Many people dream of building their own home and for a majority of them, it remains a dream. But, your dream does not have to stay unfulfilled. With some thorough research and planning, you can build your custom home within your budget. The joy of living in a home that you built to suit your tastes and for your comfort can indeed be yours.
Here are 7 tips to help you convert this lovely dream into reality:
1. Formulate a detailed budget.
Before the actual plans of the house are made, there are several expenses to be met. These are professional services, permits, utilities, and land. The smart thing to do is to develop a comprehensive budget in the very beginning and ensure that it accounts for every possible expenditure. If you have an estimate of the cost per square foot of space, you will arrive at a ballpark figure of the amount of money you’re going to have to spend. To determine how much it will actually cost to build a house in a specific location, you will need to conduct some research about the area and its associated prices.
2. Create a list of must-haves.
People who are actually going to live in the house must draw up a list of what amenities they are expecting to have. Different people have different tastes, even within a family, so it is important that everyone’s opinion is taken and a consensus is reached.
Two lists should be made:
- First list – items that should necessarily be present in the house
- Second list – items that are optional and can be left out
3. Choose a reputable custom home builder.
Do some research and select a builder of repute who has relevant experience building custom homes for people like you. Check to see if the builder is open to accommodating your suggestions on the design of the house.
You should utilize the knowledge and experience of your selected builder and ask him or her the following questions:
- Make a list of questions that you will ask to help you make decisions that will reduce your costs.
- Find out who were the previous clients of your selected builder. Speak to them to figure out if the builder is right for you.
4. Try to predict the costs associated with materials.
When building a custom house, timing is crucial. If the start of the project is delayed, it ends up in added costs. Keep the following points in mind:
- Check to see if your area is prone to natural calamities. If the place where you’re building your house has a tendency to suffer from earthquakes, wildfires, high tides, or tornadoes, the cost of materials will increase or the time taken to build the house may increase.
- Speak to your builder about finding suppliers of materials who can offer a good discount or cheaper rates on bulk orders of materials.
5. If you have experience, take over responsibility for the design of the house.
Take personal interest in building your custom house, behave like a general contractor. This is sure to save you a great deal of money. If you have plenty of time at your disposal, stay on the site of the house and keep the control of the work in your hands.
If you happen to have some professional experience with interior decoration, take over the role and do up your house yourself.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that you must be open to suggestions provided by a professional because they can help you avoid many expensive mistakes.
6. Look for discounts, sales, and bargains.
If you do not think of ways and means to save money as the building of your house continues, you may end up becoming broke. Furnishing, decorating, and building takes a lot out of your pocket. You can employ one or all of the following steps to save some precious money:
- Look for the correct furnishings and fixtures. Do not be in a hurry.
- Check online retail stores for bargains on accessories and products.
- For items that are especially expensive, hunt down wholesale contractors and see if you can strike up a bargain.
You can also derive pleasure from travelling while you hunt for the perfect items, meet new people, and enjoy building your cherished home bit by bit.
7. Do not make changes at the last minute.
No, last minute changes are definitely not a good idea. No matter how small or insignificant you think the change is, it is wiser to stick to your original plan. Unless absolutely necessary, allow your builder to follow the plan that was first drawn up. This is because even modest changes translate into significant amounts of rework for the builder and his or her subcontractors. This, in turn, will lead to loss of work days on the building. No surprises for guessing that all this will end up costing you much more than you budgeted for in the beginning.
This is precisely why a good and experience builder will put a number of questions to you while in the initial stages of building the house to determine exactly what you want. This will reduce the number of changes required later on, thus saving on effort, time, and money.
Before you decide on getting a custom house built, you must perform detailed research on the housing market in your locality. Sometimes, building a custom house is far cheaper than buying one listed on the market for sale. A lot of expenses add up, including the cost of materials, utilities, permission, and labor fees. It is good to arrive at an informed decision after checking both sides of the coin.
Author Bio:
Bernard Naylor is a Passionate Blogger and Writer. He likes blogging about Home & Garden, Health & Fitness, Online strategies that are related to SEO, Content, PPC & Lead generation.