Buying a Gerstad home is very different from buying a home on the market. It takes a little more time and energy than the traditional home-buying process but in the end, you will have the home of your dreams. Historically, the housing market has never been lower, which means now is the time to buy! Learn more about our process in this homebuyers guide!

Gerstad Builders Foundation

Before we dive into the heart of this blog, we wanted to take a moment to share a little bit about our company. Gerstad Builders was founded in 1985 and has been steadily growing ever since. Much like our homes, Gerstad Builders was built with quality, value, integrity, and experience in mind. These characteristics are at the heart of everything we do, including this blog post. We want to provide you with a homebuyers guide so that you can get the most value out of your experience with us.

Initial Office Visit

When you come into the Gerstad Builders offices, you will be greeted by the friendly faces of our team. This is a no-pressure environment where you can come in, take a look around, and explore all that we have to offer. If you would like to speak with someone in more detail, one of our sales agents will be happy to sit down with you. They will start your office visit by answering any questions you may have. You can use this time to ask questions about the neighborhood, nearby amenities, and the customization options available to you.

Next, you will talk about the requirements you have for your future home. You should cover topics like size, style and price during this time. Don’t hold anything back in this conversation. Explore all of your options and stand firm in the aspects that are most important to you. After this, your sales person will pull some brochures for you. These pamphlets will feature the homes that most closely match your wants and needs. Next up, taking a tour.

Tour

Like most home builders, Gerstad Builders offers 360 tours of our homes which allows the customer to see every model we build. Our 2 model homes are located in our Liberty Trails community. We will also debuted the Truman model in our Dawson Creek community. Watching a 360 tour can be a fun experience since you can watch the tour from the comfort of your own home. You can find our 360 tours on our website under the “Available Plans” for each community. These tours are available for most of our floor plans.

Design Studio

Once you have finished your tours, your sales person will take you on a tour of the Design Studio. This is where you will be able to choose every element of your home. We have options for everything from floors to cabinets in our studio. Your sales person will only take you on a brief tour of this space on your initial visit. You will spend more time here during the building process.

Pricing Options

After you have gone through the Design Studio, you will return to the sales office. Now, you and your salesperson will discuss pricing options. Because Gerstad Builder designs completely customized homes, the price tag may be a little higher. However, many people are surprised by what they can actually afford! Try to keep that in mind going into this conversation. Additionally, your salesperson can supply you with a list of mortgage options if you request it.

Construction Meeting

Once you decide to move forward with a Gerstad home, you will have a construction meeting with your salesperson and several other team members. At this stage in the process, you will go over the plans for your home. You will ensure that every detail of your home is exactly how you want it to be. Our goal is to make sure that our vision matches yours, so be honest about what you want! Remember, this is YOUR dream home.

Planning & Prep

After the construction meeting, we will conduct an energy audit of your home. During this process, we will take detailed notes of everything from your home’s walls to the windows. This will also give you a good idea of what your heating and electric bills will look like every month. We will also send your home’s blueprint to the corresponding municipality for permit approvals. It usually takes 2-4 weeks to receive permit approval.

Construction Process

After we have received your permits, we will give your purchase order forms to the Construction Manager. The Construction Manager is the conductor of the symphony of trade partners and suppliers, finely managing the harmony of speed and quality! The construction process typically takes about 14 weeks from start to finish, which leaves very few days for down time.

Closing Walk-Thru

Once your home is finished, you will come and do a final walk-thru. The primary purpose for this session is to teach you how to use your home. You will be taken on a detailed tour of your house and have the chance to ask some questions!

Final Steps

After 60 days and 11 months, we will follow up with you to check in and see how your new home is performing. You can certainly contact us prior to these appointments.

We hope that this guide will help you feel more comfortable and familiar with the Gerstad home-buying process. If you have any questions about our process or would like to schedule an appointment with one of our team members, give us a call at 815-385-4495 or fill out our contact form. In the meantime, check us out on Facebook and Instagram!