- We will schedule a meeting to discuss your needs—in person or by phone: Bring any information you may have assembled, including the home questionnaire and any other drawings, sketches, brochures, pictures, magazine articles you may have assembled. We will review all aspects of your new home and establish your budget and refer you to a financing entity if you do not already have one. Cogdill Builders of Florida is a technology oriented company. Using the internet, all of your documents, including drawings, contracts, specification, etc, will be sent to you in PDF or other applicable electronic format for your on-line review and markup thereby creating a high level of interaction with a minimum level of in-convenience.
- After the meeting, preliminary drawings and a letter of intent will then be produced.You will review a preliminary drawing and a general budget with allowance amounts will be produced, and you will then place a $1,500 deposit upon signing the letter of intent. Upon our entering a contract, the deposit is deducted from the cost of your home.For custom homes, I include allowance amounts in your contract for:
- Land clearing and fill dirt
- Landscaping & exterior concrete
- Cabinets and countertops
- flooring and ceramic tile
- Appliances
- Security and technology systems
- Electrical Fixtures
Allowances in the contract allow you to have the maximum freedom of choice while having a direct involvement in knowing and affecting your home’s final cost. Allowances are line item budget costs included in your home’s overall price which you use to select various components of your home. If you spend more than your allowance budget on a given component of your home, you have the choice to:
- change your selection and make a less costly selection
- pay the overage directly to the line item’s vendor at our cost
- increase the allowance amount in the contract and have the extra cost rolled into the loan amount.
- The design phase begins:during this phase, your home design is refined and completed. Progress drawings are submitted to you via the internet for your review and markup. Using SoftPlan architectural CAD software, you can download the SoftPlan reviewer and we can collaborate on you plans together, on-line. Use of the SoftPlan reviewer is quite an exciting process and you will be impressed.Other activities during this phase include meetings scheduled for you to:
- select colors
- Visit the cabinetmaker to select & finalize your cabinet package
- Select appliances in the appliance suppliers’ showroom
- Coordinate finishing touches at the flooring & tile vendors’ showroom.
- Meet with any other vendor or subcontractor requiring coordination.
* In the event you are unable to visit a showroom, you can view sample pictures of products on-line. Color sample fan decks can be mailed to you if needed.
- Final Pricing and Contract Execution:at this phase your drawings are complete, your colors, cabinets, appliances, and flooring are selected, your final pricing is completed, and your financing is in place. We are now ready execute your contract and proceed to permitting your new home.* We can refer you to lenders we have worked with in the past, who specialize in Construction Loans, if needed.
- Building Department & Governmental Agency Permitting: now the permitting package for your new home is submitted to the building department and any other governmental agency required for construction permitting. Unfortunately every city and county is different and has varying permitting response times. Government agency response time for your home’s permit should vary from 3 to 6 weeks.
- Construction:this is the most exciting stage! Here, the actual building of your home takes place and tangible progress appears. Construction has begun. During the construction phase, you are kept informed of progress through digital progress photos and as-needed on-line correspondence.Your active involvement will be needed for the following:
- Pre-foundation or home location: typically you only need to be involved in this phase if such issues exist such as; tree preservation, unusual site conditions, etc. If you are an out-of-town owner, usually these items can be handled without your presence at the jobsite.
- Pre-Drywall inspection : Your presence is needed at the jobsite for this phase. When the framing and MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) rough-in’s are completed, we schedule a jobsite meeting and together we thoroughly inspect the home prior to the drywall being installed. Specific items we will be inspecting include not only general overall conformance to the plans and design, but specifically plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and technology installations to ensure your home is complete to this state, and to allow for easy modifications or last minute changes you may desire before wallboard covers up all the wall cavities.
- Completion Walk-through Inspection : Your presence is mandatory for this phase. At the conclusion of construction and before you move in, we schedule a jobsite meeting and conduct a walk-thru. During this meeting, together we run through a 12 page checklist and inspect your entire home room by room, scope of work by scope of work to insure your home is move-in ready. This inspection usually takes a minimum of 2 hours. At the conclusion of this inspection, we confirm your move-in date, finalize any financial transactions and completion documents, then any punch-list items generated from the walk-thru are coordinated with the subs to be completed prior to your move-in date.
- Closing/Move-In: Your home is complete, all last minute items are complete, the local building department has completed the final inspection and has issued the certificate of occupancy, your homeowners insurance policy is in place, the lender has made his/her final inspection and disbursement. Closing papers are signed, the deed is issued, and you are now ready to move in.
