Whats the difference between custom and production builders?
A custom builder constructs one-of-a-kind houses, often one at a time, and is willing to build plain or fancy. The custom builder may provide the design, or you may hire an architect or buy an off-the-shelf, pre-drawn design from a home-plan design service. A custom builder’s price covers only construction costs; you buy the lot yourself, wherever you want to build. A production builder (as tract builders prefer to be called) does not offer the anything-you-want smorgasbord and will build only the plans offered by the builder’s firm. Construction materials and finishes will be of the builder’s choosing, but you can pick colors and patterns. A production builder will not build just anywhere, but buys a number of lots in one location and sells house and lot as one package. Another big difference between the two types of builders: Custom builders charge more. On average it’s about twice what production builders charge, and you pay the lot cost on top of this.
