Best Builders for a SFH in Minnesota

[Benjamin Hauser]

Hello,

After looking at single family houses to buy in Northfield, MN, it turns out with the same money I can build a new house to our desire. The builder helps to secure the land and even take on the construction loan if I make a decent downpayment. For one agreed upon price, the builder will buy the land, prepare the land, build the house, insure the project themselves, and then once finished, turn the house over to me once I've paid off the balance.

The question for anyone out there with some experience doing this in MN, which builders offer the best value and are the most reliable? Anything else I should be aware of if I go down this route?

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be grateful! Thank you!

[Tim Swierczek]

@Benjamin Hauser   At first read I thought you might have a builder in mind.  What your looking for exists but usually builders only finance on land they own, and even then its usually in a full development.  Most builders small builders can not afford to finance the lot purchase and full construction so they require you do it.  There are programs for you to qualify for this but you need better credit and more down.  The construction loans I know of require 10% down on the final price and they would want money in the bank after closing in case of cost overruns or the property not appraising for the build price.

If I were you I would go to open houses of new developments in your area and check out the builders, and their terms.  Ask around in those neighborhoods to see if the people living there were happy with the builder.