- Before doing anything else, design your budget. When you go to the bank to obtain your construction loan, they will ask for your cost schedule. This is a breakdown of every factor that involves an expense over the course of the home construction.
You will need to decide where you desire to be financially, and it must be fairly specific. With that said, you also must conclude if your personal budget is something that can be done in reality. The costs involved in building your own home can be higher then when purchasing a pre-existing home or building with an established home builder.
Do not base your budget and bank loan on an unattainable number based upon large scale home builder costs. Also, keep in mind that there will be costs that you cannot predict. Materials get stolen and broken all the time; factor this into the budget. Labor costs can change, vendors may switch and materials may not be available. This needs to be factored into the equation as well. - This part is key. If building homes is not what you do each and every day, you will need a really good team to help guide you in the avenues you are not good at. Your team will consist of your personal banker and contractor (if not you).
The personal banker is the person you will speak to for construction draws and changes to your budget. It's always a good idea to have a good relationship with the person in charge of the money.
If you aren't the contractor, then you must have complete trust in this person. They will be handling the large bulk of making things happen. They will handle the vendors that work on the home, cost overruns when they occur (negotiations), schedules and quality of work. Picking someone you trust is far more important then picking the lowest cost.
Your team is your lifeblood in home construction. They need to be trustworthy, dependable and skilled to be able to handle their role with precision. - Location is strictly a personal preference when building a home for yourself. If resale is not a consideration, then you do not not to take heed of the normal real estate adage of location being so important. However, if your desired location is different than where you currently live, take note of certain factors such as schools, traffic patterns, grocery stores, churches, access to highways or anything else that you find important. The last thing you want to do is get blinded by the excitement of building your dream home to only realize later that you dislike where you built it.
- When you have full architectural control over your home, it can be thrilling and daunting. Especially if you are not an architect. Look on the Internet for home plans. You can simply plug the phrase "House Blueprints" into Google and start scanning home designs. If you are not an architect, don't try designing your own home. There are plenty of experts already in the marketplace who will help you.
Find a home plan that you like, then tweak it. Find a different kitchen you desire or bedroom design or bathroom design. The idea is to find a plan that is marginally close to something you like, then change that items you dislike about it into the items you really want. This is a much better way to create a floor plan than to attempt to do it from scratch. It will save you from having rooms that are not dimensional to the home or an odd placement of things you failed to account for. - The schedule will either become your best friend or worst enemy. Create milestone dates before you start and set the expectation with your contractor that they must be met. When you set this in advance of starting, you will be on the right path to hitting the target.
Key home building dates are the date to pour the foundation, frame the home, sheet rock the home and complete the home. With these four big dates known in advance, you can create a much better budget and increase your odds of moving in when you desire too. The idea is to avoid a schedule that seemingly goes on and on forever. This will lead to your growing frustration and increased costs.
previous post