No one wants to spend months waiting for their custom home to be built only to move in and spend the rest of their lives wondering why their builder made so many… unusual decisions.
When it comes to building a house on a purchased piece of land, homeowners have a choice between selecting pre-made building plans or building a house that they designed themselves. Whether those custom designs are just small changes to existing plans or a complete, bottom-up design of the whole house to be built, custom changes and additions to a builder’s plans can make your house exactly as you always dreamed it would be.
Of course, being the one who is responsible for designing (or redesigning) your own house means that you are the one who may be to blame for those “unusual decisions.” Some mistakes cannot only leave you with a home that you are not completely satisfied with, but they could also cost you a whole lot of money to resolve.
Avoid these 7 costly and time-consuming mistakes and build your custom home with confidence.
1. Not Planning Before You Build
You might be thinking that it is a no-brainer to draw up and agree on plans with your builder before anyone puts hammer to nail. You may be surprised at just how many people discover that they want to make changes as their house takes shape. From expanding rooms to changing the layout of the entire home, builders have seen every manner of post-planning changes from homeowners.
Of course, changing the plans midway through a build will cost you building time and money, so be prepared to pay a bit more and wait a little longer for your home’s construction to be completed.
2. Overestimating Your Size Needs
When you have the money to build your home any size you want, people tend to go overboard when it comes to estimating their home size needs. It can be hard to gauge just how big a dining room, living room, or bedroom needs to be, but adding extra space to those rooms is never really a bad idea. Adding additional rooms, like extra guest bedrooms, an exercise room, or a game room may seem totally necessary, but there are things to consider before you indulge in your home wants.
First, most families do not need a 5 or 6,000-square foot home to spread out, especially if you have children who are nearing retirement or planning on downsizing your lifestyle after ten years. Not only are these extra spaces costing you more to build, they will also cost more to maintain.
3. Not Keeping Tabs on Your Build
Waiting to have your home completely built before you examine it is one of the biggest mistakes a home builder can make. While it is not a great idea to change your mind about your home’s details halfway through the build, it is a better decision to make those changes while the house is still in the building process than after it is completed.
Be sure schedule visits regularly to your building site and check in on key areas for progress. Keep an open line with your builder, ask questions, and raise concerns if something is not shaping up the way you were told it would.
Check back in with us next week for Part Two and more mistakes to avoid!
