How to Pick a Builder For a Custom Home?

The excitement of building a custom home or undertaking home renovations in Dallas TX is unmatched. It serves as the perfect opportunity to curve your home to your liking. You can take control of things such as the quality of materials used, the floor plan for functionality purposes, and the general expression of your personality.

Choosing the right custom home builder goes a long way in ensuring you get the home of your dreams. Such a builder first understands your vision and unique needs before getting started with implementation.

As you can imagine, the luxury custom home builder that you choose will either break or make you. Here is what you can do to get the right person for the job.

#1: Ask For References

As you start engaging prospective builders, it would be ideal to also look at their references. And whenever possible, physically visit the references to have a first-hand experience of their works.

References are like direct witnesses. These are individuals who mainly know the prospective builder at a professional level. Therefore, they would ascertain that the person has handled a similar project for them or they have jointly worked in the past.

Evaluating the quality of the references list is as important as speaking with the referees. You may want to make sure that these referees are real and that their project was almost similar to yours.

#2: Participate In Home Tours

Home tours serve as an opportunity to see the luxury home builder’s works and how they made the most of available spaces. You can have a one-on-one engagement with the builder where they share their experience and expertise in delivering custom homes.

Undertaking home tours is also an opportunity to expand the range of builders that you could review for your project. You may then start sorting prospective builders and proceed to the next stage, where you check communities in which they have active projects. That way, you can see for yourself first-hand that the builder has everything under control.

While interacting with the builder’s ongoing or past projects, seek to also speak with the homeowners. Find out what their experiences were working with the builder and whether they would recommend the builder.

#3: Ask About Their Working Process

Before you give the go-ahead to a specific luxury home builder, make sure that they explain the process they follow to build a home. Your key focus here is to find out if you are at the center stage of the whole construction process.

Remember that the essence of going for a custom home is so that it reflects your personality and delivers the ultimate dream home. That would not be possible if you are not part and parcel of the home building process.

In particular, you should be interested in what happens at the initial meeting, design phase, and start of the construction. Let the builders explain their personal roles in the project. Make sure you get to know the people they work with and their input.

Tony McClung is a professional custom home builder who places you at the heart of your precious project. When you choose to work with us, you can expect 100% commitment towards delivering the home just as you had envisioned.

What Does a Custom Home Builder Do?

Building your home is one of the most important undertakings. The kind of home you build defines your personality, hence the need to pay close attention to how it turns out. That explains why most homeowners would rather have their home built up from scratch instead of choosing a ready-to-move-in one.

When you decide to custom-make your home, you will have to choose a custom home builder. Such a builder seeks to make sure your home stands out from the crowd. As the owner, you will have a say in each phase of the construction process.

This article guides you on what to expect from your preferred custom home builder:

What Does A Custom Builder Do

#1: Custom-Design Your Home

The major role that custom home builders play entails building your home just as you wanted it. They give you the flexibility of choosing preferred ceramics and fixtures. The house is essentially your canvas and serves as an outlet for your personality. The custom home builder allows you to hand-pick your appliances and order customized lamps, among other things. The most important consideration here is your satisfaction with the final home built because you had a personal engagement with it from scratch.

#2: Customize Amenities

The amenities incorporated in your home have a significant impact on your overall experience with the house. A custom home builder suggests the kinds of installations that go hand in hand with your lifestyle, including:

·      Fitness room

·      Security systems

·      Swimming pool

·      Game room

·      Lighting systems

#3: Managing Your Resources

Building a home requires a lot of resources, and you will need someone to manage them. A luxury custom home builder knows what they are doing. Thus, they are the best suited to manage key resources that go into your project. Time is one of the most vital resources here as it determines how fast the home gets completed. Custom home builders know what to do to make sure they utilize resources efficiently and within the budget.

#4: Purchase At a Discount

A custom luxury home builder is responsible for all your vital purchases. Depending on what you want, the home builder can buy in bulk and get you a better discount. In most cases, the home builder already has an existing relationship with different vendors with whom they have worked in the past. Thus, they leverage their contacts to make sure you get what you want and at a better discount.

#5: Linking Different Subcontractors

No single contractor can claim to custom-make your home. Normally, you will need different subcontractors such as plumbers, electrical engineers, and fitting teams, among others. The custom home builder has the responsibility of connecting with expert contractors to ensure the home is built as per expectations. Working with these subcontractors is a smart move because each one of them will handle a variety of roles, relieving you from stress and pressure.

Why Choose Us?

Are you looking for a custom-built home that speaks out your personality? Choose us because we are committed to designing and building an astounding luxury home that will leave you mesmerized.

Detailed Guide to Choosing Luxury Custom Home Builder

Most homeowners often feel clueless when it comes to custom home building. Probably you already have the best-sketched floor plan and a host of other ideas. However, if you do not have the right person for the job, these will never turn out as you envisioned. Please read on to the end to learn more about luxury home building.

Five factors to consider

1. Research on the available luxury custom home builders

You need to be proactive in researching existing custom home builders. Ask for their certifications and any licenses that they may have. Also, enquire from friends, family members, relatives, and real estate professionals what they may have heard about the specific custom builder. Your goal is to do thorough homework on key items such as the builder’s organizational ability, level of equality, communication style, philosophy, and industry recognition. 

2. Have realistic expectations

As you look for perfection in your luxury custom home builder, make sure you have realistic expectations. Set limits that the best builders can deliver but do not go beyond what is possible. It is ideal to know what you want, including elements such as time management, cost management, and quality control. Tony McClung is known for his attention to detail. The fact that he works only on one project at a time before moving to the next means he will be able to better understand your requirements and deliver them. He specializes in luxury custom homes.

3. Choose a kind and bold builder

As you choose your builder, focus on one willing to guide you every step of the way. A kind and bold builder is not just about delivering your dream home as per your requirements. Such a builder listens to your needs but is also bold enough to say no when something does not work out in your best interest. A good builder is not just about doing everything that you want. They bring their experience to the table to guide you to get the home you deserve. 

4. Consider cost and time management

What budget have you set aside for your luxury home? How fast do you want the home delivered? You can only achieve these when you work with a home builder that understands cost and time management. Evaluate the builder’s estimates to ensure that it meets your budget and does not compromise on finish and quality.

5. Follow your instincts

This is your home, and you are bound to have very strong instincts about it. If something does not feel right, do not ignore it. Highlight the issue and immediately converse with your preferred builder about it. 

Conclusion

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Congratulations on having started this journey to build your own custom home. With the help of Tony McClung, who has diverse experience in luxury home building, you will get your dream home.

Preparing Your Home for the School Year

The school season can be absolute insanity for some families. It’s an exciting fresh start to the year and kids are usually eager to get back, see their friends, start up school activities, and get back into the routine! But it can also be tough at home. Papers get sprawled everywhere, jackets, shoes, backpacks, notebooks, laptops, and charging chords end up all over the house, and it can begin to feel like your home is caught up in a permanent tornado. So how do you deal with it all, and what can you do to prepare your home for the upcoming school year?

Here are some tips!

Organize Your Entry Way

People often get so focused on vacuuming, cleaning the living room, and keeping bedrooms clean that they forget just how quickly the entry way can get out of control.

The entry way really is your avenue to efficiently get in and out of the house. If it’s not kept clean and organized, you’re kids will be late to the bus looking for their missing shoes and backpacks, and your keys will inevitably grow legs and burry themselves under boxes and papers. It’s a mess. It’s a headache. And it needs to be dealt with.

Come up with an organization system and make rules for your kids. Where do their shoes go? Where do their jackets go? Where do their backpacks go? Install additional shelves in your coat closet if necessary. Come up with a system and stick to it – as soon as you let it go, the entry way becomes congested and getting out the door is drastically more difficult.

Come Up with a Food Organization System

Kids need to bring lunches and snacks to school, and dinner prep needs to be quick if you want your house to run smoothly. Come up with a food organization system!

If you need to, rework the layout of your cabinets and pantry. It might take a few hours one evening, but getting everything in a neat and organized area can cut off dozens of hours of food prep in the long-run. Maybe you put the kids’ school food prep stuff on one shelf in the pantry, snacks go in another area, etc.

Create Visual Chore Checklists

It’s easy to hap-hazardously throw chore requests at your kids, but it’s not effective when attempting to keep your home in good shape. Create and print out chore checklists and have them mounted on a cabinet, fridge, or wall where everyone knows what needs to be done on what days by who.

You can create rewards based on what gets completed and how committed they’ve been over time. Weekly allowances, video game time, hanging with friends, and even fun family activities like bowling, hiking, or going to movies can all be great incentives to add into the mix!

Recognized as one of the leading custom home builders in Dallas TX, Tony McClung is an architectural designer working to beautify custom luxury homes in Highland Park, and North Dallas area. He helps families design, build or renovate the custom home of their dreams. Visit their website to learn more.

Tips for Replacing Baseboards in Your Home

If you’ve done any home renovations in the past, you’re well aware of how much small details can completely change a space. And that is especially the case when it comes to baseboards. While baseboards are a smaller detail in a home in comparison to larger remodeling tasks like installing new flooring, painting an entire room, or redoing a kitchen backsplash, they really do change the overall feel of a home.

Baseboards almost act like a “glue” that pull the consistency of a home’s design together. Having consistent (and well-done) baseboards is a great way to transform your space. If you’re planning to replace your baseboards in the near future, here are a few tips:

Get the Right Tools

I know replacing baseboards seems like an incredibly simple project, but the truth is, it requires a lot of precision. Without the right tools, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle.

Getting correct measurements, making your corner cut angles correct, and installing the baseboards against the wall all require a special set of tools. Nail guns are your best friend, and it’s probably a good idea to have really accurate measuring tools around. A good angle gauge wouldn’t hurt either!

One of the most important things to use is a compound miter saw. They’re quite accurate, easy to move around, and have fast spinning blades. As long as you have a good saw blade on, compound miter saws should give you accurate, clean cuts that make jointing a breeze.

Another tip is to search for a portable air compressor and buy air compressor tools. In the long-run, you’ll probably save money on your tools and you don’t have to deal with the frustration of batteries.

Have a Clear Plan and Vision

Of course you probably have a general idea in your head of what you want. “I want simplistic, white baseboards.” That’s great! But you want to make sure you come up with a specific plan. Exactly what size of wood do you want? Do you want any type of styling done with a router table on the wood? If you have anything beyond flat white baseboards, do you have a plan for how to best deal with angles to ensure it works seamlessly throughout the house?

It’s also really smart to calculate exactly how much wood you need, and then buy a little bit extra. Chances are high you’ll have a few “whoopsie” moments when making your first cuts. No matter how accurate you think you are, always plan for a few mistakes.

Paint Your Trim Before Installing

You’ve seen all the telltale signs of a bad paint job in your life – paint dripping from the wall onto a countertop, baseboard paint making its way onto the wall. It’s hard to get accurate paint lines, even with proper taping techniques. Sometimes paint just gets where it’s not supposed to.

If you’re able to, the best thing you can do to ensure the paint is clean, not on the wall, and looks professional is to paint your baseboards before you install them. This gives you a chance to really be precise and make sure everything looks great before it goes up!

Recognized as one of the leading custom home builders in Dallas TX, Tony McClung is an architectural designer working to beautify custom luxury homes in Highland Park, and North Dallas area. He helps families design, build or renovate the custom home of their dreams. Visit their website to learn more.

What to Pay Attention to in a Home Inspection Report

Buying a home is an intense process. You’re throwing (potentially) hundreds of thousands of dollars at a home, and in this market buyers have minimal leverage in the buying process. Home buyers will often bend over backwards when making offers, offering tens of thousands of dollars over asking price and waving the inspection contingency.

However, for those who choose to get an inspection on a home (which is highly recommended), it can be daunting to get back a 30 page report riddled with jargon you don’t understand. So, what is it that you should be looking for in a home inspection? Here are a few high-level items you’ll want to pay attention to in that report:

Structural Elements

One of the main things a home inspector is paying attention to is the structural integrity of the home. This involves detailed analysis of the foundation of the home, load bearing walls and layout, attics and crawl spaces, etc. Basically, they’re looking for any major issues that need to be serviced.

If they report back about foundation issues, you need to figure out how much it will cost to repair as soon as possible. Foundation issues when left unfixed can lead to major problems with the rest of your home. As the home settles, support beams will weaken, the basement can flood, and in rare instances you may find a cracked foundation to cause radon leakage.

Age of Appliances

You don’t need to be an expert on appliances to understand this section of the report, but what you do want to pay attention to is both the age of the appliances as well as their average expected lifetime.

You can technically continue to service your water heater, furnace, and AC unit, but at some point you’ll just be continuing to sink money into something that ultimately needs to be replaced. Generally speaking, if it’s older than 20 years, you should start considering the price to just replace the whole unit.

Electrical

This is one of the easiest things to overlook when you do a walk through on a home. Who’s going to go through the whole house and flip every light switch? Well... your inspector will, and it’s good to know whether or not electrical has been properly routed and wired.

Make sure you give a thorough look at this section of the report to figure out whether anything needs to be repaired or fixed. Electrical issues can be a pain if they’re not taken care of!

If you are planning on buying or selling a home and have plans for renovations, don’t forget to reach out to Tony. McClung! His architectural designer expertise will be essential to you!

Things to be Aware of As You Search for a Home

This market is anything but friendly to buyers. If you’re currently in the process of looking for a new home, or know someone who’s embarked on a home buying search, you can sympathize all too well with the state of the market. Currently, it seems as though sellers have all the leverage and buyers are bending over backwards to get their offers accepted.

It’s in times like these when competition and congestion is high in the buying market that home buyers forget what to look for as they search for a home. While we understand fully that you may be eager to put in an offer on any home that you love at first sight, these are a few things to keep in mind as you search for a home:

Water Damage

Water damage is often underplayed in home descriptions. It may be referred to as “minor leakage” or “water staining” in a basement, but it’s super important to get details regarding what actually happened.

Sometimes “water damage” is very miniscule, and may have only occurred in a small portion of a basement. It can be as simple as replacing a section of drywall or fixing a pipe, however, it can be as complicated and costly as replacing an entire water heater or doing major plumbing work on the house.

Make sure you get very clear details from your realtor on what the extent of the water damage is and if it should be of any concern to you!

Age of Appliances

We all know that the market is overpriced right now and competition is high. What does that mean for home buyer budgets? You’re often upping the cost of moving in by a ton simply by offering way over asking price. Not only is this expensive due to the end price of the home - you may be covering appraisal gaps, a down payment, and additional move-in costs along the way. In other words, your “savings” pile can get small really quick in this market.

One thing to be aware of in addition to all the cost craziness is the age of appliances in the home. Water heaters, AC units, plumbing, washer/dryer, refrigerator, etc. - none of them are cheap. Check the year the appliances were replaced and be aware of roughly when you can expect it to go out. This will help you as you budget for what you’re able to take on in a new home purchase.

Awareness of What Creates Competition

Since sellers have much more leverage than buyers in general, it’s important to keep in mind what actually drives competition to a home. Often, if a home has been fully remodeled, repainted, has updated lighting fixtures, and looks “modern” on appearance, you can bet that everyone and their mother is going to be checking it out and likely putting in an offer.

We get the draw! It’s so much easier to envision your “perfect home” when it’s already presented as such. Brand new paint, renovations, fixtures, and other details add the extra “lift” to a home that makes it so appealing to buyers. But be aware of the fact that many of the remodeling tasks necessary to carry a home from outdated to modern and elegant aren’t actually that expensive or time intensive.

Don’t look for homes that are perfect at face value - look for homes with the functionality and layout that you need and worry about the design details later. While a fully remodeled house might attract upwards of 20 offers over a weekend, a similar sized home with outdated paint and old lighting fixtures can detract many buyers. Shooting for those homes with an expectation to do a little painting/fixtures/refinishing TLC can help you find a slightly outdated home at an amazing price with less competition and a low cost to remodel! Always remember, Tony McClung is only a phone call away to help make that outdated home look like your dream home!

How to Get Your Offer Accepted on a Home

The current market has been everything but friendly to buyers. If you’re looking for a home right now, you know that the competition is incredibly high and the availability of homes is drastically lower than what it’s been in the past.

Several home buyers have attested in many markets to offering $20,000 or more over the asking price and still being beat to the punch by other home buyers. So, in a market with this much competition and this low demand, how do you stay in front of the crowd and make your offer stand out?

Here are a few ways to get your offer on a home accepted:

Understand Appraisal Gaps

If you don’t know what appraisal gaps are, let us take a second to describe it because it is SO important when making an offer on a home.

After you make an offer on a house that gets accepted, an “appraiser” decides how much the home is actually “worth.” If you happen to offer over what they think the home is worth, that amount of money in your offer that exceeds the value of the home has to be paid up front. But here’s the problem – it is the seller’s responsibility to pay it if they accept the offer.

Extreme example: A home is listed at $450,000. You offer them $1 million. The appraiser says the value of the home is only $490,000. Even if the seller accepts your offer of $1 million, they only made $40,000 over asking price, because they need to pay $510,000 (the amount that exceeds the value of the home as deemed by the appraiser) out of pocket. So, your $1 million offer isn’t any better than a $490,000 offer.

With that in mind, here’s how to get your offer accepted – make sure you are considering the amount an appraiser may deem the home is worth, and offer an appraisal gap guarantee. This is a way of telling the seller, “I will pay up to $___ of an appraisal gap if necessary.” It basically makes an offer over asking price relatively risk free for them since they know they won’t be stuck covering a huge appraisal gap on their own. Just make sure you have that money available in the bank before guaranteeing it since it needs to be paid up front.

Offer Over Asking Price

Everyone knows this is kind of the norm right now, but it’s true – if you want a home, you may need to offer over the asking price. But the trick in getting an offer accepted is all in the balance between the offer over asking price and the appraisal gap.

Make sure you do a lot of research on homes in the area. The more homes and prices you look at, the more you may be able to somewhat forecast what an appraiser will deem a home is worth, and that information can factor heavily into your decision on how much to offer over vs. cover in an appraisal gap guarantee.

Make it Convenient for the Seller

Here’s the deal – you really don’t have much leverage in a market where 20 buyers are bidding over asking price on a home that a seller put on the market over the weekend. The best thing you can do? Embrace it and do whatever you can to make the transaction as convenient as possible for the seller.

Some sellers want to move fast. If that’s the case, do what you can to line up an inspection immediately so it doesn’t impede on closing timelines. In some instances, if the home is relatively new and you feel confident an inspection isn’t going to change your ultimate decision, you may consider it worth it to wave the inspection entirely (this is entirely up to you, but it’s often the one little extra thing a homeowner wants to see to accept your offer.)

If the seller wants to move slow, meet them where they’re at. If it means you’ll have to pay an extra month of rent before you move in, so be it. It’s not an ideal market for buyers, and so the gist of it is this – make it as convenient as possible for the seller and meet them where they’re at in the process.

However, if you decide to forgo selling your home and would rather renovate your home, give Tony McClung a call! He will use his expertise to make your home feel brand new, without even changing locations!

Tips for Preventing Water Damage to Your Home

Chances are high that you know several people who have told you they’ve encountered water damage in the recent winter storm. Even in Dallas Texas, it’s a very common phenomenon and unfortunately, it’s often an expensive one to fix. The truth is, most people don’t start thinking about preventative measures against home water damage until it already happens! So, if you’re hoping to prevent extensive water damage from hitting your luxury home this season, here are some things to keep in mind!

Inspect Key Appliances Regularly

Water flows out from a burst water pipe in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 18.

Photographer: Thomas Ryan Allison/Bloomberg

We know it’s not a fun item to add to your “to-do” list, but it’s important that you check key appliances 1-2x per year. These would be things such as the refrigerator, water heater, and AC unit. Once to twice a year, pull the refrigerator away from the wall and check the water line hose. Is it securely connected? Is there any sign of leakage, or is it wearing down? Check your water heater for rusting, leaking, or pooling of water beneath the unit.

Issues due to broken pipes from refrigerators or water heaters rarely happen overnight, and they can almost always be prevented by carefully watching your units for any signs of breakage or wear and tear.

Shut Off Water When Away

Most peoples’ stories of water damage always seem to start with, “when we left for our vacation to...”

Leaving the house for several days (or weeks) is the best time for catastrophic water damage to hit. If a sink is left on, a water pipe bursts, a valve comes loose – there’s nothing you can do to stop it and it will continue to leak until you catch it.

One of the simplest and most effective ways of preventing water damage is to simply shut your water off if you are leaving for extended periods of time. If you have a vacation coming up, take a few seconds to shut off your water and save yourself the headache and extra costs of repair!

Install Leak Detectors

Yes – leak detectors are a thing! They’ve gotten quite advanced and simultaneously easy to use as they integrate with Wi-Fi and cellular devices for quick reports.

There are different types of leak detectors depending on what you are attempting to monitor, so you’ll want to do your own research to find what’s right for your home, but they can be an incredible help to preventing water damage as they allow you to catch signs of a leak in early stages.

When you’re shopping for a leak detector, make sure to consider factors such as temperature monitoring, power supply/source, integrations with mobile apps or other Wi-Fi devices, built-in sirens, and onboard sensors!

3 Things to Do When Selling Your Home

Selling a home is a major project! If you’ve ever done it before you’re well aware of how much work goes into preparing the house for listing. It’s exciting, but it’s also stressful. And the matter of the fact is – if you’re planning on selling your home, you want to get as much for it as possible.

Luckily, at the current moment it is a seller’s market which makes moving significantly easier if you are selling your home! But that doesn’t change the fact that everything you can do to appraise the value of your house is worthwhile. So, if that’s where you’re at, here are 3 things you can be doing when selling your home to ensure for the best outcome!

Fix Everything That’s Broken

Anything that’s broken or needs replacing is a major turn-off to buyers. Even if you can sell your house easily, you will almost always be making less on the sale if your home needs significant repairs.

It’s amazing how things as simple as broken water heaters, plumbing issues, and electrical wiring problems can drop the price of a home. Something that may cost you $2,500 to repair may drop the value of your home to a buyer by $5,000-$10,000.

If something is broken, get it fixed before you list your home!

Upgrades & Renovations

This is similar to the last point but not entirely. There are definitely plenty of remodels you would essentially be “throwing money away” with. Dumping a bunch of money into a very specific style of remodel, quirky addition, or renovation that isn’t universally functional for everyone who may be checking out your home is almost always not worth it. However, making necessary updates to bring a facelift to your home usually will appraise the value of your home beyond what you’ll put into the renovation!

Declutter, Declutter, Declutter

Did we say it enough times? It’s true – if you want to sell your home, make it presentable. Obviously while considering what you need to be living there, try to make it as “move-in ready” as possible. What’s on your nightstand? Do you have old mail sitting out? Any additional stuff laying out that isn’t necessary for presenting your home’s potential to buyers isn’t worth it and only detracts from the view.

Buyer’s don’t want to see a home that looks lived in – they want to see a space that they can mentally model their living situation around, and clutter in every corner leads them further away from that ideal. Declutter your home to make it more presentable for potential buyers!