Partnership with Custom Builder

[Ellen Jester]

I'm a realtor in Houston, TX. I own 2 lots, side by side, in a very desirable area of town.  My husband & I want to contract with a builder to build us a home on one of the lots, and a 2nd home on the lot next door which I could then list upon completion.  I have heard about "investors" partnering w/ builders but I'm not really sure how this works.  Unfortunately, my niche is not new construction.  Is anyone aware of Houston area builders that do this type of thing?  I'd welcome feedback from any of you that may have had experiences with this sort of thing, lessons learned, what to watch out for, etc.   TYIA.

[Greg Dickerson]

Originally posted by @Ellen Jester:

I'm a realtor in Houston, TX. I own 2 lots, side by side, in a very desirable area of town.  My husband & I want to contract with a builder to build us a home on one of the lots, and a 2nd home on the lot next door which I could then list upon completion.  I have heard about "investors" partnering w/ builders but I'm not really sure how this works.  Unfortunately, my niche is not new construction.  Is anyone aware of Houston area builders that do this type of thing?  I'd welcome feedback from any of you that may have had experiences with this sort of thing, lessons learned, what to watch out for, etc.   TYIA.

 There is really no advantage to partnering with a builder for something like this. You want to hire a professional and reputable builder with a long successful track record and pas clients who are raving fans. The key is to find one that builds the type of houses you want to build, get several current and past client references and call them, visit a couple of finished projects as ell job sites in progress as you can tell a lot about a builder by the way they keep a job site. It should neat and organized vs looking like a bomb went off.