Experience with custom home builders (Franklin, Forest Hills: neighborhood, buy, construction) - Nashville - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

flatplanecrank · 07-26-2017, 09:42 AM

Hi all,

New member with my very first post, planning on relocating to Nashville in 2018. I was wondering if any forum members have had firsthand experience building a custom home with a builder. I have looked for information regarding various custom builders online, but surprisingly haven't had much luck in finding much in the way of firsthand reviews.

I'm hoping some of the good folks on this forum would be willing to share their experiences.

Thanks!

Chris TX to Franklin · 07-27-2017, 08:58 AM

Hey Flat,

Like you I didn't find much here on customs especially when building on your own land. But I just finished my home in south Williamson county. I attempted to attach a picture so you could see the finished product. It took 13 months to get my septic permit and 11 months to build the house so that's 2 years from when we started the process. Only Williamson has a long delay in getting the septic approval which must be done here before anything else. So do you have land or know where you plan to build? It's important to choose a custom builder that is currently building in your area or else you'll rarely see him unless he's one of those that only builds a few homes per year. But those guys will typically charge a bit more. Most that I interviewed wanted cost plus 12-15% but there were some that would build fixed cost & others that agreed to cost plus fixed fee which is what I did. So give me some info as to your situation and I'll try to help

Chris

flatplanecrank · 07-27-2017, 05:22 PM

Chris,

Thanks so much for your helpful reply. We are looking primarily around the Forest Hills area, which if I understand correctly is Davidson county. We have just started looking at a couple different lots, and have a pretty solid idea of what we want in our house (did some simple sketches ourselves of the layout), but that's all we've right now. Do you have any suggestions for how to go about this process step by step? Would you recommend hiring an architect to draw up plans before getting in touch with builders/ Did you come across any builders working in Forest Hills in your research for a builder? Any other advice you could give would be much appreciated.

Thanks again,
Ernie

Thrifty99 · 07-29-2017, 07:15 AM

Ernie - we did not build the home we are in (bought it 6 years later as the 2nd owner). However, it is a custom home and the builder did an excellent job. The builder did not need to help us at all but when I had a few questions about the house, he was so helpful to us as the 2nd owners.

Here are 2 examples.

1 - the house did not have screens for the windows. I contacted the builder and he sent me the window list for the house by room. I just took that to Home Depot and ordered the screens I needed.

2 - we put in a pool last year. We have a STEP system for waste removal and was not sure where the piping for the septic ran. He checked and had photos of the installation so we could see exactly where the tank and pipes were located.

There are a few homes in our neighborhood built by this company and everyone has been pleased with the quality of his work.

I have always said I would build with him if I ever did a custom house.

I hope it is okay to post the name of the builder. It is Hart Custom Homes located in Franklin.

flatplanecrank · 07-29-2017, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thrifty99

Ernie - we did not build the home we are in (bought it 6 years later as the 2nd owner). However, it is a custom home and the builder did an excellent job. The builder did not need to help us at all but when I had a few questions about the house, he was so helpful to us as the 2nd owners.

Here are 2 examples.

1 - the house did not have screens for the windows. I contacted the builder and he sent me the window list for the house by room. I just took that to Home Depot and ordered the screens I needed.

2 - we put in a pool last year. We have a STEP system for waste removal and was not sure where the piping for the septic ran. He checked and had photos of the installation so we could see exactly where the tank and pipes were located.

There are a few homes in our neighborhood built by this company and everyone has been pleased with the quality of his work.

I have always said I would build with him if I ever did a custom house.

I hope it is okay to post the name of the builder. It is Hart Custom Homes located in Franklin.

Thrifty99: thank you so much for your reply! This was exactly the sort of firsthand experience I was looking for. I will check give Hart a call and ask if they are building in Forest Hills.

Chris TX to Franklin · 08-18-2017, 08:41 AM

Ernie,

Sorry for the delayed response. I didn't interview an Nashville builders so can't help you there. But I did hire our architect & designer before hiring the builder. I'm sure they would both work in your area and I'm very happy with both of them. The architect will also sit with you to interview your top few builder choices. The designer has a lot of construction experience so that was very helpful as we went through the construction process, even though her focus is kitchen/bath design and helping with all your material selections. I was on site most days and found that to be important since my builder wasn't there daily. So you need to ask your builder how often will he and/or his project mgr be on site. I didn't ask that question and ended up with the builder coming by about once a month. The PM was there most days for about 30 min to answer questions and do inspections. That ended up being ok since I was able to basically live on site but I would think most are unable to do that. If you are unable to be on site most days then I'd recommend hiring a builder that will have a PM visit morning & afternoon and the builder himself visit bi-weekly during busy periods. If there is no PM then the builder will need to be there twice daily during active periods.

hotrodguy60 · 08-19-2017, 08:28 PM

Hi all, this thread caught my eye as we just purchased a beautiful piece of property in Franklin and are getting ready to build as well so are looking for good custom builder. I would be interested if everyone was happy with the quality of work you received? Is close to a year the normal amount of time it takes to build in Williamson? If anyone can offer the names of some good builders that you used as well as pictures of the finished product it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

flatplanecrank · 08-20-2017, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris TX to Franklin

Ernie,

Sorry for the delayed response. I didn't interview an Nashville builders so can't help you there. But I did hire our architect & designer before hiring the builder. I'm sure they would both work in your area and I'm very happy with both of them. The architect will also sit with you to interview your top few builder choices. The designer has a lot of construction experience so that was very helpful as we went through the construction process, even though her focus is kitchen/bath design and helping with all your material selections. I was on site most days and found that to be important since my builder wasn't there daily. So you need to ask your builder how often will he and/or his project mgr be on site. I didn't ask that question and ended up with the builder coming by about once a month. The PM was there most days for about 30 min to answer questions and do inspections. That ended up being ok since I was able to basically live on site but I would think most are unable to do that. If you are unable to be on site most days then I'd recommend hiring a builder that will have a PM visit morning & afternoon and the builder himself visit bi-weekly during busy periods. If there is no PM then the builder will need to be there twice daily during active periods.

Chris,

No worries, this is fantastic advice. I had not thought about having how often the project manager shoudl be on site, but given my work schedule having an involved PM will be essential. Would you be willing to post the name of your architect and designer that you were very happy with?

Thanks!

Chris TX to Franklin · 09-03-2017, 01:28 PM

Ernie,

Thw acrchitect is Brad Shapiro & designer Eva Keegan.

Hot rod,

I attempted to attach a picture. The house is beautiful and very happy with the finished product, although it isn't quite finished. It's an ongoing process pushing the builder to get the last few things done. Did you buy acreage or in a subdivision? It will definitely take longer if you bought acreage in the country like I did. The longest part is getting your septic approval & permit. I was told 6-7 months but it ended up taking 13 so I'm glad I started that on my own before choosing a builder. If you're in a subdivision then you won't have to mess with that so let me know before I explain the whole process.

hotrodguy60 · 09-05-2017, 10:58 AM

Chris, Thanks for the info and reply. We are not in a subdivision, bought 80 acres out on Wilson Pike in Franklin. There is a house on it that needs renovating, but we want to start from scratch and build something newer and larger. Interesting info re the septic and your experience with the long wait, all the builders we've been interviewing have been telling us that if the builder applies it does go faster. Guess we'll find out once we choose a builder.

Beautiful home by the way.