Get the Answers You Need to Build Your New House

When it comes to working with a home builder, you're bound to have some questions.

We have put together some of our most frequently asked questions to help you make the best decisions about your new house.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our homes are customizable from start to finish, as long as you are building (rather than buying a quick possession home). We work within your budget and timeline to give you a house that fits both your needs and wants. If you have a floor plan in mind or only have a sense of what you want, our team can help. Visit our Custom Homes page for more information about customizing your new house.

Definitely not! We specialize in building custom homes and have many floor plans to help you get some inspiration for your new house. Our team works closely with you to make sure that the house design you get is exactly what you want, whether you already have a floor plan or not. You can see some of our floor plans here, or learn about our build process to see what you can expect when you build with Broder Homes.

Every home builder in Alberta has the same 10-year warranty on their homes, but what makes each different is to what extent that builder is willing to honour the warranty. During the first year of owning your home, you will be getting used to it. This means you’ll find things that might not be working exactly as they should that you wouldn’t see right after you move in (a tap that drips every hour, for example). Home builders are required to address any of these issues in that first year, but that’s where there is some grey area. A home builder may be required to repair a crack in your drywall from the house settling, but that is all they are legally required to do. You get left with a spot on your wall that you then have to paint yourself. Broder Homes is different. We do whatever we can to make sure your house is up to your standards, including painting the repaired drywall.

That all depends on your budget. Whenever we meet with a new client, we get information up-front about budget and expectations for the new home. We are always honest about what will work and what won’t, and we give alternatives that will suit your needs. We have a different approach to building houses, and it includes making choices about exterior and interior finishes before we ever start construction. This allows us to give you a to-the-cent quote on your new home — no hidden fees, no surprise bill at the end. You get to decide what goes into your home right from the start, and the only time you will have additional costs is if you decide to upgrade after we sign the contract. You can learn more about our build process here.

There are two types of contracts with custom building – fixed price and cost plus. With a fixed price contract, you are guaranteed your price. With a cost plus contract, the price fluctuates depending on what you choose. Theoretically, customers like the idea of cost plus because of the flexibility it offers, but what invariably happens is that costs start to run out of control as the project wears on. Customers get quite upset at the price they are paying and nobody ends up happy. We have done two cost plus contracts previously, on customer insistence, and we will never do them again. Our method requires a lot more work up front in making selections, but we give clients a fixed price and that works better for everyone.

You can make as many modification as you like – as long as you are willing to pay for them! Some things like changing wall colours or adding landscaping are very simple and easy. Other things like changing flooring or cabinets are quite labour intensive, and the cost is such that it is often better to build something from scratch and get everything customized.

This is the most difficult question to answer, because you can have a 1000 square foot house that costs $275/SF and a 2000 SF house that costs $180/SF. It all depends on features and customization.
HOWEVER – for those who insist on a number, we will start at $180/SF for above grade square footage, $45/SF for basement finish, and $50/SF for an attached garage. These numbers do not include GST.

That’s a great question. The simple answer is that the cost of construction has inflated at a much higher rate than property appreciation.

The biggest cost that we as builders have no control over is the price of land. Ten years ago you could purchase a beautiful pie lot for $60,000.00. Now you would be lucky to purchase one for $130,000.00. So yes, in the used market you can definitely find cheaper priced housing when comparing sizes. However, you don’t get the warranty, the ability to customize your finish, or the new home quality.

If you are licensed to complete the work that you want to do, then yes, we will make every effort to accommodate you. There will be paperwork that you sign, however, that voids any portion of the warranty on the house for work that you have completed yourself.

No. Our clients are customers who are looking for quality construction and friendly, inclusive, engaging purchase and build experience. While our pricing is very competitive, we have found that clients who are looking to scrape the lowest price from their home are not going to fit well with what we do. We are always happy to review a quote, and look for areas where we can adjust and lower the price. However, we are confident in the product we build and know what we need to charge to provide it.

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