Building a custom home to live in can be an extraordinarily rewarding experience. There’s nothing quite like looking around your living room only to recognize that you’re responsible for its design and construction, which is why it’s of little surprise that more and more people are turning towards custom homes these days.
Despite the allure associated with constructing your dream house, there are many pitfalls that must be avoided unless you want to end up in a financial pickle.
These common mistakes in particular must be avoided if you want to enjoy your custom home.
Here’s a review of the 6 traps to avoid when building your custom home, and what else you’ll need to know to ensure your dream house properly comes into being.
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Rushing the design process
Far and away the most dangerous trap you can fall into when building a custom home is rushing through the design process. This is because a custom home, as the name implies, is truly custom in that it has a unique layout and design that you’ll be personally deciding upon before you begin building.
Some homeowners love this part of the process, while others are more interested in the actual construction process and “building something with their own hands” than they are with design, which can be a mental and time-consuming process.
It’s imperative not to rush the design of your home, as doing so will lead you to misunderstand your own plans.
Later on, when you need to order a certain amount of materials, you may inadvertently order too many or too few because of your rushed (and thus shoddy) design process that failed to take materials into account.
The planning process is where you’ll figure out such things as the costs of building your own custom house. It can’t be overstated that the financials must be closely attended to; pay little attention to how you intend to finance construction, and you’ll likely be left stranded with only half a home.
Of all the things you need to know before embarking upon this journey, finding a good builder to move through the design process with you is one of the most important.
Picking the wrong man for the job
We just discussed how important it is to find a good builder to work with you throughout this process. This is because most homeowners-in-the-making lack the expertise needed to manage the entirety of this mammoth project.
What’s less well understood is that the quality of your builder is of the utmost importance; hire the wrong person for the job, and the entire project will be over budget and behind schedule.
The National Association of Home Builders has released some helpful guidance to depend upon when reviewing potential builder candidates.
They remind you to start local, for instance, as people in the nearby area can likely make dependable recommendations you can trust.
It also stresses that quality-testing your builder ahead of time is essential; don’t take them at their word, but instead test their expertise and ask them about their work history.
If they have long, successful records and happy clients they can point you towards backing up their statements, they could be the right man for the job.
Every custom home builder is different, so spend plenty of time looking before you decide on who will be the one to bring your vision to reality.
Embracing the future too eagerly
Most people want to live in luxurious, modern homes.
This leads them to embrace the future eagerly during the homebuilding process; they incorporate the latest technological gadgets into the house’s design even if it’s expensive or time-consuming to do so. Often, this is a mistake that will come back to haunt you.
There’s nothing wrong with having a “smart home” that includes built-in tech, but ensure that what you’re investing in has an established track record of success first.
Buy into the latest gizmo too eagerly, and you may delay the construction of your dream home to implement a technological feature only to find that it ultimately under-delivers on its promise.
Add technological amenities, but make sure they’re replaceable. If they become irremovable, central features of your custom house, then the entire structure may become entirely obsolete in just a few years.
Forgetting about family
Even if you don’t have children or a family, you may want them someday. Far too often, couples design a custom home only to discover that they’ve made it too small to house an entire family.
Leave yourself space for future decisions, and avoid building yourself into a corner, or else you may end up spending huge sums of money on a lovely home that you’re forced to leave after your family grows in a few years’ time.
It’s also worth incorporating the feedback of the kids; if they want a playpen in the backyard, for instance, installing one could lead to the upping of your property value in the future.
After all, a different family might pay an arm and a leg for your lovely, child-ready home when you’re looking to retire or move elsewhere.
Leaving the environment behind
We can no longer afford to keep short-changing the environment. All custom houses should strive to operate on green energy and mitigate their environmental footprint.
Reviewing how to go green when building houses is essential in the modern era, but many homeowners continue to ignore this advice. Consider adding a green roof or solar panels to your custom house, and you’ll sleep more soundly at night.
Expecting a quick build
Finally, one of the most common mistakes that homeowners make during a custom build process is expecting it to be finished quickly.
Any builder can tell you that projects go over budget and behind schedule all the time — in others words, you should expect delays and hurdles.
These aren’t meant to thwart your efforts to build a dream house, but will instead force you to adapt in order to complete the project on time and under budget.
When building your custom home, don’t think you can finish the job overnight and still be proud of your work. Take your time, plan prudently, and eventually you and your loved ones will be living in the house of your dreams.
Where you build is just as important as the custom home you build. If you don’t have a specific piece of land in mind, our agents can not only help you find a lot, but help you with the purchase as well. Keep the following in mind during your search.