My advice would be to not sign a contract if you don't know what you're doing.

What pp said. You didn't say if this is for a custom home or a production home. In any case, contracts are negotiable and I would recommend you have a lawyer with experience in this type of agreements review it.

I won't go as far as shooter because until we have actually been through a particular situation, none of us EVER really knows what we're doing --- so if we waited until we really know what we were doing before doing anything, we'd NEVER do anything! LOL!

But, this is really important. Have you had a chance to CAREFULLY review the contract you will be signing and have you taken the time to do so? Typically people see the contract for the first time when it is put in front of them and they sign it without reading it under the assumption that it is a standard form that everybody signs so it "must be okay." WRONG!!!!

You are fixing to put yourself on the hook for more money that you have ever spent in your life! Do not sign anything until you have taken it home and read it paragraph by paragraph and THOUGHT carefully about what each and every individual paragraph means including what kinds of situations would cause that particular paragraph to come into play and how that would impact you.

I suspect that once you try to do that, you will decide that maybe you should spend a few hundred bucks to have an attorney review the contract with you. And, if you do, don't just let your attorney tell you it is a "standard agreement" and he sees nothing wrong with it. Make him explain to you what every paragraph and word in it that you don't understand means.

Trust me, this will be the smartest money you could possibly spend. The builder's contract IS NOT designed to protect you. It is designed to protect HIM and it is designed to do so even if he is totally at fault. If you wait until after you've signed the contract and you and your builder are in a dispute to figure out what the document says, you are likely to spend thousands and thousands of dollars getting out of the mess.

Also, how carefully have you checked your builder's references? Have you checked his business out with the BBB? Have you actually called and spoken with every prior client reference he gave you? Have you called and spoken with every subcontractor reference he gave you? Have you called the local building materials suppliers and asked them whether your builder does/does not pay his bills on time? Have you checked your county real property records to see if your builder had liens filed against him (and/or his previous clients) in any of his previous builds? Have you checked the county court records to see if there are any lawsuits pending against him? Or any that have gone to judgment? The more you know about your builder the better! If you're building in a small town, ask EVERYBODY you know if they know anything about your builder.

Do as Bevangel says! Seriously. Print out her posting and make a checkmark by each item listed, *after* you've done the checking required.

Everybody is new [at least once] and no matter how they look on the outside, no two houses are alike. Same goes for contracts... there really is no such thing as a standard contract. Mind you, some banks and some lawyers and lots of builders will say otherwise, but it tain't so... if for no other reason that you aren't standard. And never ever forget it's YOUR money that's on the line. The more you know about what you want before you ever look at a contract, and the more you know about the folks who will be doing the building, the less likely you will have regrets.

Repeating prior advice: do NOT sign anything that you don't completely understand; do NOT let anyone pressure you to sign anything; do NOT sign for anything that you can't afford if you lose your job next week; and DO know what you are buying before you buy it.

Welcome to BAH. We don't mean to rain on your parade, but we can't offer any umbrellas other than experience.

I'm sure you're being hard on yourself by saying you have no idea what you're doing. If you've read this forum for the past 2 months, I'm sure you have learned an incredible amount. Hire an attorney before signing the contract.

Hire a construction attorney who has experience in lititagation--he will know what problems are out there.

Okay to those of you that gave sound, helpful advice Thank You very much. I forgot to mention that we have had someone look over the contract before we signed it and yes I did check every reference and the BBB. Thanks for all the great info BEVANGEL I did not check the building material Suppliers though, that was really great advice. Plus we had my mom (who is an attorney and has gone thru the custom home building process twice) check over everything and got the builder to revise a couple of things. I was just a little nervous and excited when I wrote that post. I have seen or I guess I should say read some horror stories on here!! And Shooter I guess I was under the wrong impression because I assumed this site existed for people to get advice and for those that are doing this the first time and dont know what there doing because they have never experienced this before. But your point was very well taken.

There's actually a post somewhere that I'll try to dig up called 'the commandments of building'. But for some highlights;

If it's not in writing, it doesn't matter. Period. And don't even tell me (particularly in three months), that someone 'assumed' something. It has to be in writing. You want that drywall smooth so you don't see every bump? Put it in writing. You want your roof not to leak? Put it in writing and put in the ASTM specifications for how to install the roofing. You want them to use Chinese nails that will rust out in less than 18 months if exposed to any liquid? Put it in writing.

Assume nothing. Period.

Don't trust the BBB. Never trust a reference. Instead, go down to the county or city hall and look at the permits of the OTHER people who have had work done by the builder and try to interview them. References are handpicked, as they should be. Demand references for 5, 10, and 15 years back.

Anything that you can see is really not worth that much; educate yourself on the structure (e.g., foundation, framing, water intrustion). That's where the major problems lie, even if you don't see them, and really where you want the absolute most quality. A bad kitchen counter might 'look' bad, but it can be repaired for a few grand, no matter who pays for it. A bad foundation can turn a million dollar house into a worthless bundle of sticks overnight.

Education.

Thank you that is the advice I was looking for. I am slowly learning about the custom home building "language". Before we started this I never dreamed of the amount detail involved in this process. I am in a small town in SouthEast Texas and the builder we ended up choosing has done many custom homes in our area. So the references were easy to get and we were able to check out alot of his work beforehand. New and "old" houses. I have taken many things that I have learned on here to my husband who is grateful that it was brought to his attention, as something we needed to be concerned about.

Did you get a lawyer yet to review your contract?

Since your Mom is an attorney and has gone thru the custom home-building process twice, if she isn't already, NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE HER YOUR VERY BEST FRIEND!!!

Seriously, there is nothing better than having someone to turn to who is both knowledgeable and whom you can trust to have your best interests at heart. If she isn't too busy, see if you can't get her to join this forum and help the rest of us out too. LOL!

Oh yeah, having a Mom who is both experienced in home-building and your lawyer is what a lot of us wish we had. Some of the rest of us have been known to wish we had a builder/engineer/designer Marine drill sergeant for our GC.

I am not sure what my advice is, but I would just tell you that there have been many surprises for me along the way. If I knew then what I know now, I would not build again. I think it has a bit to do with your personality, but I have found out my personality isn't really suited for this. All of that being said, I guess my advice would be to NEVER assume anything. Things that you think are obvious, are not necessarily obvious to your builder, architect, kitchen designer, etc. I thought a custom home would turn out exactly the way I wanted it to, but there are restrictions--available materials, costs, floor plan restrictions (vents, plumbing, chases), codes,etc. There are things that i assumed would be one way and the KD or builder or whomever assumed something different. So ask questions about everything and really pay attention to the details. Your vision will probably not be the vision of your builder, etc. Make sure your vision is really clear.

I think I sound like a downer. I don't mean to, but this process has definitely been more full of negatives for me than positives. I have had many nights of tossing in bed stewing over decisions, etc. Just try to do your homework. I will say that my decorator did say something to me in the beginning that helped--she told me, "your house will not be perfect. Give up that idea and just enjoy it." Releasing me from the notion that I could build a "perfect" house, has helped. I have had trouble enjoying the process, but I hope that your personality is better suited than mine and my husband's! I had one friend who had a GREAT experience building.

We are in the tail end of our build. I am with Kelleg, if I had to do it over I probably wouldnt build again. What I have learned is.....

1. To you, this is your dream.It represents everything you worked for over the years. Its exciting. To the builder and his subs its just another house.

2. Everything is more expensive than it starts out. Want an outlet on this wall, want under cabinet lighting, want more than 1 color on the walls ? All gonna cost extra.

3. If you expect something to get done in the house everyday think again. There have been 2 week stretchs where no one has been in the house. Currently I have a house that has been in the paint stage for 2 weeks and I have 3 walls painted. My mistake was paying him half up front. I have been told he has a "girlfriend" (stripper) a few towns over. Didnt see him for the first 3 days after I paid him. Learned my lesson there.

4. Unless you have a talent for picking colors,cabinets,light fixtures,etc the decision making process is baaaarutal. My mind is mush.

I guess the process is what you make of it. I just realized its not for me. I have friends who do it all the time and love it. Good Luck

Sweetwillie--we sound like we were separated at birth! I was also going to mention the decision making--I have hired a decorator, but I can't afford her too much, so I have had to make many decisions on my own and have regretted a few. Oh well! I also thought the fact that I have to pay for extra paint colors was/is annoying!

I also think it is interesting that some people love this! I really thought I would be one of those, but I have learned a lot about myself :)

To OP, I hope you love it--I really do. I wish I was one of those! My hope is that once I am in the house, I look back and say it was all worth it!

I also want to share something a friend who built told me that has turned out to be especially true for me since we had to spend MANY K to dig up the street and fix old sewer pipes (we tore down an old house in an old neighborhood). Anyway, my friend said, "You will want to be picking out drapes and you are worrying about sewer problems." She is so right! I didn't realize all the time and money that go into sewers, drainage, pipes, sump pumps, etc., etc. Not glamorous--but important!!!

1. Have fun! That's my advice. You can drive yourself to drink...oh, wait, I already drink...if you obsess too much over the decision making process. DH and I carved out our respective niches with regard to decisions: he worked out the structural/system elements and I have worked on the design elements.
2. Do your homework!! Obviously you are already doing that since you read this forum! We did LOTS of research, months and years in advance of building. We still got caught with our pants down, so to speak, on some decisions that had to be made in a short period of time. Nonetheless, the experience thus far has been rewarding, and we will have a wonderful house in the final analysis, even if a few things didn't go the way we had planned.
3. Which brings us to my third point: be flexible...within reason. So, the pocket doors that I had my heart set on just didn't work out in the final plan...oh, well. It made the electrical wiring and switch placement more convenient. But the soapstone counter tops that I wanted for the kitchen, when the local retailers were trying to sell me other stones? I insisted, and I got it, and I'm very happy! And when the GC suggested wainscoting on the stairway? Hadn't occurred to us, but we love it!
We've been lucky in having a talented GC to work with, and I suspect that we could have had a very different experience had we not chosen wisely, based on questioning many others who had built homes in our area. Also, we were fortunate in that DH is able to be on-site nearly every day. As others have pointed out, contractors and subs cannot read your mind, and although you may have a very clear image of what you want, the subs will proceed merrily along on the assumption that you want the same as everyone else. If you have specific ideas, spell it out! For example, if you want your bathroom sconces 66 inches from the floor, you MUST tell them before they put the mounting plates up. (I speak from experience, here, obviously).
Good luck!