New home requires partnership between builder, buyer, with eye toward resale

As Scott and Andrea Stritzke contemplated a move to the Dane County area from their two-dog home in Des Moines, Iowa, the question of whether to build new or buy an existing home was deceptively simple.

The couple had searched the available home inventory, which remains limited as the market continues its slow recovery, and couldnt find what they wanted, making new construction to meet their needs a logical choice.

But the home also couldnt be too close a fit, they were warned, if they hoped to re-sell it easily one day.

Ive seen some homes that are so custom-built that it really has to be sold to someone who is just like (the original owners), and maybe one other person out there, said Michelle Ames, a Keller Williams agent whos helping the Stritzkes with their new home, to be designed and built by Mount Horeb builder Jim Campbell.

Make sure you build a new house for you and what you need, but at the same time, you cant make it so specific that you wont be able to re-sell the house, Ames tells all her buyer clients. Then youve spent a lot of money that youre never going to see again.

Campbell also offered advice as he helped the couple decide how to position the planned four-bedroom, ranch-style home with a finished basement on a 6.5-acre, wooded site between two valleys south of Belleville.

Its just a really pretty area, said Andrea Stritzke, a lawyer whos been living in a rented Madison townhouse since September, when she started working for a local insurance company. We wanted a house that would fit well with the land and accommodate our lifestyle. We have two dogs and no kids.

Campbell said designing a house so it complements the surrounding landscape is his No. 1 duty as a builder, while working with clients who arent open to the push-and-pull of sharing ideas is his biggest deal-breaker.

Its really in the first 30 seconds you know if youre going to get along or not, Campbell said. Our process is just so personal. I tell people its like a marriage: if it doesnt start off good, its never going to get better.

More broadly, Campbell and other industry sources warned potential buyers to be ready to pay more to build a new home, after material costs rose sharply over the past year and building activity increased since 2012.

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New home requires partnership between builder, buyer, with eye toward resale