Frequently Asked Questions

General

An appraisal is an unbiased opinion of the fair market value of a home. It can assure you and your lender that the price you’ve agreed to pay for a home is fair. Appraisers don’t just look at your property and your home plans when they assign a value to your home. They also look at public records of other homes near yours. Because location is a major factor in determining the value of a property, appraisers will look at what similar homes have recently sold for, and how property values trend. After the appraiser finishes their research, they make a final valuation of the property in a formal report. The appraiser then delivers the report to your mortgage lender.

At Madison, we cover the expense of your first appraisal which is used to secure your financing. A normal appraisal fee these days can range from $500 – $650.

A construction loan is typically a higher-interest loan that provides the initial funding required to build your home. As your home is being built, your builder will draw down on this loan to fund its building costs. You are required to not only secure the construction loan, but also pay the interest each month on the outstanding amount of the loan. Also, with construction times running longer than usual, the costs associated with these loans is increasing.

Unlike other builders, Madison builds your house using our money, saving you the hassle and expense of a construction loan. Read more about it here.

We normally leave that up to our customers! You know what type of land is best for your family.

We have several trusted lending partners that have worked with Madison for many years! Our Building Consultants will be happy to direct you to the lender that is best suited for your situation.

Closing costs are the fees and charges in excess of the purchase price of the property due at the closing of a mortgage loan transaction.

At Madison, we agree to pay up to $5,000 towards your closing costs. This means even more savings for you!

All cash contracts receive 2% off the base price. On higher priced homes, you may be required to close up-front for secure financing, but Madison Homebuilders charges no construction loan interest- we build your home on the strength of our company.

Many customers will start the land search online through MLS websites like Redfin and Zillow. We have found that customers tend to have the best buying experience when working with the seller’s agent direct – but feel free to work with any agent you prefer.

Our build times (from the time the footer is poured until we receive the certificate of occupancy), is running 250 days, much longer than usual given current supply chain issues and labor shortages. With that said, because we are building your home using our funds, we have every interest in completing your home on a timely basis.

Madison Homebuilders is one of the leading scattered site homebuilders in North and South Carolina. To see if we build in you county, check out our map here.

Pricing

Our base pricing pricing is for the home itself, from the foundation through finishes, with all materials and labor included! You can see our list of standard features here.

While the base price of our homes is the same in each county, some counties require additional premium fees that will add to the overall cost of your house. When you download our Free Home Plan Book, you will find a summary of these fees by county.

Most lenders, including our trusted lenders, allow for land/home packages so you don’t have to own your land outright to build your new home on it.

For qualified landowners, there is no down payment required. Most home builders require a hefty deposit when the contract is signed. At Madison, except for the $500 application fee, we don’t ask to be paid until the job is finished.

If you own land, you are all set.  If not, you will need to at least identify the property that you would like to purchase in order to include that in a land/home financing package, typically called a Construction to Permanent Mortgage Loan.  If you own your land, but carry some debt on it, you may be able to arrange a similar type of bundled financing to build your new home and pay off the balance of the land debt.  Your Building Consultant or Lender Representative can provide further details using the terms and conditions of each specific property.

Our social media posts will always have a JOB# in the description. For current estimates, relay the job number to your Building Consultant. They’ll know what to do next! If you don’t have a Building Consultant yet, fill out our Free Home Plan Book at the top of our website. A team member will reach out to you soon.

Every Madison Homebuilders home comes with a 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty. 2-10 HBW is the leading provider of structural home warranties in the US. The warranty covers workmanship defects for 1 year, distribution systems defects for 2 years and structural defects for 10 years. This should give every one of our customers peace of mind!

We offer special benefits for a number of professions we identify as Local Heroes! Those benefits include $500 in free options as well as savings of up to 1% on your loan amount when you work with Hero Friendly Lenders, of which we have many. You can view our qualifying hero occupations here.

Financing

When it comes to financing your build, we do all the heavy-lifting and all these benefits mean more money in your pocket. 1) We pay for the initial appraisal to secure your loan commitment. 2) We build your home using our money instead of requiring you to get a construction loan. 3) Over 95% of our customers build with no down payment. 4) We pay up to $5,000 towards the closing costs on your mortgage loan. See how we save you thousands here.

The question should be, what is the lowest credit score a lender will accept and this question can only be answered by the lender you decide to use. One of the first steps you take will be to establish a budget for your home and to do that, you will need to meet with a lender to learn just how much you have to spend on your new home.

We build your home using our money instead of having to secure a construction loan. See how much you’d save on average here when looking at different home prices built with a construction loan.

Most builders will let you use your land equity to establish a line of credit for the construction loan/down payment. Since we do not require a down payment or construction loan, you can avoid these extra costs and keep your money! You can read more about using land as collateral here.

Customization

We understand that every customer is different with different needs and wants and while we are not a custom homebuilder, we can modify our plans to a certain degree. Our staff of in-house draftsmen are typically able to make the changes you desire, saving you the expense of hiring an architect to draw your plans. We ask that you talk to a Building Consultant about what you are looking for in a home, our professionals are always here to help!

Madison Homebuilders is a Semi-Custom Homebuilder. After you purchase your lot, you’ll choose between a number of different floor plans and elevations we offer. You can then choose to customize your home by choosing from our offering of design options, things like adding a garage, outdoor living spaces, luxury baths, and kitchens. You will also choose finishes inside the house such as cabinets, countertops, flooring, as well as colors and materials for the outside of your home. While the choices are more limited with a semi-custom home, you still can make it your own without the hassle and extra stress. In summary, semi-custom builders offer a more affordable way to build a home that is still unique to you.

No we are not a modular builder. We build on site, commonly known as “stick-built”. We believe this traditional style of building gives you the quality home you deserve.

We currently only build from the plans we offer and allow for modifications and changes to some degree. With demand as high as it is, pricing as volatile as it is, the more familiar we are with a house plan, the better we can help control time and costs. You can view floor plans here.

This question varies from each house plan we offer. It is best to talk to your Building Consultant regarding the needs of your family and features you want in your forever home!

Since we build all over the Carolina’s for active customers, we do not have any homes for you to walk through. We try to capture virtual walkthroughs on our social media and website by pictures and videos.

We can build basements if requested by the homeowners. It really depends on your land. We address your lot in our very first step of home ownership. You can read more about our process here.

Design

There are many areas of opportunity for upgrades in all areas of the home! Below are just a few: Cabinets, Countertops, Flooring, Exterior Siding, Faucets, Lighting, Appliances, Hardware, Interior and Exterior Doors, Tiled Showers, Fireplaces, Garages, Paint Colors, and even the Kitchen Sink.

Yes! Our Building Consultant will guide you as much as you’d like! In each of our sales and design centers, we have samples for see and touch. And, from experience, we can help you narrow down your options to pick out the perfect selections for your home!

Our Building Consultants will show you all the selections we offer, as well as what is standard and what are upgrades. Tight budget? No problem! We know our pricing like the back of our hands and can help you stay within your budget. The base price of your house includes our standard options which we believe are of high quality.

You have access to a friendly, capable, and resourceful pool of home experts throughout your build – be it your Building Consultant, your Construction Superintendent, Construction Assistants, our Admin Team, and our Closing Coordinators. Madison has built a team with decades of experience and they have YOU specifically in mind.  Not every situation is the same, we want to get to know you and help craft the right solution.

Still have questions? Please contact your Building Consultant for more specific answers. If you have already requested our Free Home Plan Book, your assigned Building Consultant will contact you in the near future. If you have not requested the Home Plan Book, please do so and you will get a response from the appropriate Building Consultant in your area. Fill out our Free Home Plan Book HERE!