Mortgage Motivation
Mortgage & Motivation advice that you can use in your life!
Mortgage Motivation
Decoding the Custom Home Building Process: A Discussion with Manual Builders crew
Ready to decode the enigma of custom home building? Well, you're in good company with Manual Builders. The initial process can be a labyrinth, but with their skilled team, you'll navigate the maze with ease. We start off our discourse by unearthing the true value of a well-prepared budget. Learning how their experts can lead you to lenders, ensure you're financially ready to commence this exciting venture.
Dive right into the nitty-gritty of home building with us. We break down the differences between a fixed contract and a cost plus contract, revealing why this knowledge is paramount for any aspiring homeowner. You'll hear from design coordinators who play a crucial role in helping clients pick out the smallest details of their homes. Let us enlighten you on the merits of a meticulous selection process and how Manual Builders' design center grants a hands-on experience for clients.
As we navigate towards the end, we stress the importance of patience and communication during the home construction process. Meet the team from Manual Builders who share their strategic approach to managing potential issues, emphasizing the importance of documenting any problems and the power of face-to-face meetings. We even delve into the stages of home construction, highlighting everything from custom cabinets to flooring. Lastly, let's hear it from Ryan Prince, the man leading the discussion on refining house prices. Buckle up for an insightful episode that unravels the exciting world of custom home building.
FOR MORE ON MIMI AND GMFS:
https://gmfsmortgage.com/branch/lafayette/
FOR MORE ON MANUEL BUILDERS:
https://www.manuelbuilders.com/
Welcome to this episode of Margage Motivation advice you can use at life. And I have my favorite people with us today manual builders. Thank you, fellas, for coming out. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Happy to be here.
Speaker 1:I know y'all are extremely busy and it's not easy, so we're going to just kind of cut to the chase and go ahead and get started. Taylor, love working with you. Man, I just got to say thank you. You really a pleasure to work with leadership-wise and communication-wise. And Taylor, you have just moved around quite a bit. Give us exactly your position.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I'm the custom sales director at Manual Builders, so I handle everything on the custom side as far as planning the houses, pricing them out. I have consultants on our team from Lake Charles, baton Rouge, lafayette, morgan City and we kind of help clients plan everything on the front end.
Speaker 1:And if you're new to construction and you do not understand what custom mean. What this means is you own your land or you want to purchase land where you're going to build a home at, and that's where Taylor manages the team that can walk you through the process. And the reason we have everyone here today is because we're going to walk through that process. I mean, this is truly a one-stop shop at Manual Builders. If you want to build and get rid of all the headache of running here and running there and dealing with this person and that person, they have it all and we have the leadership team with us here today for that division and we're going to kind of talk to it. So step one is making your initial appointment with Manual and let them know that you want to build a custom home on your lot or you want to purchase a lot, and from there what happens? Taylor.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so that would be day one, right? You decide I have property, I found some property, I want to build my dream home. Right, so you could reach out to us. And we have her position as online sales consultant. Right so you'd call in, you'd talk to her, she would kind of get an idea of what you're thinking and she would schedule you to sit down with one of our building consultants. And then, when you sit down with one of our building consultants, they're going to go through our floor plans, they're going to go through how you live your life. They're going to ask you a lot, a lot, a lot of questions, because we want to understand how the home is going to function for you. We're not just trying to give you a product, we're trying to give something that really works for you long term. So that's really that first step is that you're going to sit down and actually meet with a consultant and work through all those big pieces.
Speaker 1:And during the consulting pieces we play very closely work with you guys at that part to make sure that you're within your budget before you start with all this. So we always ask that you know and it's kind of, what comes first the chicken and the egg. You need to get a little general idea of what you're looking at. But we want to make sure you're pre-qualified for that amount. You're not falling in love with the house. That's just unrealistic. So we really ask that you give us a call and if not, the great team at manual builders will direct you to us and we'll talk about a budget and what you're comfortable with your note and explain the construction loan for you. So once you develop that budget and you've met with the consultants and you made a decision and kind of what route you're going to go to, what's next? I think we we go.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, and I was going to say too, whenever you're talking about coming to you guys for lending and working with us on the pricing, like I used to make the joke all the time that if you could stay married while you built a house, that you would never get divorced. Right, and it's a joke, but it's a legitimate statement. Building a custom house can be very stressful, and that's what I love about our partnership is the goal of us at manual builders, and what you guys have and us working together is to try and make this as seamless and as easy as possible. So that's our entire intention is to make this an easy process for you.
Speaker 1:And be available for you to answer I always tell my clients please don't let anything keep you up at night. If you have any questions, any concerns, give us a call. I'm so grateful and thankful for the staff I have here that you know we always have somebody available. You might know always catch me, but you're always going to catch someone. Either Franny or Stacey or Brandy or Kelsey. Somebody from the team is going to be here for you and we want you to understand where you're going to be at the end before you start. And that's what's important, because it's all about reaching the prize and the ending goal.
Speaker 3:That's actually a testament too for us as far as the product goes, because we not only trust our people and our product so much that we would recommend it. All three of us are in the process. Prince just built a house with us. Ryan Cart and I are both in the process of building right now All three manual builders home. So like we really trust the product with our families not just for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and that says a lot. You know that's wonderful and thank y'all for trusting in us and we really enjoy working with y'all. So once we develop that budget, they've met with the sales team. The sales team is going to help them and then, once they come up with a home, that a basic footprint, we're going to get a little bit more in detail with that house.
Speaker 3:That's right. Yeah, we would price everything out for them with our estimating team, which Ryan leads, and then, throughout the course of, we would sign that first contract and then we're refining prices through selections, through site visit and then plans, which Ryan also leads the design team too.
Speaker 2:So if you want to talk a little bit about estimating and from a designer standpoint, what all that looks like, yeah, so like what Taylor was talking about, after that client signs on a contract, we do a meeting in the field with them, with one of our superintendents, to look at the site and make sure that everything on the site is good, do selections with them during that same time and then, once they have all of that stuff captured that's 95% of everything that's going to go in that home and then we sign the documents to get them to the design team where their plans are drawn, everything in that change order is captured and all the customizations that they've done to that house, which maybe few or maybe many, depending on what you particularly want in your home.
Speaker 1:And that's one point out. I really want to point out that I feel the consumer is not always aware of. Going to you gives you the options when you're in the plan process that if you won't make a closet a little bigger or add an extra room to the other end like you're not the, what the footprints are on the internet and on the website are just the basic footprints you can double that house if they choose right.
Speaker 2:We've had people do it, I have so many personal friends that follow us online and they're personal friends of mine. They know I work for manual builders, but they still ask the questions. Like I love your floor plans, but like I don't really like the way that bedroom fits, or, you know, it's a little too small for me. Can we make it bigger? Like y'all, let us move walls, and it's like I mean, the sky is almost a limit when it comes to our plans. You can change it, manipulate it, make it whatever you want to, and we'll work it out for you and make it happen. As far as the plans go, those are just a starting point, which you see online.
Speaker 1:really, and one thing I love too that I've seen often is you can take one elevation with a different house plan. So just because this particular plan is showing a certain elevation, you can. You can do whatever you want. It's a true custom, and that's what the public needs to understand, and y'all do a great job of that.
Speaker 2:I appreciate it, Thank you. I don't know if Taylor wants to speak to that, but I've heard all of our building consultants say so many times like, don't necessarily focus on the exterior, because we can change that as much as you need. Really focus on the footprint that's closest to what's going to work with your family, and then you know, let's talk about what you like in your exterior elevations and you know what styles you know most, speak to you and everything like that, and then we can make that happen for you.
Speaker 1:So how many changes do you allow during that process?
Speaker 2:As far as like when the client can make changes to the home. We have a couple of predetermined times whenever they sit with the after we do all the selections and everything like that and they kind of have their full bid signed already. We do one significant change order that captures all of their selections, captures all of their site things, but it also allows them to accept or reject options They've already priced with their building consultant. So that's the first one.
Speaker 1:Y'all keep using the word selection a lot, and I wanna make sure everybody understands what that means. Selections is crown, granted. Help me with that too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, not even just that. I mean, we have design coordinators on staff. So when you think about building this custom home, you're gonna go and get this interior designer that's gonna help you make sure everything goes well together and pieces well together. That's literally what these girls do, you know. So you don't need to worry about that. You have somebody kind of helping you, guiding you through the process to where you're not just talking flooring and countertops, you're talking door, hardware and sync, fixtures and mirrors, and there's so many little details, grout colors, that you're not gonna be thinking about, especially if you're self-contracting.
Speaker 1:You don't even know what to think about.
Speaker 3:But they're gonna walk you through every step of that process to picking everything in that house, where you're not just doing it all by yourself.
Speaker 2:And I think the benefit is that you get to do that beforehand and where the experts in that situation knowing what all you have to pick. In that house there's so many people, like you said, that aren't aware of what they have to pick and they maybe get into a construction process with the general contractor, mid-construction, and he says, okay, now you need to go pick all of your faucets and it's short, you got like a week to do it because they just sprung it on you. And so we really do all of that beforehand and majority of the products you're able to see in our design center, so that it really we're trying to remove as much stress as possible from this construction process that we know is very tedious, very complicated. It takes several months to get through that whole planning process and we're just trying to solve as many of those problems for you on the front end so that you don't have to think about it later. You can just watch your house come to life, just enjoy it.
Speaker 1:And talk about removing stress.
Speaker 1:It's important that you understand that the reason you're picking out all your selections and you're doing all of this ahead of time is because, with manual builders, that contract that you're gonna sign is a fixed contract.
Speaker 1:And if you're considering building a house, so many clients come to me and they do not understand the difference. So you have what's called a fixed contract and a cost plus contract. Fixed contract says hey, as long as we get started by X amount of day, this is your price to build the house and this is what the cost of your house is gonna be, based on the selections and everything that you have chosen. Okay, now, a cost plus contract means this is what we think the house is gonna cost. This is an estimate you may have an overjourn under, but once we figure it out and the house is built, the builders cost is put on top of that. So that's a huge difference and that makes a difference on how we do our loan also, so you can sleep at night knowing, hey, I made my selections, this is what I chose to do and this is how much my house is gonna cost. And that's a wonderful plus for using the group at Manual Builders, because that's what you get with them as a fixed contract, and that's real important.
Speaker 3:That's the good thing about how we price things too is that that initial contract that you sign, that is your cost. There's no contract or fee, there's no taxes, there's no anything. And I know Ryan mentioned change orders earlier. Sometimes people hear the word change order and they pan it because they think big costs or whatever. When you do those change orders at those points, when we lay it out for you in that pre-production process, there's no change order fee, it's just the cost of whatever options you're choosing to change. So sometimes those change orders end up being a negative If you remove things from the house we're not charging you to make changes while we're still planning.
Speaker 3:As long as we're planning, we're gonna make whatever changes we need to change, because we wanna be on the same page, like Ryan said, that way, when you go into the field, you just enjoy it.
Speaker 1:And that way, when you go to close your loan, you know where you're at.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that too.
Speaker 1:And you know exactly how much money you need. So it does make a difference in the way we do approved loans based on whether it's a cost plus or we do have other conditions when they're cost plus versus fixed. So it is a little easier when you're on a fixed contract and you sleep better at night because you know what that cost is gonna be. So once they made all the changes that they want and they're happy with this house plan, what happens next?
Speaker 2:So once the house plans are complete, we make that permit set, which is the initial draft that you see, with all of your changes on it. It goes back to the building consultant and they sit down and do a plan review with that client and it's their kind of first look at the plans and everything that they've changed, everything that they've put in it. Maybe they changed the elevation around, so they're getting to see it and review that and go step by step through every room, every elevation of the house and make sure things are the way they want it, the way that they like it. And that's the opportunity for the second change order, if you don't like the way some of the things worked out or you wanna move some small things around, like some electrical or something like that or maybe you were on Pinterest in the meantime between when you signed your first change order.
Speaker 1:That never happens, right.
Speaker 2:No, you might have come up with a few new ideas in the meantime and we can accommodate those when you're looking at your plans for the first time, completed as you've customized them.
Speaker 1:So we've made our final decisions, we've made all our changes, we've made all our selections. The next thing comes back to me at that point, right here, is Petitions, all Whoa.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it would go back to you. The goal there would be to close the loan. I think it's also good to note that we're pulling your permits for you in that process.
Speaker 1:So which is huge. A lot of people don't run around the clerk accords, all of us in the carriages and like we have some.
Speaker 3:It is her sole job to make sure that your permits happen.
Speaker 1:This is really a one stop shop, like you go walk in one door, you know, and literally one door, because we meet you there too. So you can you can handle your lending with us while you're there. We'll go meet you at manual and talk about that piece, but they pull those permits, everything, the SIDI valve, they know where the house is going on the property and everything's done. And then you come back to us and we order appraisal, title gather documents, and it's really important that you get those documents to us at that time because we are on a time constraint, because it's a fixed contract. Once you sign that contract, we need to get that loan closed in a certain amount of time to make sure that we guarantee you that price, because, I mean, things are always changing. So it's real important that you get us the documents we need. And often we need to update documents at that time, because when we initially do the pre-approval and give you that budget, from the time that you're finished with your plans, we're usually what? 45, 60 days.
Speaker 3:Yeah, if that.
Speaker 1:If that sometimes it's 30 days, but loan documents are time sensitive and that's important that everyone understands that. Pay stubs only good for 30 days, bait statements only good for 30 days. Credit is good for construction for 12 months, but we do need to update the things and verify employment, and we will verify employment the day you close, before construction starts. So we do have to update things. So please be prepared to often say, hey, we're going to ask you for a whole lot of things. You got to be prepared for it. I may draw blood, but you know we're going to have to get there. So be prepared to show the documents that we need more than once, once in the pre-approval process, to develop the budget. Then, once you're finished, again while we go to closing. So once we go to closing, all right, then the magic starts right.
Speaker 4:Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1:Then the magic comes in.
Speaker 4:So they'll release the job and the production to one of our superintendents and with that time our superintendent will go out to the lot to make sure that everything is prepped and ready to go. They'll order out the framing package, they'll contact the homeowner, they'll start to see Port-a-Potties and dumpster show up on their property and they'll call to start the foundation. So there's a big misconception about the time it takes to put concrete on the ground. It's not a two day process. This is a process that we like to try to make happen within a 21 day time span. That's our goal. I'm just going to walk you through that a little bit. We'll have the guys go out and they'll set the forms and then we'll have some sand delivered. At that time they'll dig your footers and get the grade on your foundation.
Speaker 4:Once that takes place, we'll have plumbers come in and what they need to do is run all the underground trunk lines for all the pipes to be able to drain out of the home.
Speaker 4:And then, when they complete, we'll have an inspection and the municipality comes out and makes sure that the plumbing is correct, the fittings are tight, there's that, everything's been air pressure tested and once that's all been proven, they'll pass that. When that gets passed, we do a termite spray and they come in, they spray it and they treat it. After they finish that, we have the foundation guys come back again and they put in all of them wire, the rebar, the viscoyne, the water barrier, all of that and then we'll have the electrician come in and run any underground electrical that we need. So if you have electricity in your island or you have floor outlets or anything like that, that gets run at that time. Once all of that's taken place, then we have another inspection from the municipality and they're coming out to make sure that there's no vegetation in any of the footers. They're coming to make sure that this foundation that they're going to approve to put down is on a solid ground.
Speaker 1:And not only do they need to, but at that point we also require what's called a slab survey, and a lot of people don't understand why we require that. They're like oh I have 20 acres, why would I need a slab survey? Well, I'll often say I have no idea where you're putting this house on the 20 acres. You could be putting it all the way on the property line on the left, and the purpose of the slab survey and I mean it's more crucial in smaller neighborhoods where the property lines are real close but is to make sure that your house is being built on your property. You know we've even had it happen in the country where the house was encroaching on the neighbor and then you know, we got a title issue. So it's really important that you understand the reasoning for the slab survey is to make sure that your house is being built on your property. You know which is kind of important, right?
Speaker 4:Yes, ma'am, and not only that, that slab survey also checks to make sure that the angles on your home or within 90 degrees of it a 90 degree angle being 89 degrees over one foot is one thing, but being 89 degrees over 20 to 60 foot is an entirely different thing. That can throw your entire house off. So that foreman dem checks. All of that gives us the visibility into what those angles look like and we can correct that prior to putting the concrete in the ground.
Speaker 1:And then once the concrete goes down, then everything moves pretty quickly from that point right.
Speaker 4:Yes, it does you have. We'll get your framing package out there and the framers will come out and start. Now, framing is also a process that encompasses quite a few different trades coming in to be considered a completed process. They'll come in and they'll frame the house and black it in and then they'll leave, will have your plumbers come in and they'll do what's called a top out where they'll run the water lines in the house, set tubs, things of that nature. One of the electrician come and do all their rough ends, get all their wires run, and one of the HVAC come in and do their rough ends. Once that is complete, we have an in-house inspector come in and what they do is a quality control inspection. They go and they check to make sure that that meets not only code standard but manual standards and then they deliver an internal document to the superintendent to make sure anything that wasn't up to par becomes up to par. Once that takes place, then we'll do it. Open wall inspection.
Speaker 1:I want to talk a little bit about the inspections too, because you keep saying inspections, because there's going to be quite a few different types of inspections while your house is under construction. One is going to be for code okay.
Speaker 4:Yep.
Speaker 1:It sounds like you're doing an inspection for warranty.
Speaker 4:Awesome.
Speaker 1:But we're going to do an inspection for completion, okay, and a lot of people get confused, you know, because when it comes time for a draw, normally the first draw is sometimes it's at closing, if you have land that needs to be pay off because you may have a balance on your land. The next draw is normally at the foundation and there's a few things that we require for your loan at the foundation, such as the pre-treat that Ryan has just spoken about. We want to make sure that it's treated. The SLAP survey, builders risk is put in place you know things of that nature and then we're going to release that foundation draw. Then we have the framing draw.
Speaker 1:But before each draw there's going to be an inspection for completion that you, the consumer, is going to approve. And I don't know if you guys are aware, but we have a app called built where allows for you to take a look at your project, see when they request a draw, see the inspections that we do. That allows for you to look at everything that's going on along the way. So we're at framings on roof is on, then we're working on the inside at this point, right.
Speaker 4:Yes, ma'am. So after we get our open wall inspection, we'll go ahead and install the roof. There was new energy codes passed, so now what's going to take place is when we insulate the home, we're going to have another inspection done. We're going to have the in-house guys come back in to make sure that it meets all energy code requirements. Once that takes place, we'll be ready for sheetrock. When sheetrock goes into your home, that's when it begins to look like a home. Walls start closing up.
Speaker 1:And that's when the process gets a little bit more time consuming. You know, I was on the phone with one of the clients yesterday and she was so excited she's like man, they're growing so fast. Everything's happened so quickly. I said, babes, I said you know, once the sheetrock is going to come in, you need to have some patience. Especially with us coming into, hopefully, the winter months a little cooler, we may be getting some rain. It may take a little longer for the mud to dry. So we have to have a little patience and you know patience is not something we have at that point, especially when we're excited about our new home. So be prepared for that to be a little slower process, you know, because they want it right, right.
Speaker 4:Yep, that's important.
Speaker 1:And that's not a job you want to rush.
Speaker 4:No, ma'am.
Speaker 1:And why don't you want to rush that job? Tell them what can happen.
Speaker 4:Well, lots of things can happen. It can crack, it can look bad. At the end of the day it's going to ultimately prolong the job because we're not going to hand over keys with the house. That's not right. So if we don't take our time and do it right when it's time to do that phase, it will slow us down at the end when it's time to close. And I understand that. You know homeowners get antsy, they get excited, they want to see stuff moving fast and sometimes we just we back them up and we talk through it and you know we communicate at minimum once a week with the homeowner with a status update. But we always want to make sure that we're available to them to answer any questions and to slow them down and explain to them what's coming up.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the communication process. When your house is under construction, who would the consumer communicate with? They'll have a foreman on the job. Explain that.
Speaker 4:So when the home goes into production, they're assigned a specific superintendent.
Speaker 4:That superintendent's job is to oversee the build of their home, manage the trades, manage the schedule, communicate effectively with the homeowner and give them a clear outline of what's happened, what's going to happen and how we're going to do it.
Speaker 4:We want to make sure that when a homeowner goes into production, the same care that they got in pre-production they're going to get throughout the entire build. We want to make sure we're able to walk with them and give them the experience that it's like hey, this was fun. You know, we want to be available to answer any questions. We don't want them to walk into their home, see things and then spin out because they don't have contact with anybody. There's multiple points of contact specifically designed to interact with the homeowner. On top of regular homeowner communications, we have scheduled pre-slab walks, framing walks, pre-finished walks where we're intentionally meeting the homeowner on site because, as you know, people are busy. The superintendent may not always be able to cross paths with the homeowners, but we've designed specific face-to-face meetings built into the schedule so that those can happen and so they have the opportunity when they feel more involved.
Speaker 4:Their anxiety level is a lot less when they're able to ask the questions and get the answers and be walked through situations. They're able to be able to breathe when problems occur because, as you know, problems can occur during a build. Anything that's nailed together once can be nailed together twice. We can fix anything. So our goal is to deliver the end product the way we committed to it and if something arises in the middle of it, correct it, walk them through it and continue to move on.
Speaker 1:They're not getting hung up on it, so we communicate with the client also and through the process. And I want to say thank you too, because I feel like I'm at a position and I've been blessed to work with you guys for a while that I'm seeing people build their second and third manual home, which means a lot and it makes it easier on us on the lending side when we know you guys stand behind your product, that you're going to hang with them until they're happy and it's up to code and it's correct. So I always say make a list, Just make a list. You're going to meet with them face to face as things go, make a list and they will address them. And it's important that you make a list because everyone lives a busy life. You know we're working and then it's too late. So make a list as you go so that way when they do meet with the superintendent they can address all of those and have an agenda.
Speaker 1:It's always best when you have an agenda right.
Speaker 4:Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1:So where are we at next?
Speaker 4:So we're at Sheet Rock Now. From the time you get Sheet Rock until the time you get your first paint started, it happens very quickly. We're talking about like within a week Once they finish the Sheet Rock, because Sheet Rock can take anywhere from seven to 11 days, depending on humidity, to dry so they can do it correctly. So once that takes place, we have our cabinets come and be installed. Our cabinets get installed and there are certain conversations we have with homeowners when a cabinet gets installed, because he just talk about the cabinets.
Speaker 4:Let's talk about them right now.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's talk about the cabinets because I love the cabinet shop. You guys have one. You'll have your own cabinet company. We do and cabinets are custom built right.
Speaker 4:Cabinets are custom built to design and space for each home. When they're in their selection phase they can decide what kind of doors they want. They can decide you know the cabinet layout so that when they get to early framing, our cabinet guys go out and actually measure those spaces. They build them custom sized to fit that spot for that particular home, built to the specification that they chose. And then they deliver them on site and they install them.
Speaker 1:So it's very similar to the plans. Where the plans can be adjusted, cabinets can be adjusted to meet your needs also, right?
Speaker 4:Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1:I love that. So it's not just cabinets that'll be in order, that'll be installed. These are custom cabinets, you know, because quality of construction is important that everyone understands. You know, because when we're doing the appraisals, and if it's someone who's never appraised one of your homes, I'm often want to say, hey, did you go inside? Did you talk to the builder? Because you know it's not just your regular cookie cutter home. They have all these custom amenities that go with it in cabinets. Y'all do a great job on beautiful cabinets. So I'm sorry to interrupt you, but after the cabinets are installed I had to talk about them because I love them.
Speaker 4:You're good. You're good and part of what I want to talk about with the cabinets. Throughout the build we'll have conversations with the homeowner to kind of preset some expectations, and with cabinets it's one of them. When cabinets are delivered, they're delivered, and sometimes the doors are offset and that's because the hinges come set a certain way. Those doors get taken on and off multiple times to get painted and prepped, so they don't finish the set of the doors originally until they come back later and they put the door knobs and the door pulls on everything.
Speaker 4:So if homeowner walks in and the superintendent didn't prep them for that, they'll walk in like what's wrong with my cabinets? Why are my doors lining up? You know? So we like to have those types of conversations and so after we have that, we'll have the granite come in and measure the countertops to make sure that they're fit correctly when they are delivered. After that we get the trim guys in. Trim guys come in, they'll put your baseboards, your crown, your doors. They'll build out your closets. They'll put everything in that is considered trim, your windows, stools.
Speaker 1:Now what about the closet? Can we customize the closet?
Speaker 4:You can customize the closet. We allow for hanging rods. We'll have cubbies. You can even, at one point, ask cabinets to go in. If you have a closet big enough, we can put cabinets in your closet. It depends on what you would like and depends on what we can do for you, but that's all of those the sky is the limit it is.
Speaker 4:And all of that is done in the pre-construction phase, while their selections are done. And one of the biggest things that my wife and I enjoyed about the pre-selection phase was, once we were done and we walked away from it, we knew what to expect throughout the build. We knew that this cabinet was going to look like this and this was going to look like that, and it also saved time during the build because you weren't going back and forth so you can customize your closets in whatever way you need to. If it's going to be holding a vacuum cleaner, we can raise the shelf. If it's going to be needing more hanging, we can add another shelf. So whatever fits you is something that we can do.
Speaker 4:Once your trim is done, we bring in first paint. Now that's another one of the conversations that we prep for a homeowner is we're getting one coat of paint and one coat of primer and a caulk on the house to start to seal up some of that wall and some of that wood and get all of that prepped. You will see holidays there might see drips, but that's okay because we paint in multiple phases. So once your paint is complete, patience, again patience.
Speaker 4:Yes, ma'am, patience. So once that takes place, we have our electricians come in and our electricians are going to come in and they're going to start putting up fixtures. They're going to start putting in switches, they're going to put outlets in. They're going to get the house prepped and ready to receive permanent power. So, while we're waiting on permanent power, we'll have granite come in and be installed and they'll come in, put all the granite in the house and they'll cover it so that doesn't get damaged while the rest of the build is going on. In that time frame of getting permanent power, once we go permanent, we'll get the HVAC guys out there and they'll come and start up the unit. Once that unit started up and running, we'll start to see the floor and go in. We'll have the tile backsplash done. We'll have the showers done if they choose to customize their showers We'll get all the flooring done and then, at that point that's really when the house starts to get the fine details start to be put in. Once flooring is complete, what we'll do is we'll come in and we'll have your fixtures for your bathroom delivered, the door knobs delivered, the appliance is delivered and we'll prep to start getting the finishes done in the house. We'll get the trim guys to come in. They'll put on the door knobs. They'll adjust any doors that might be sticking. They'll put on door stops. They'll install your appliances. They'll get all of that squared away. Once they're completed, we'll get the plumbers to come in and they'll put in all your fixtures, put your toilets in. They'll get the dishwasher put in. They'll make sure all the plumbing is tight where it needs to be.
Speaker 4:Once that wraps up, we'll do a sheetrock punch. So throughout the build sometimes the walls will get deemed nicked. We'll bring the sheetrockers back in and fix any divots in the wall, any dings in the wall, any areas of the wall that, if they put something in the wrong spot and needed to move it, made a hole in the wall, they'll fix it. So then at that point we have what's called final paint. So the painters come back in, they put another coat of paint on all of the walls and they make sure that everything is nice.
Speaker 4:Well, our guys go in, they approve it. After that takes place, the cabinet guys are coming back to adjust all those doors. Put on your pools, put on your knobs, get all of that squared away. So at this point we have a house that is basically complete, we have what's called a QC4 inspection, which is one of our in-house inspectors, just like we did. Right after the framing they come back in, they inspect everything. They give us another internal document that says, hey, these items need to be fixed and squared away. We give the trades the list. The trades go back in, get them fixed and then the QC comes back one more time to make sure that all of the items on the floor was complete. So at that time we scheduled what's called a first walk with a homeowner home orientation walk.
Speaker 1:That's when the little blue tape comes out.
Speaker 4:That's when the little blue tape comes out. So at this time this is also when you'll have your final statements come in We'll request final draw. They'll start looking at the allowances and see what we use versus what we didn't use, and that's when they will start sending in the statement of what that final draw needs to look like.
Speaker 1:And this is when you request the certificate of occupancy in the parish also.
Speaker 4:Correct, we get our CO.
Speaker 1:And a lot of people don't understand. Just because you receive the certificate of occupancy from the parish, that's when you can start your modification process with me, which is the final determination. But that does not mean you can move in the home. Okay, as the lender, your loan is closed and it doesn't matter to us when you move in the home. But it's very important that you get with manual and they allow you to move in the home, because if you were to move in that home prematurely, it could affect your warranty. So it's very important that you do not move in the home until you have permission from manual, going through your final walkthrough with them to make sure that your warranty will stand and stay in good place. And before you do that, we need to make sure that your homeowner's insurance is in place. So that's definitely a process from your first walkthrough. How many walkthroughs do they normally have, Ryan, before they?
Speaker 4:is it two, typically, or you go, you have a home orientation walk where you blue tape, and then there's another walk at the end to make sure everything's been clear, blue tape is done, you're happy with the home, and that's when we hand out the keys and once you hand out the keys, then you can move in the home and you do not have to make sure you have homeowners insurance.
Speaker 1:Exactly, you can't move in the home unless your homeowner's is in place, because in the event that something happens the minute you move in the home, manuals insurance is no longer liable. You're liable, so we have to make sure that happens and then you can modify your loan. So it's definitely a process that these guys have down to a science, obviously. I mean, he has walked you through every step of the way, and with me today is Ryan Prince, who's in charge of all the supers, right Is it?
Speaker 4:I'm in charge of the supers in the late Charles market. I have another construction manager scholars in charge of the supers in Lafayette Baton Rouge markets.
Speaker 1:And y'all are really expanding. So I mean it's unbelievable the parameter that you guys are building in now. So if you're looking to build that custom home, please give my friends at manual and thank you for your job that you do and thank you for walking us through the process and hope we can just touch one more consumer. That gives them a little understanding. And of course, there are further steps Once you move in that home. They do have a warranty division and we're going to talk to warranty later on and another episode where you'll get a better understanding of what the warranties cover from beginning to end. But thank you so much for being with us today and thank you for the job you guys do. And, like I said earlier, we've had people build second and third homes with manual and that says a lot. You know when they call and they're like, yeah, I'm building another one, you know we're moving or we're upgrading or whatever. And thank you for your leadership and thank you for your friendship.
Speaker 4:And thank you. We appreciate y'all.
Speaker 1:Have a good one.
Speaker 4:You too.