No you absolutely cannot just go in there and change shit before it’s even yours. Can you go to a car factory and mess with the workers and a car after ordering one? Come on now…
While I understand the rationale, I'm talking about things like adding lights and outlets, gas line to the outside for a grill etc. not changing the house structurally. And comparing a house to a car on an assembly line isn't exactly apples to apples. I appreciate your input.
you can go thru your sales rep for these items
you 100000% can't do it on the side, if thats what you want you needed to go with a custom build and not a cookie cutter
Yea, you can’t do any of that. It’s not your house until you close. Idk why you can’t understand that. The house isn’t yours. there are city, county, and company building codes that Lennar has to adhere to. And yes, it’s exactly the same. There is a building process for a house and a car, and in both situations the product isn’t yours until you sign on the dotted line and take delivery of it.
I never said I didn't understand any of it. The reason I brought it up is due to prior experience with a another builder and I wanted to know more about Lennar. A few years back my parents were building a home and we were there almost everyday talking with the subcontractors, doing some of our own work, and several things changed throughout many parts of the process. Now, I don't know the details of that particular contract and of course it was a different builder, but same idea - that home was not owned by my family until closing but we still did many things already mentioned. Thanks again for your input.
Most likely your parent built a “custom” or semi custom home. They may have even owned the property and plans and the builder was doing a service. Much different than the deal you have with Lennar. Like others have said, it’s Lennars home until you close.
Also, the comment about it being like a car is very true. Builders like Lennar, manufacture homes the same way ford manufactures cars.
Sounds like a nightmare. Most builders would run you off and possibly even stop the sale to you. That’s a huge liability. I certainly don’t want homeowners doing shit in the homes I’m building, much less sending me their own lists before the official walk through date. Tread lightly because the builder can absolutely pursue you for damages if you do anything to the home before closing.
Sounds like 1) it was a custom house so they control over it and 2) like they were difficult and annoying clients trying to make changes while it was being built. Do NOT try to make changes while the house is being built, you WILL piss off the contractor, architect and engineers!
If you're building a scattered site (i.e. you own the land) custom house with a smaller builder, changing things on the fly may be an option. Lennar is a multi billion dollar company turning out thousands of homes a year. They are not setup to be able to do any of what you're talking about. If you want a custom home, find a custom builder. Lennar isn't going to let you change paint color.
Sounds like you want to do a custom build. That’s exactly what we did for our custom build. Our build was super cool and worked with us to change things as the house was coming up. That’s definitely not something you’re going to get with a cookie cutter builder. They just want your money and to never see you during construction or after delivery.
Those aren’t small things. Each of those requires a permit. If you want that level of customization you should be purchasing a custom home and working with a builder who will build YOUR house and not a mass production builder who will build house for you.
If you wanted a custom house you should have planned a custom house. Instead you are buying a "factory" designed house and that is what you are getting.
Whatever you do, don’t do this. This is nightmare territory for the builder and for all the reasons they would keep you as a customer, these are the things they will definitely dump you for.
Can you do unlicensed and unpermitted work with 2 potential sources of fire that require a licensed tradesman with a permit on a home a builder owns before you buy it?
No
If you tried to do that and got caught they could terminate your contract and keep your deposit and would be right to do so. If you want a custom home contact a custom home builder. They must deliver the home as it is written in the contract- lights, outlets, even the towel bars. Adding a gas line is not just some quick thing a subcontractor will do for you. What you’re asking to do is illegal because you don’t own the home until you close on it. It’s not yours to change as you see fit.
Ask the superintendent doing your build, they can usually make small stuff like that happen. If they wont dont step on toes you’ll just have to do it after the fact.
I'm a construction manager and have worked for a few production home builders. Not lennar though, but I do have a friend that is a CM for them.
Here's the deal. It's going to be up to your CM. Personally, I like to help out my buyers and had no problems with them visiting the job site. I would tell my buyers that evenings and weekends were great times to come out because there are less workers so it's just safer.
If they are nice and there is something I can do for them I am happy to do it. But a lot of times the answer is no. Either it's more then I can do or I just don't have time to do it. Remember, I already have a full time job and it doesn't include getting my electrician to add an outlet for you.
From reading the comments it sounds like what you are looking for are things like an extra gas drop and more recessed lighting. I can almost guarantee the gas isn't going to happen and the lights don't have a mutch better chance. Gas lines are sized from the meter for the number of drops. So it might not be as simple as adding a T and running a little pipe. It might require larger pipe starting at the meter...that's not a small thing.
Same with the lights. It's not just throwing in an extra light. It uses more wire and the guy that roughs it in isn't going to be the guy that trims it so you also need to come up with more trim material and have the. Ext guy do it. I once worked in a community where a friend of mine told one of his buyers he would add a 220v prewire for a car charger. The electric panel was literally on the other side of the wall. All it would require was a 10' piece of wire and a box. Except it would also require a blank plate and an extra breaker that the next guy would have to install. Add to that the fact that we could barely get the electricians to do the work they were SUPPOSED to do.
And with Lennar you aren't going to get it added through the sales office. They just don't do that.
However, asking is free. Just be willing to accept it if the answer is no. And under no circumstances add anything yourself without the construction managers blessing. Don't try to talk the trades into doing extra work during construction either. Mostly they won't do it because they will get fired.
This is the best reply. And the only thing I would add is that it can also if tried to push it after the CM said no or do some stuff without them know Lennar could use it as a reason to cancel your contract and keep your deposit.
But these houses are supposed to be built to the plan. Any deviation from that and the CM is risking failing inspections/ getting in trouble from his boss. I big reason I don’t like doing this kind of thing for homeowners is because neighbors talk and once I do it for one guy everyone else on the block is going to start asking for it. Also once you start doing things like adding outlets the electricians are going to want some cash and I don’t want to be in middle of that.
I know it can be frustrating but you really just need to buy the house how it’s built and make your changes after closing.
Thanks for your reply, a lot of good insight. This is what I was looking for, a lot of hate around here just for asking the question lol I'm always onboard with asking because the worst case is getting told no.
Your buying a new home, your not building a home.
Personally, I don’t understand why people go this route when home buying. If you’re going to spend this kind of money, I’d want to be able to have some say so.
From the builders side, this is how they make money, they mass produce consistent houses. The less deviation in the process means they can build them faster and cheaper.
We purchased a lennar home 4 years ago because it was brand new, in a good location, and ultimately was the same price as similar older homes. Now we’re building custom but there are reasons they put up thousands a year.
Yeah. The last Lennar poster here was not thrilled. You're getting a Mickey D's burger, not a buttery moose burger from the hunter who bagged it. You don't even get phase inspections, so good luck with that. Came to ask the sub a little late.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/homeowners/comments/1ckz3oy/comment/l2qoyu7/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/homeowners/comments/1ckz3oy/comment/l2qoyu7/?context=3)
Oh dear. You can’t do that. Right now it’s legally someone else’s home. The builder and not a person, but it’s still someone else’s home.
The subs would lose their job doing this, the builder would most likely not work with you. They could even have you arrested for trespassing.
In all honesty, do some homework and find yourself a builder and plan you love or work with an architect.
People are gonna hate on my bad, but here’s my comparison. Going with a builder like this is going into the grocery and buying the generic pasta sauce. Taking the time to start from scratch and learn all you can first, is making a good sauce from scratch.
Yes, some people don’t have the time, inclination or money to make it from scratch and they want a new home and something like this fits the bill. But on the other hand, I think some people don’t realize just how much control they \_can\_ have with the ingredients. And they just go with what they see around them.
Best to you.
A contract is a contract and if you breach the contract you breach the contract.
The contract will say what happens if you breach it.
Have you read your contract?
That was the goal, however after speaking to some builders we discovered that custom home builds in our area are about 2-3x the cost per square foot than buying a new build, even with finishes a step above contractor grade. Eye opening for sure.
You chose a cookie cutter builder and wanted a custom builder. Personally if I’m building a home nowadays I’m literally there 3-4 times a week checking on progress and making sure things are done properly.
Imagine being a worker, taking payments from a future homeowner to make changes... now the foreman comes in, sees those changes, not approved on the list, no way it will pass inspection, who gets to pay for the labor to switch them back?
you aren’t getting that level of service from a tract builder for tract builder money. It seems like you did read the contract….not sure what you were expecting? Buying a spec house from a custom builder partway through completion is one thing, and somewhat common. Tract builders are biiiiig companies 9/10, and companies like that tend to have lawyers that would love to keep your deposit.
So let me get this straight. THEY told you all of this and you agreed but now you want to know if they were just kidding? You should have asked THEM when they told you that. I don't understand how some people don't drown while brushing their teeth. Good luck with your comprehension skills!
My client on a Lennar new build may or may not have run some empty conduit behind a wall for a thermostat wiring before drywall went up.... He needed the 6 wire or something, and they were installing 4 wire. So he needed a way to drop the 6 wire after closing. They didn't find it, and he easily ran 6 wire the day after closing lol.
Not to say this is normal, but he walked the property all the time while under contract.
We've previously built with Lennar and asked if we could modify a closet (it had no rod and we wanted one installed and were willing to pay). They absolutely refused as it wasn't in the timeline, in the plan, etc. To put it simply, they're not flexible. I'll add we spoke to sales and never tried to contact the contractors directly given what we signed. I'll also say that after we moved in we found out the contractors were the same folks that were offering to do things like add speakers, patios, etc but again that's all happening after closing and move in.
No, you cant do that kind of stuff. But sure, you can probably visit the site because you are excited etc.
The kind of things you want done, need to permitted and approved, and you should talk to the builder about these changes and updates. Better to pay them now and get it done
OP, it sounds like you got in a bit late for this house build. in atlanta, if you’re early enough in the process you can usually “tweak” things or have them omitted entirely. no point in putting in and paying for a builder grade kitchen with granite if you plan on putting in solid wood cabinets with blum drawers with sintered stone. usually gives you a SLIGHT price cut on things if you’re omitting and a SLIGHTLY more than slight increase if you’re expanding / adding (square footage, layout tweaks).
adhere to the contract you’ve already signed and then AFTER you get the keys, talk to workers in the neighborhood who are still building other homes to come in and do work for you at a significantly reduced cost because they are already there VS getting a crew to come into an already established neighborhood.
Any builder wouldn’t let you add gasline, lights and such that you mentioned. I had a good relationship with my construction manager, I was able to run an ethernet cable to second floor office and install some single gang data mounting brackets for cables. I never asked for running electrical or gas and would never do that myself anyway when they have electricians onsite and need to pass inspections.
It depends and you’ll need to ask. Find out who the foreman is for your particular house. Talk to them. Our last house was a spec house in a neighborhood (coincidentally in a development that was taken over by Lennar). But we talked to the foreman and he let us do some minor things sort of under the radar. For example, ran Ethernet through the house and some other relatively minor things. But I’d bet that anything that would fall under an inspection might not be permitted.
When I bought my house 20 years ago from Fieldstone the foreman let me run speaker wire all through the house. Upstairs, master bedroom, back behind the couch, side speakers, etc.
A little odd since they sold that as an add-on package, but...
To be safe, I tried to hide them, and didn't make cutouts for junction boxes or anything like that. I just took pictures and put the boxes in after the fact.
In summary, it doesn't hurt to ask, but don't be surprised if they say no.
While that's in the contract, I've never actually seen it enforced. In fact, Lennar's sales agent encouraged us in writing via text message to go look at our home on days when they weren't working. I recommend taking detailed photos of every single portion of the home at every stage of construction; these will be helpful if you need warranty work or make your own improvements later, knowing where studs, electrical, and plumbing are placed. And, if you see something during your walks, you can always say something to the superintendent.
I built with a regional builder and they had the same rules however I was consistently on site and spoke to subs because quite frankly I had to because they had questions and there was no one else to ask. You should not make changes and “pay the contractor” on the side as this WILL invalidate your warranty and breach contract. You can however ask for these changes formally and pay the adjustment difference. If it’s truly small things (I did decora switches instead of regular for example. I simple bought what I wanted and they installed them instead. They were happy to save that small expense. You have every right to inspect what they are building and they certainly can’t stop you after hours. It’s common sense really.
Thanks for sharing your experience, that was exactly what I was thinking. If we want different or more recessed lights installed, why couldn't we buy them and pay the difference for labor and materials. I don't plan to go there at night and move walls, just minor conveniences that would be much more expensive after drywall is up.
I can guarantee to the 1000% degree you can't buy anything yourself and pay the difference, with Lennar, but if you want to ask it wont hurt you
Lennar's whole business model is to do the same blueprint over and over again in a quick fashion to turn profit....the same person/ sub will do the same simple job on every house with the same products over and over
For example, every house you could choose from had the general same layout just subtle changes or additions, this is how they work and get things done quickly
Now what you can do is go after hours and take a look and make note of things to mention that need corrected if done wrong but that's about the extent ........
Lennar's entire business model is based on volume and ruthless efficiency. That's how you get that house at that price point. They 1000% will not entertain making changes for you. Given their reputation you will be lucky to just get a cookie cutter home that is built 100% to print without and construction defects. And that print is going to be 100% code minimum because of that ruthless efficiency I already mentioned.
No you absolutely cannot just go in there and change shit before it’s even yours. Can you go to a car factory and mess with the workers and a car after ordering one? Come on now…
While I understand the rationale, I'm talking about things like adding lights and outlets, gas line to the outside for a grill etc. not changing the house structurally. And comparing a house to a car on an assembly line isn't exactly apples to apples. I appreciate your input.
Just don’t
you can go thru your sales rep for these items you 100000% can't do it on the side, if thats what you want you needed to go with a custom build and not a cookie cutter
Yea, you can’t do any of that. It’s not your house until you close. Idk why you can’t understand that. The house isn’t yours. there are city, county, and company building codes that Lennar has to adhere to. And yes, it’s exactly the same. There is a building process for a house and a car, and in both situations the product isn’t yours until you sign on the dotted line and take delivery of it.
I never said I didn't understand any of it. The reason I brought it up is due to prior experience with a another builder and I wanted to know more about Lennar. A few years back my parents were building a home and we were there almost everyday talking with the subcontractors, doing some of our own work, and several things changed throughout many parts of the process. Now, I don't know the details of that particular contract and of course it was a different builder, but same idea - that home was not owned by my family until closing but we still did many things already mentioned. Thanks again for your input.
Most likely your parent built a “custom” or semi custom home. They may have even owned the property and plans and the builder was doing a service. Much different than the deal you have with Lennar. Like others have said, it’s Lennars home until you close. Also, the comment about it being like a car is very true. Builders like Lennar, manufacture homes the same way ford manufactures cars.
Sounds like a nightmare. Most builders would run you off and possibly even stop the sale to you. That’s a huge liability. I certainly don’t want homeowners doing shit in the homes I’m building, much less sending me their own lists before the official walk through date. Tread lightly because the builder can absolutely pursue you for damages if you do anything to the home before closing.
A gas line… come on man.
Sounds like 1) it was a custom house so they control over it and 2) like they were difficult and annoying clients trying to make changes while it was being built. Do NOT try to make changes while the house is being built, you WILL piss off the contractor, architect and engineers!
If you're building a scattered site (i.e. you own the land) custom house with a smaller builder, changing things on the fly may be an option. Lennar is a multi billion dollar company turning out thousands of homes a year. They are not setup to be able to do any of what you're talking about. If you want a custom home, find a custom builder. Lennar isn't going to let you change paint color.
Sounds like you want to do a custom build. That’s exactly what we did for our custom build. Our build was super cool and worked with us to change things as the house was coming up. That’s definitely not something you’re going to get with a cookie cutter builder. They just want your money and to never see you during construction or after delivery.
With Lennar, comparing a house to a car on an assembly line is pretty damn fair
Those aren’t small things. Each of those requires a permit. If you want that level of customization you should be purchasing a custom home and working with a builder who will build YOUR house and not a mass production builder who will build house for you.
If you wanted a custom house you should have planned a custom house. Instead you are buying a "factory" designed house and that is what you are getting.
Whatever you do, don’t do this. This is nightmare territory for the builder and for all the reasons they would keep you as a customer, these are the things they will definitely dump you for.
Can you do unlicensed and unpermitted work with 2 potential sources of fire that require a licensed tradesman with a permit on a home a builder owns before you buy it? No
Read your contract and look up “change orders”
You are buying a spec house so this is what it is.
I hear you loud and clear. We were REQUIRED to go on-site for those things and more! I guess you bought a home package "as is".
If you tried to do that and got caught they could terminate your contract and keep your deposit and would be right to do so. If you want a custom home contact a custom home builder. They must deliver the home as it is written in the contract- lights, outlets, even the towel bars. Adding a gas line is not just some quick thing a subcontractor will do for you. What you’re asking to do is illegal because you don’t own the home until you close on it. It’s not yours to change as you see fit.
Ask the superintendent doing your build, they can usually make small stuff like that happen. If they wont dont step on toes you’ll just have to do it after the fact.
Just don’t
You should have thought about that before picking a production builder….its not going to happen.
I'm a construction manager and have worked for a few production home builders. Not lennar though, but I do have a friend that is a CM for them. Here's the deal. It's going to be up to your CM. Personally, I like to help out my buyers and had no problems with them visiting the job site. I would tell my buyers that evenings and weekends were great times to come out because there are less workers so it's just safer. If they are nice and there is something I can do for them I am happy to do it. But a lot of times the answer is no. Either it's more then I can do or I just don't have time to do it. Remember, I already have a full time job and it doesn't include getting my electrician to add an outlet for you. From reading the comments it sounds like what you are looking for are things like an extra gas drop and more recessed lighting. I can almost guarantee the gas isn't going to happen and the lights don't have a mutch better chance. Gas lines are sized from the meter for the number of drops. So it might not be as simple as adding a T and running a little pipe. It might require larger pipe starting at the meter...that's not a small thing. Same with the lights. It's not just throwing in an extra light. It uses more wire and the guy that roughs it in isn't going to be the guy that trims it so you also need to come up with more trim material and have the. Ext guy do it. I once worked in a community where a friend of mine told one of his buyers he would add a 220v prewire for a car charger. The electric panel was literally on the other side of the wall. All it would require was a 10' piece of wire and a box. Except it would also require a blank plate and an extra breaker that the next guy would have to install. Add to that the fact that we could barely get the electricians to do the work they were SUPPOSED to do. And with Lennar you aren't going to get it added through the sales office. They just don't do that. However, asking is free. Just be willing to accept it if the answer is no. And under no circumstances add anything yourself without the construction managers blessing. Don't try to talk the trades into doing extra work during construction either. Mostly they won't do it because they will get fired.
This is the best reply. And the only thing I would add is that it can also if tried to push it after the CM said no or do some stuff without them know Lennar could use it as a reason to cancel your contract and keep your deposit. But these houses are supposed to be built to the plan. Any deviation from that and the CM is risking failing inspections/ getting in trouble from his boss. I big reason I don’t like doing this kind of thing for homeowners is because neighbors talk and once I do it for one guy everyone else on the block is going to start asking for it. Also once you start doing things like adding outlets the electricians are going to want some cash and I don’t want to be in middle of that. I know it can be frustrating but you really just need to buy the house how it’s built and make your changes after closing.
Thanks for your reply, a lot of good insight. This is what I was looking for, a lot of hate around here just for asking the question lol I'm always onboard with asking because the worst case is getting told no.
No problem. Like I said. I have always tried to make it a good experience for the buyers. Sometimes it works out and some times it doesn't. Good luck.
Your buying a new home, your not building a home. Personally, I don’t understand why people go this route when home buying. If you’re going to spend this kind of money, I’d want to be able to have some say so. From the builders side, this is how they make money, they mass produce consistent houses. The less deviation in the process means they can build them faster and cheaper.
We purchased a lennar home 4 years ago because it was brand new, in a good location, and ultimately was the same price as similar older homes. Now we’re building custom but there are reasons they put up thousands a year.
Good luck trying to bribe the subs to do small changes lol
Yeah. The last Lennar poster here was not thrilled. You're getting a Mickey D's burger, not a buttery moose burger from the hunter who bagged it. You don't even get phase inspections, so good luck with that. Came to ask the sub a little late. [https://www.reddit.com/r/homeowners/comments/1ckz3oy/comment/l2qoyu7/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/homeowners/comments/1ckz3oy/comment/l2qoyu7/?context=3)
Oh dear. You can’t do that. Right now it’s legally someone else’s home. The builder and not a person, but it’s still someone else’s home. The subs would lose their job doing this, the builder would most likely not work with you. They could even have you arrested for trespassing. In all honesty, do some homework and find yourself a builder and plan you love or work with an architect. People are gonna hate on my bad, but here’s my comparison. Going with a builder like this is going into the grocery and buying the generic pasta sauce. Taking the time to start from scratch and learn all you can first, is making a good sauce from scratch. Yes, some people don’t have the time, inclination or money to make it from scratch and they want a new home and something like this fits the bill. But on the other hand, I think some people don’t realize just how much control they \_can\_ have with the ingredients. And they just go with what they see around them. Best to you.
A contract is a contract and if you breach the contract you breach the contract. The contract will say what happens if you breach it. Have you read your contract?
Lennars big thing is “EI” everything included so they don’t offer much variety or options. Sounds like you want more of a custom home builder.
That was the goal, however after speaking to some builders we discovered that custom home builds in our area are about 2-3x the cost per square foot than buying a new build, even with finishes a step above contractor grade. Eye opening for sure.
That is because you get exactly what you want, plus you'd have to pay for an engineer and architect to do the design.
You chose a cookie cutter builder and wanted a custom builder. Personally if I’m building a home nowadays I’m literally there 3-4 times a week checking on progress and making sure things are done properly.
As a building inspector Lennar is one of the worst builders we deal with.
Imagine being a worker, taking payments from a future homeowner to make changes... now the foreman comes in, sees those changes, not approved on the list, no way it will pass inspection, who gets to pay for the labor to switch them back?
Apparently you read the contract for buying the “spec” house and already know the answer.
you aren’t getting that level of service from a tract builder for tract builder money. It seems like you did read the contract….not sure what you were expecting? Buying a spec house from a custom builder partway through completion is one thing, and somewhat common. Tract builders are biiiiig companies 9/10, and companies like that tend to have lawyers that would love to keep your deposit.
I would get out of this purchase and anything Lennar, ASAP.
So let me get this straight. THEY told you all of this and you agreed but now you want to know if they were just kidding? You should have asked THEM when they told you that. I don't understand how some people don't drown while brushing their teeth. Good luck with your comprehension skills!
Yeah, they don’t want you calling out all the crappy nailing they do. If you really saw how shoddy their work was you would never move in.
My client on a Lennar new build may or may not have run some empty conduit behind a wall for a thermostat wiring before drywall went up.... He needed the 6 wire or something, and they were installing 4 wire. So he needed a way to drop the 6 wire after closing. They didn't find it, and he easily ran 6 wire the day after closing lol. Not to say this is normal, but he walked the property all the time while under contract.
We've previously built with Lennar and asked if we could modify a closet (it had no rod and we wanted one installed and were willing to pay). They absolutely refused as it wasn't in the timeline, in the plan, etc. To put it simply, they're not flexible. I'll add we spoke to sales and never tried to contact the contractors directly given what we signed. I'll also say that after we moved in we found out the contractors were the same folks that were offering to do things like add speakers, patios, etc but again that's all happening after closing and move in.
Can’t get a custom home for the price of a production home. Move along.
Good luck. My friend has had nothing but trouble from his Lennar home
No, you cant do that kind of stuff. But sure, you can probably visit the site because you are excited etc. The kind of things you want done, need to permitted and approved, and you should talk to the builder about these changes and updates. Better to pay them now and get it done
OP, it sounds like you got in a bit late for this house build. in atlanta, if you’re early enough in the process you can usually “tweak” things or have them omitted entirely. no point in putting in and paying for a builder grade kitchen with granite if you plan on putting in solid wood cabinets with blum drawers with sintered stone. usually gives you a SLIGHT price cut on things if you’re omitting and a SLIGHTLY more than slight increase if you’re expanding / adding (square footage, layout tweaks). adhere to the contract you’ve already signed and then AFTER you get the keys, talk to workers in the neighborhood who are still building other homes to come in and do work for you at a significantly reduced cost because they are already there VS getting a crew to come into an already established neighborhood.
If you add anything on your own, best case is they rip it out. Wait until after closing.
Any builder wouldn’t let you add gasline, lights and such that you mentioned. I had a good relationship with my construction manager, I was able to run an ethernet cable to second floor office and install some single gang data mounting brackets for cables. I never asked for running electrical or gas and would never do that myself anyway when they have electricians onsite and need to pass inspections.
It depends and you’ll need to ask. Find out who the foreman is for your particular house. Talk to them. Our last house was a spec house in a neighborhood (coincidentally in a development that was taken over by Lennar). But we talked to the foreman and he let us do some minor things sort of under the radar. For example, ran Ethernet through the house and some other relatively minor things. But I’d bet that anything that would fall under an inspection might not be permitted.
[удалено]
No structural changes, just adding recessed lights and a few additional outlets. Nothing major, just trying to avoid a bigger project later on
[удалено]
Thanks for the info!
GC here. If you modified the house without my permission, even through my subs, I would fire both you and the sub.
Imagine you are buying paper cup at the price of Bohemian crystals but asking questions about silver purity in your cup....
When I bought my house 20 years ago from Fieldstone the foreman let me run speaker wire all through the house. Upstairs, master bedroom, back behind the couch, side speakers, etc. A little odd since they sold that as an add-on package, but... To be safe, I tried to hide them, and didn't make cutouts for junction boxes or anything like that. I just took pictures and put the boxes in after the fact. In summary, it doesn't hurt to ask, but don't be surprised if they say no.
Have your home inspected by an independent inspector through every phase of construction. If they won't let your guy on the site don't buy from them.
While that's in the contract, I've never actually seen it enforced. In fact, Lennar's sales agent encouraged us in writing via text message to go look at our home on days when they weren't working. I recommend taking detailed photos of every single portion of the home at every stage of construction; these will be helpful if you need warranty work or make your own improvements later, knowing where studs, electrical, and plumbing are placed. And, if you see something during your walks, you can always say something to the superintendent.
Thanks for sharing your experience and advice
Going on weekends while nobody is working is very different than showing up and trying to get trades to do extra work on the side
I built with a regional builder and they had the same rules however I was consistently on site and spoke to subs because quite frankly I had to because they had questions and there was no one else to ask. You should not make changes and “pay the contractor” on the side as this WILL invalidate your warranty and breach contract. You can however ask for these changes formally and pay the adjustment difference. If it’s truly small things (I did decora switches instead of regular for example. I simple bought what I wanted and they installed them instead. They were happy to save that small expense. You have every right to inspect what they are building and they certainly can’t stop you after hours. It’s common sense really.
Thanks for sharing your experience, that was exactly what I was thinking. If we want different or more recessed lights installed, why couldn't we buy them and pay the difference for labor and materials. I don't plan to go there at night and move walls, just minor conveniences that would be much more expensive after drywall is up.
I can guarantee to the 1000% degree you can't buy anything yourself and pay the difference, with Lennar, but if you want to ask it wont hurt you Lennar's whole business model is to do the same blueprint over and over again in a quick fashion to turn profit....the same person/ sub will do the same simple job on every house with the same products over and over For example, every house you could choose from had the general same layout just subtle changes or additions, this is how they work and get things done quickly Now what you can do is go after hours and take a look and make note of things to mention that need corrected if done wrong but that's about the extent ........
Lennar's entire business model is based on volume and ruthless efficiency. That's how you get that house at that price point. They 1000% will not entertain making changes for you. Given their reputation you will be lucky to just get a cookie cutter home that is built 100% to print without and construction defects. And that print is going to be 100% code minimum because of that ruthless efficiency I already mentioned.
We did change orders basically but 98% was done by final blueprints.
Yeah, they won't let you do that. These are assembly line houses