As you are choosing a Custom Builder in Orlando FL for your home, one question you are likely to ask is: Do you have a Display Home? What you may not realise is that judging a builder solely by whether they have a Display Home, or how many, will lead you away from a custom solution and into a land of smoke and mirrors that looks like quality for money; but usually isn't.

Small to medium builders rarely have Display Home stock. The builders who have a large selection of these homes will invariably be Volume Builders. Why? It's all about money, and uniqueness of design.

Show Me The Money. The average cost of a Display Custom Home Builder Orlando to a Volume builder is $500,000 at a conservative figure; based on an average block of land at $200,000, a home at $200,000 and furnishings and upgrades at $100,000. Large Volume Builders have between 50 to 70 such homes advertised; sometimes they have whole display villages; that's a cool 35 million dollars. The cost is enormous, and surprise, surprise, this must be reflected in the cost of the house built for you.

Volume Builders need to appear inexpensive in the advertising material or the initial quote, but by the time you put some money down, the picture will change. A good rule of thumb is, if you look at a Volume Builder's advertised price, add 20% minimum to get near the figure you will ultimately have to sign in the building contract. (If you have a sloping or challenging block, the figures will rise proportionately.)

Quality versus Quantity. It is ironic when a client puts high emphasis on display stock because the only builders with a lot of this stock are Volume Builders who build sausage-machine houses. If you look at the truly lovely homes of your town or city, you will see that they were designed and built by bespoke builders, who never have Display Homes.

In reality, Custom Builders are often the more affordable solution, especially for a unique design or an unusual block. Custom Designs are custom, they are one-offs, and yours will be exactly like no other. A good Custom Builder will take you to another home under construction, and assist your imagination to relate it back to your design. You don't need a Display Home to know if a house suits your needs; you need a builder of quality and integrity, and you need a bit of imagination.

Smoke and Mirrors. Display Homes have little to do with the home that you will receive. Logically the best house any builder ever builds will be their display, so what you are looking at is the best you will ever expect. Never better. Your imagination is not being assisted by these homes; it is being taken away from you. You need to stop and ask yourself how this furniture, and these upgraded finishes, relate to your budget. It is rare that people who buy a brand new house can also buy $100,000 worth of brand new furniture also. Some items, such as those porcelain tiles and stunning solid timber floors are designer items; the builder doesn't have them, they can't provide them, they are there to make the Display Home look good.

Building a new home should be one of the most exciting and satisfying events of your life. Yet so often it is the opposite! The first step, which is choosing your builder, is one of the most important in terms of what your experience will be. Make this choice based on quality, integrity, communication, affordability and client feedback; not on whether or not the builder has a range of expensive Display Homes.