Building your own home is exciting, but it can also be somewhat intimidating. It’s one thing to buy a lot with the intention of building a house and another matter entirely to begin to build on your lot. For many people, building a house allows them options that they normally wouldn’t be able to choose for their houses. But at the same time, it also often involves working off of a basic model, and there are general parameters that should be followed. Additionally, homeowners need to think about the long term investment that their new home represents.
New houses are great options for those who want to create the house that they really want and a house that will potentially net them a profit in the future. But before you build on your lot, there are some important factors for you to consider.
1. Building Takes Time
This may seem obvious, but many people building homes in new subdivisions quickly become alarmed by how long their builds take. It’s easy to have a schedule laid out, but you should be prepared for your build time to stretch past that schedule and plan accordingly. After all, you will need to have somewhere to live until your new home is fully built.
No matter how well your build is planned, there are a variety of different issues that can crop up throughout the process. Bad weather, unexpected construction problems, and contractor scheduling mishaps can all cause your build to run off schedule. The important thing is that you plan accordingly, both in terms of practicalities like where you’ll reside and in terms of your budget. The longer a build lasts, the more it will cost; this is something that you need to discuss with your contractors and real estate company ahead of time.
2. Talk to Local Realtors
Before making a decision about exactly what model you want for your home’s design, as well as what features you may want to add to the design, talk to local real estate agents. This will give you an idea of what you’ll need in your area, as well as what appeals to people locally. While you may not plan on selling your home in the near future, all new construction homes should be built with the intention of maximizing their profit potential in the future.
With 78% of recent buyers reporting that they gained a lot of useful information from their realtors, you can generally trust that the information that you’ll receive from a real estate agent can be valued. Realtors make their money by understanding what buyers in their area want, so keep their advice in mind when having your home designed and built. Ultimately, you should prioritize your wants and need when building a home. But it’s a good idea to keep these matters in mind.
3. Research Contractors Carefully
It’s one thing to choose a company that will be responsible for designing and building your home. Selecting contractors that you can trust is another issue entirely, and you’ll probably end up working with quite a few contractors as you build on your lot.
A common mistake that new homeowners make is paying a large deposit to contractors before having them visit the property. This can result in the buyers being scammed, never hearing from the contractor again. Be careful when researching different contractors. Ask your builders and local homeowners for recommendations. Word of mouth can mean quite a bit when you’re selecting someone to work on your new home.
4. Invest in Good Fixtures
It’s easy to prioritize certain paints and pieces of furniture when investing in your home. But fixtures are the items that you should pay more attention to. Many pieces of decor will gradually be changed out over time, and you can fairly easily add new coats of paint to a home. Fixtures, however, are more permanent, and you should invest in high quality pieces.
Deciding to build on your lot will open the door for many other decisions down the road. But in the end, building your own home is often well worth the effort, and can offer many rewards.