Considering the purchase of a new home can be an exciting experience. Once you've seen the models and make it clear to the builder's representative that you have interest in a particular floor plan design, he or she will want to take you to where the plan you have in mind is being built or planned in the new home neighborhood.

This is when the serious stuff begins.

Square footage does not always lay out well, translating into practical, usable space on just any home site. if you have a choice in the matter, make sure the floor plan you have selected works well on the sites that are being suggested. A narrow lot is ideal for home designs that rise up instead of spread out. Scenic or sloping lots may require a home with large panoramic windows and spacious outdoor decks.

This brings us to the home’s orientation. What will each room overlook, both now and in the future? How much natural light will each room receive? How will the area’s seasonal temperatures affect the exposure – for instance, if the area is known for reaching 100-plus degree heat for weeks at a time, how brutal is the home’s exposure to the afternoon heat, when it will become its most intense?

Potential new homebuyers may take their curiosity to a more analytical level by requesting a meeting with the building superintendent him or herself – especially if talking with the salesperson is not resulting in as much information about construction layout and quality as they’d like.

Perhaps you’d want to find out about where load-bearing walls are placed so that you know what you’re dealing with when adding on later on. Or maybe you’re curious as to whether a raised foundation leaves any room for under-house storage or how the builder adds water-tight features to its basement designs. As versed as a salesperson may be, a construction expert is more likely to give you the answers you seek on the spot. You can anticipate appointments with the homebuilder’s construction personnel either extremely early in the morning or after 4 pm, however, since their primary job in between those hours is to deal with subcontractors to get the homes built. Most tend not to work on weekends as well, after having been there from 5 or 6 am until 3 or 4 pm the other five days of the week.

When asking serious construction questions of your would-be superintendent, it’s not a bad idea to get the names of the manufacturers of the things that matter to you most – who makes the floor joists and the trusses, where does the lumber come from and how is it cured? Who is the maker and what type of insulation is used and why?

It’s easier than ever to conduct your own research into whatever the builder includes in the homes as well as the upgrades displayed in the models – getting to know the manufacturers of their appliances, thermostats, security and home theater systems, hot water taps, windows, doors and even faucets and cabinetry -- by looking them up and even ordering brochures on them on the Internet. What new home buyers must keep in mind, however, is that the builder buys these products in bulk at much lower prices than what will be represented at the builder’s design center. The design center is a profit conduit for the builder, just as a car dealership’s parts department works at a profit.

If you look very closely, most builders’ brochures have disclaimers in small print that state that the builder retains the right to make changes in floor plan designs, materials and vendors at any time. Many builders inform you of these changes up front anyway -- especially if they affect the house you are purchasing, since they won’t want to address it later on. Builders include this verbiage because they are hedging against disaster in the form of construction delays – that can cost them bundles when they multiply one seemingly small issue by the hundreds of homes they may build. Product manufacturers can go out of business, contracts with vendors can go awry and things may not be delivered or performed on time due to no fault on the builders’ part. For those reasons, they will not hold themselves to situations, products or vendors that mess with their ability to get the homes built on time and according to the standards they set forth. Most builder contracts specify that substitutions made for”included-in-the-price” items displayed in their model homes are to be of comparable quality.

If you have the opportunity to see an example of the home that interests you in raw form (perhaps at frame or drywall stage or further), it’s an excellent time to ask questions.

• What is the lumber thickness and why are 2 x 6 boards used in some places, when 2 x 4 are used in others?

• If each room has an overhead light, are there behind-the-drywall supports for the weight of a ceiling fan if you decide to put one in some day?

• How many electrical outlets are required by code, can you order extras or can you move existing ones to other locations within the room?

• Will the neighborhood receive specialized, structured wiring for high speed Internet and high-tech use within the homes?

• What is the process by which the slab is poured or what is unique about the way the home’s raised foundation is constructed? (There are single and double layer floor construction methods.)

• How is the stucco (or siding) applied?

• What type of wrapping-type product is being used before the bricks, stucco or siding goes on and why is it good?

• How many years will the roofing materials last?

If you’re walking a slab foundation and notice concrete expansion cracks, ask the builder how they are filled or treated and what constitutes a true foundation anomaly. In most states there are “tolerance” measurements, identifying deflection (are there uneven levels on either side of the crack?) as well as the size of the gap (can a nickel fit into the crack?). Ask about the builder’s structural warranty and whether the builder has ongoing or historical structural issues.

Even with production homes, a few homebuilders will do some minor favors for homebuyers if they can get away with them and make the buyers happy. Just remember that no amount of information-gathering and spontaneous discussions with a new neighborhood’s building superintendent will matter unless the specific non-standard items you want are put into writing. Just because you’ve toyed with what the builder CAN do and what you would LIKE to have him do, it’s not a reason to assume that these things will be accomplished, installed or even approved until it’s in black and white and signed off by the powers-that-be as well as yourselves after the contract itself has been executed. They say a verbal discussion is only worth the paper it’s written on – which is none, in this case.

The point here is that you, as the the buyer can feel better about your sizable investment when you do some due diligence. Caveat Emptor (Let the buyer beware) may sound scary, but it's your money, not the builder's, that is buying a new home. So going into any real estate purchase with your eyes wide open is always the wisest course.