The Buying and Building Process
At Cambridge Homes, we believe that the quality of the experience we give you during the process of building your new home is as important as the quality of the home itself. Our entire Team is committed to giving you a happy building experience.
Step 1. Planning Your New Home
Visiting our Design Center:
During the Planning Phase, you will visit our Design Center for three specific purposes:
- Customizing Your Floorplan
- Selecting Your Colors & Finishes
- Pre-Construction Meeting.
Customizing Your Floorplan:
Our Vice President of Custom Design Planning, Sharron, will assist you in analyzing the portpolio plan you selected and in determining what kinds of modifications you may wish to make to that plan. After listening to your wishes & requirements, Sharron will make recommendations to help you accomplish both. When together you have determined exactly what alterations to the portfolio plan you wish to make, these alterations will be priced for you. Upon your acceptance and payment for any costs associated with the plan revisions, a custom blueprint will be prepared by our Computer Aided Design (CAD) department that reflects your specific requests.
Selecting Your Colors & Finishes:
Sharron will also assist you in selecting all the colors and finishes for your new home. If, during this process, you request any upgrades or options, Sharron will complete a Price Request for any non-standard items. After our Purchasing Department provides her with pricing for each item, Sharron will forward that information to you. Once you identify and pay for each of the upgrades you select, Sharron will create a Change Order, specifically detailing each non-standard selection you have made. This Change Order becomes part of the Contract between you and Cambridge Homes.
Pre-Construction Meeting with Your Builder & Your Blueprint:
When the planning process is complete, Sharron and Your Builder will meet with you to review in detail every aspect of YOUR new home. Using the customized blueprints, Change Orders, and Color Selection Sheets prepared for your home, Your Builder will walk you through each item so that he understands exactly what you want and how it will be accomplished. After the meeting, Your Builder will become your primary contact for the duration of the building process. Of course, your Sales Counselor and all of us at Cambridge Homes will always be there to assist you in any way we can.
Step 2. During the building Process
Your Builder will be managing the day-to-day work on your new home. If you want to know what will be happening next, or if you want to check on the accuracy of something, you may speak with Your Builder directly at any time. Your Builder will call or email you on a regular basis to keep you apprised of the status of construction on your new home. On at least two occasions during the construction process, Your Builder will invite you to come to the home to review and approve the progress to date. The first of these meetings is called the “Pre-Drywall Walk-Through” Meeting; the second is the Preparation for Closing Walk-Through” Meeting.
Pre-Drywall Walk-Through Meeting
At this meeting, you and Your Builder will walk through the entire home while it is at “frame-stage” with rough electrical, plumbing, and HVAC in place. This is your opportunity to make certain that everything is in its proper place, etc., according to your “red-lined” Blueprint. This meeting also gives Your Builder the opportunity to show you all the special ways that Cambridge Homes’ construction methods contribute to the overall quality and ultimate livability of your new home - especially those items that will no longer be visible after the drywall is installed.
Preparation for Closing Walk-Through Meeting
When Your Builder has completed your new home, he will invite you to walk the home with him to make certain that all is as it should be. If, during this walk, Your Builder sees – or You see – any flaw or incomplete items, Your Builder will write each item on a “punch list”. Your Builder will complete or correct the items on the punch list, and will then re-walk the home with you. It is Cambridge Homes’ policy that Closing of your home will not take place until every item on the punch list is corrected and completed. This ensures that you can move into your new home with confidence.
STEP 3: WHEN YOUR NEW HOME IS COMPLETE
New Home Orientation
Prior to Closing of your home, our Warranty Services Manager, Steve, will conduct a New Home Orientation to review with you the “systems” in your new home. He will show you where the filters for your HVAC system are located and how to change them, where, from the street, the water can be turned on or off, the safety features of your new fireplace, etc., etc.
At around this same time, Your Sales Counselor will sit down with you to review the entire Closing Process. You will receive a complete packet of information describing what will be required of you at the Closing table, what you’ll need to bring with you, how to have the utilities moved into your name, etc.
Warranty Service
The first few months of living in your new home are rather like a “shake down cruise” in a newly built yacht. There may be some small items that need to be addressed. Some of these items are covered by Warranty, while others may fall into the category of normal homeowner maintenance. Other than emergency situations, Warranty Service Requests should be submitted approximately 60 days after and 11 months after closing your home. Our Warranty Services Department will review these items and issue work orders to the subcontractors for all warrantable issues. The subcontractors are responsible for directly scheduling an appointment with you, the Homeowner.
Requests should be mailed or faxed to Cambridge Homes Warranty Service.
Via FAX to:
(972) 478-8282
Via U.S. Mail to:
Cambridge Homes
Warranty Services Department
2828 E. Trinity Mills Road, Suite 300
Carrollton, Texas 75006
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