Build with confidence
Building a new home can be confusing and frustrating. What do I need to do first? Where do I go? Who do I contact to get the job done right? Most first-time new construction homeowners don't think about "Is the garbage disposal working properly?" or "Do my grout lines look correct?". Using our list and doing a final walk-through can be fun and beneficial for both you and the contractor!
General construction home checklist to get you started:
- Determine the land on which to build your new construction home on.
- Obtain a pre-approval from your lender at AbbyBank. The pre-approval process will determine the total amount you can afford for the project including land, building and landscaping. Remember to allow extra funds for non-budgeted expenses such as overruns, missed deadlines, construction upgrades, and landscaping.
Tips to find the right financial institution:
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- Talk to family and friends for recommendations.
- Find a bank with a strong history within the community.
- Work with a lender that you are comfortable with and who services the loan locally for any future question that may arise.
- Make sure the construction loan allows at least 4 draws during the building process.
- Ensure the construction loan charges interest only on the disbursements (draws).
- Meet with builder to discuss home layout, building products, home style and pricing.
- Agree on home design and house plans with your builder. This process may take a couple of changes to the home design and construction specs.
- Arrange financing on the construction process. Once you have an acceptable bid from your builder, bring your bid, plans and land information to your lender to complete the construction financing phase. At this point, discuss the mortgage loan options.
- Determine placement of home and land preparation before the project start date.
- During the building process stay in contact with the builder on project decisions and payment process. Go to the site and check out the progress frequently.
- Discuss landscaping options, find a professional, do the job yourself or wait a year to save for the job.
- Meet with builder to discuss how the final walk-through will look. This ensures if there are any inspection problems, you can fix it right away!
- Complete your final walk-through checklist and inspection with your builder to make sure everything is in working condition.
- You're in the home stretch! Close your construction loan and finalize your mortgage.
- Move in and decorate!
Our construction checklist and pre-closing walk-through checklist are available as PDFs below to print off for your reference.
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Common Questions
If you have questions, please contact one of our Mortgage Loan Officers.
Should I get a mortgage preapproval letter for my home builder?
Yes, having a mortgage financing preapproval letter for your home builder should be done before meeting with a potential builder. Most contractors will require this ahead of time. Then after you have accepted a bid from your builder, bring your bid, plans and any other relevant information to your AbbyBank Mortgage Loan Officer to complete your customized financing plan. Use our free mortgage qualifier calculator to give you an idea of what you can afford. This can also help aid you when choosing a layout plan that will fit your budget.
Do I need an appraisal on a new home construction to get a mortgage loan?
Every situation is unique but typically your mortgage loan officer will need an appraisal of your new home construction before approving your final loan. They will want to make sure the property value is worth the amount of the loan.
How much down payment is required to get a new construction home loan?
Each situation is unique which means every mortgage loan is different and will depend on your specific situation. A typical rule of thumb is to put somewhere between 10%-20% of your appraised value as a down payment. The down payment can be dependent upon the proposed appraisal value so it can be hard to determine upfront how much your down payment should be.
AbbyBank is a full-service financial institution with Wisconsin locations in Abbotsford, Appleton, Gresham, Medford, Shawano, Wausau, Weston and Withee.