The time has finally come for you to build your own custom home. You’re ready and raring to go, but we recommend taking a quick breather before you start.
After all, you need to be prepared for anything that can go wrong. While mistakes are a natural part of life, there are times when you should step up and prepare for those that could be avoided.
We’ll be covering five mistakes that every new home builder has made. If you know about them, then you should be able to avoid them. Sometimes a mistake when you build a new home can be a disaster in the future, so here’s what you need to keep an eye out for.
Choosing The Wrong Builder
Before you start building, you should find out if the builder you have is the right one for you. While it might be tempting to choose a builder based on price alone, you should also ensure that you check their portfolios to see what they’ve done in the past.
All builders have different styles and preferences, and you should find a builder whose vision matches yours. Take your time and read online reviews, ask for references, and see if you can take a look at any of their past completed projects.
Once you’ve done your research, you’ll find that there’s a builder out there who wants to make your vision of a perfect house a reality. If your builder doesn’t like your project, working together for an extended period can feel more stressful.
Picking The Wrong Location
Everyone wants to try and save money when building a house, but buying a cheap lot is a bad idea. Usually, a cheap lot will mean that there’s something up with that lot. There’s a reason everyone refers to location as being everything in real estate.
You should look and see the lot and research whether this is the right one for you. If your home is an investment in your future, you should see how far it is away from schools. Is it close to town? How is the crime rate?
You should travel down and take a look at what’s close to the lot you’re interested in. Find out if the streets are busy or if there are any nearby train tracks. Noise can be a huge issue if you plan to resell your house in the future.
Most importantly, you should ensure you buy a lot you can build on. You can’t build on a flood plain, so always evaluate whether this lot was a good investment for your future.
Not Thinking About The Long-Term
If you’re building a custom home, you’re probably thinking about living there permanently. After all, homes are not short-term investments. So, you should think about what you want in a permanent home for the future.
When you build a home, you should consider whether you are likely to have kids in the future. When you retire, do you really want so many stairs? You know that this design is in currently, but is it that good of a design you want to commit to?
Should you fail to think about the long-term when working on your custom home, it will mean you have more work to do in the future. You should consider everything you want in your dream home in the future before you focus on what’s new and trendy in the present.
We recommend ignoring what’s currently trendy and using logic when making your home. One item that might be trendy now might not be so durable in a few years. So, think carefully when you make your next decision.
Plan For Any Setbacks
No construction is perfect, and as we said before, mistakes can happen. You need to consider any setbacks that might add more time to your timeline.
It’s always best to discuss with your team what could go wrong. Just because you discuss what goes wrong doesn’t mean it will.
However, you must prepare for anything that can affect the construction process. There’s nothing worse than an unexpected delay, and it’s a lot more challenging to remedy the situation when you’re not sure what to do next.
That’s why we recommend you plan ahead. You should budget for any additional costs; that way, you won’t have a wrench thrown into your plans. Always communicate with your team, as they’re here to help you. They don’t want anything going wrong, either.
If you plan for your setbacks, you’ll find that the home-building process will be a lot less stressful.
Not Preparing Your Team Before You Start
Last but not least, you should not start your project before you have a team put together. Building a home is not a one-man job; you will need architects, plumbers, interior designers, and many more team members.
You can’t rely on yourself and a builder to assemble your home.
If you don’t prepare your team before you start, there may be a clash of interests. Preparing your team in advance will ensure you get everything in order before you start building. You may even be lucky and find several team members who have already worked together.
When you haven’t arranged everyone before you start, you might spend more money trying to find someone who can fix anything wrong. It’s better to get professionals together as soon as possible to avoid any delays to your project.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know the five issues most likely to affect your project, it’s time to get to work. We hope you found this guide helpful and now know what issues to avoid when making your own custom home. If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
You can find other articles for building a custom home on our blog, so feel free to check them out if you’re looking for answers. Until then, we hope you enjoyed the article, and we wish you luck building your custom home.
Hey! My name is Luke. I am the Co-founder of PowellCustomHomes.com, it’s great to have you here at our site. With a combined 20 years of experience, we can help you build the home that you want, specific to your requirements and lifestyle.
No task is too small. We can guide you and offer advice, no matter if you are filling in gaps in the wall, hiding cords, or simply fixing up construction mistakes. We love to help, and strive to do so in any way that we can.
