Building your own home is an exciting opportunity to use your imagination to create something unique. That’s not to say it doesn’t come without its own set of challenges, but you can meet those challenges head-on by planning ahead. In addition to choosing your plot of land wisely and considering the best location on that land for your home, here are a few more things to consider in preparing for your custom home build.
Search For Good Contractors
The expertise of your contractor will have a direct bearing on the quality of the custom home they build for you. It’s not as difficult to find a good quality contractor as you might think. You can get started by asking friends and co-workers about contractors they have hired in the past. You can also do an online search for contractors in your area. Once you have a list of options, you can narrow them down by reading online customer reviews for each company. You should also interview your remaining choices to find out which one you like the best. You’ll be relying on the contractor to build your home for you, so you should like the lead contractor and feel as though you can trust them with your project.
Don’t Depend on the Schedule
As you work alongside your contractor, one of the things they will do for you is to create a schedule for the completion of the project. Where many people run into trouble is in taking this estimated schedule at face value. You should consider this as a guideline that can be thrown off by the smallest obstacles. Keep in mind that bad weather conditions, unavailability of materials, delayed deliveries, or any number of things can delay work on your home. If you’re staying in temporary housing until the construction is complete, be sure you can extend your stay as needed.
Think About the Future
As you’re planning the design of your home, try to keep in mind that you’ll want to be able to easily adapt it to your future needs. Looking at modern house plans can help you make these plans if you’re not sure how to create a home that will meet unanticipated needs. If you’re younger, you should consider the possibility that you’ll add children to your family. If there’s a potential for growing your family, be sure you have living space that can easily be transformed into adequate sleeping space, play areas, and larger entertaining spaces.
Make Sure You Have Enough Living Space
Even after having made careful plans, many home builders find that their new builds lack enough resources for the whole family. Some common issues that arise include lacking enough closet space, too few bathrooms, or not enough electrical outlets. Take the time to consider how much space each family member will need and what their electricity needs will be. Typically, there should be two full bathrooms for every three members of the household. You should also plan for extra storage for linens and towels, kitchen appliances, toys, and other items. Your family’s needs will grow with time, so you can never have too much storage space.
Spend Your Own Time and Money
You can save on your home construction by planning to do the smaller things yourself. For example, there’s no reason to have your contractor paint the rooms in your home or attach outlet covers. You can buy the paint and fixtures with out-of-pocket money and do the work yourself. This is commonly called sweat equity, and it can save you on your final mortgage amount. You can also haul away any debris that’s generated by the construction of your home. While you shouldn’t try to undertake skilled work yourself, such as electrical or plumbing installation, you should try to do as much of the unskilled work as possible.
When your home is finished, be sure to conduct a final walkthrough with your contractor. This is your last chance to identify issues that need to be addressed before the home is considered move-in ready. While you can still get these issues repaired later, those costs will come out of your own pocket. It’s better to be sure your new home meets your standards ahead of time when the repairs will be covered by your loan.
