reviews online. It seems like most builders do, though.

I guess my question is, does anyone here have experience with having a house built? Are these negative reviews indicative of just that one company, or is the process of having a house built just a nightmare in general? Would it be worth it to just buy an existing home and avoid the extra stress? Is there anything I should be careful about when choosing a builder, or when signing the contract?

(We do still have a lot of time before we are actually in the position to be contacting builders or realtors, but I like to have a plan.)

I haven't had a full house built, but my neighborhood is constantly getting those portable houses that companies construct off site and then deliver to the plot. The two toughest parts of building a full house is simply the waiting for it to be done and what happens if there's bad weather during construction.

Offsite houses apparently are built much faster too since they're built section by section and then delivered.

The easiest would be to just buy a house outright. It's so much easier to find one that you like than to invest time and money and hope that the company replicates your vision.

I haven't. I do own though. From what I can tell, it's often best to ask around for a company of good repute. There are a lot of contractors who follow a cookie-cutter approach and do a superficially nice, but cheap build. Unfortunately, it doesn't really help you any, because your issue still is to find a reputable contractor. I usually just ask around a ton.

Honestly I did work for a cement construction who did build houses. It’s a hassle for us, and for the home owner. One, we have to make sure the blue prints are approved by the city and that we have to follow the instructions. This I’m not sure if they hired an architect or what since we’re the middle men. We build it. The blue prints and city approving the build is out of our hands usually (may not be the case for some construction companies but we were a small company so). Then one everything is okay, the hardest part starts to come to play for us workers, the formation and shape. Making trenches and all for plumbing to work on the foundation. We have to make sure that the blueprints are accurate because you will get angry if it’s a foot off because there’s a chance it won’t be on the approved property, even if we followed the instructions make a double take. The once the foundation is dried up and the plumbing is good, usually wait for a month or so until the builders come by and start putting up the frames and shape the house. This part is out of our hands until the house is done being built. Once built we start doing the driveway and other things around like a patio or such.

It’s not much I know but a little glimpse of the work done on the house of how it’s built. I do have old pics of the construction days if you want to see how some places look before the house is done. For me personally, If you really have the funds for the house, do it. It’s a lot of stress yes but also you make it to your liking and such. It’s a hassle if waiting to be approved by the city but you won’t regret it.

Well I have never had a house built. But my cousin's husband is a licensed home builder and contractor. He would sometimes talk about having to get special permits to build. Such as a water permit, land building permit, permit to put a septic tank in or hook it to the city sewer system. Then he would have to get the soil inspected before he could start building. He would always say that is the most frustrating part. In addition, he would always say building a flat level house was easier than building a multi floor house.

One of my other cousin's asked him which was better to build a house or buy. His response was it really depends on what you are looking for. If you want your very own house that is yours then he would recommend building. But be aware that building is a process and sometimes getting the permits can be time consuming.

If you are buying his response was be sure to know if the subdivision has a Home Owners Association and rules. Those can be a pain according to him and from what I have seen in the news I would agree with him.

My friends who are real estate agents have stated when looking at house

look to see if the potential house has flooding issues best time to go is during rainfall to look at a house. Also look for water damage in the house this could be a sign the house has flooding issues. Also look at the neighborhood. If the houses have iron bars against the windows this could suggest the neighborhood has a high crime rate.

At the end of the day it is what you and your family want.