The following is a post from Schumacher Homes.
Building your new home can be a fun and exhilarating process! You get to pick how everything will look – inside and out! But there are also many mistakes that can be made along the way. In our 20 years of experience, there are a few common mistakes people. Here’s our tips for building a house and making it into a great home.
Tips for Building a House:
Research the Builder:
Unfortunately, not all builders are the same. The home of your dreams shouldn’t be left in the hands of just anyone. It needs to be made by a partner you can trust. Research the web and Better Business Bureau before signing the dotted line with a home builder. A great company should be able to provide you with copies of their license, a list of awards, referrals, and many other things that they would gladly want to share with prospective clients.
Location:
Where you build your new home is just as important as what it will look like. Be sure to consider important factors like taxes, school systems, crime rates, reputation, and much more before settling on your site location.
Also, really give some thought to how much land you think you would like to have. A larger yard can be really nice and work out great in the long-term for fun activities as well as help your resale value. But it can also be a burden if you aren’t prepared to keep up with the maintenance. Consider the pros and cons from both sides.
Think Long-Term:
When you’re first deciding how your new home should be, the costs of all the extras – deeper basements, larger garages, more windows, custom designs, etc. – can be overwhelming. However, after you’ve lived in your new home for a few years, chances are that you’ll wish you had went for those upgrades!
Although some upgrades like landscaping, decks, and even windows can be added at a later time, it certainly is easier to include these things in the initial build – especially if they pertain to the overall structure of the home! Discuss your priorities for your new home and determine which upgrades would make the most sense to add while the home is being built. Remember – it’s a lot more difficult to turn an 8 foot basement into a 9 foot one after the home has been constructed!
Foundation:
Nothing is more important to the structure of the home as the foundation. Be sure to ask your builder what type of material and process they plan to use. Plenty of time should be allowed for curing as well for proper settlement. Also check that there is some type of warranty associated with the foundation and structure of the construction.
Appearance:
We all want our home to look like a million bucks! Be sure that the builder you select has a wide variety of options and can customize the look of your home to your personality. Give your home character by adding features like brick, color, porches, lights, and even windows.
Energy Efficiency:
Building a new home is a great time to take advantage of an energy-efficient infrastructure. Be sure that the correct wiring and plumbing is made available for the most modern and energy-efficient appliances. Choose high levels of wall insulation, window insulation, energy-efficient appliances, etc. P.S. – And don’t forget to take advantage of any Federal tax credits!
Inspection:
Even a new home requires a thorough inspection. Again, find someone you can trust to assist you with the walk-through. Work with the builder by creating a list of any issues you find, and agree to set some target dates for satisfying these tasks.
If you’d like to learn more about building a new home or see a gallery of models, please visit SchumacherHomes.com.
Readers – What are your tips for building a house? Did you build a home or move into an existing one? If you built, what kinds of things did you run into that you wish someone had told you about sooner? Of the people you know, what experiences have they had building their new home?
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Photo Credit: Schumacher Homes
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My parents have built their homes and we haven’t purchased yet, but we’d love to build a home – my boyfriend is a carpenter so it would make it much easier!
A carpenter? Great for you! You’ll have new cabinets and be moving walls every couple of years – just because he can! I’d love to know how to do more of that kind of stuff.
The problem with building a new home is the ideal house is always the next one!
Bichon Frise recently posted..Protecting Income – Shopping for Life & Disability Insurance
Isn’t that the truth! When we built our home, we thought it was amazing! But now that we’ve lived there so long, we keep thing of all the “next-time” things we want to do.
We purchased an existing home but our next house will probably be built. We’ve been making a list of EVERYTHING we’d like to have. From design to which direction we want the house to face.
WorkSaveLive recently posted..Recipe: “Better Than Crack” Brownies (1st Guest Post!)
A fun project I’m sure! I would love to see you guys on Cribs one day
Our big problem was the lot itself faced southeast, which puts our bedroom on the southwest corner, taking the brunt of the Texas summer sun on two sides. Not easy to cool (see my tips below for a few hints on what we did to beat the heat).
Thad P @ thadthoughts.com recently posted..Ten Tips : 10 Easy Ways to Stay Cool This Summer
It must be so exciting to get to do the planning of a new home. Most people just have to settle with the features that are included in the home they can afford to buy. With all that choice comes a lot of work though. My parents are in the process of building their retirement house and it is crazy how many different things you have to decide on. Of course it’s all worthwhile when you get exactly what you want.
Modest Money recently posted..Partying Philosophy 101: Why You Shouldn’t Be Generous, Even If You’re Filthy Rich
I can tell you that it was overwhelming! When we had our house built, it was crazy how many extras you could have added to it.
MMD, this is fantastic lay of the land or the balcony view of the topic. I like it. Definitely a keeper.
Alik Levin recently posted..10 Things Consultants Should Learn From Dagny Taggart
Nice to see you again Mate! Where have you been hiding??
I would really like to build my own home in the future (my dream home!) but in order to do it we would need to find land. In the area we want to live in, near the beach and near the city, I would think it would be really difficult to find some land right now that isn’t overpriced. I haven’t really looked into this. I’d also have to factor in time for research, planning and being onsite while building. It’s a ton of work but I think that I would feel so accomplished afterwards.
From Shopping to Saving recently posted..Interview With Carla of Half Dozen Daily & Giveaway
I DON’T EVEN want to imagine how much land costs in CA (on top of trying to afford building a house). You’ve got to come to the mid-west with the rest of us Cheap-O’s to live like a King!
We had a brand new home built in 2005 by a popular builder in our city. The design and the layout of the house were beautiful. We chose a huge pie lot to build it on in a brand new area of the city. We visited the home everyday while it was under construction and we found so many problems along the way. Some they repaired right away and others they ignored. They were building during the summer and that June we had an incredible amount of rain. Many homes throughout the city were flooded. Our brand new home was already insulated and drywalled but the siding company had not done their job yet so the water just poured into the house through the outside walls. It happened to a few new neighbours as well. The builder just got angry with all of us but never really dealt with it. We were not allowed a professional inspection prior to moving in and our list of 110 issues was only somewhat addressed. Needless to say it was a very stressful time and I am glad we sold the house 2 years ago.
Tackling Our Debt recently posted..Let’s Talk Money – The Series – With Erika at From Shopping to Saving
Wow, what a nightmare! I had an “action item list” with my builder, but nothing that serious! Like everything else, there are some quacks out there to watch out for!
That would seem like a time for legal action to remedy the situation. Did that happen?
Thad P @ thadthoughts.com recently posted..Ten Tips : 10 Easy Ways to Stay Cool This Summer
You know what? Legal action didn’t occur to us. We were so frustrated and we were dealing with a huge builder that is still going strong today. He wasn’t someone that was just in town to do a few houses. We did turn to the New Home Warranty Program here in Canada. And we were surprised to find out that it is owned, funded and run by all of the builders. LOL What a croc!! They came out, looked, acted all serious and then mailed us their decision a month later. Live with it was the decision. And it was a half a million dollar house. I wonder what their million dollar clients thought of them. (sorry for the rant)
Tackling Our Debt recently posted..Let’s Talk Money – The Series – With Erika at From Shopping to Saving
I’ve met lots of home builders over the years, and they all, at one time or another, suggested these same steps. In my opinion, finding an experienced and reputable builder and finding a location are the most crucial of all of the steps. If these are done correctly, then all the other steps will generally fall into place.
Trust is everything. When you’ve got a guy (or girl) that is going to do the job right, then everything else will fall into place.
We moved into an existing home. Well actually my husband owned it before we even got married so we just settled in here. I would love to build our own home one day but that would be years down the road.
Not a bad gig! Do you know how many newly married couples struggle with this at first? My wife and I lived in an apartment 2 years after marriage and 1 year after our daughter was born. It got cramped really fast!
You’re on your way to having enough cash to build a house. You’ve just to sell a few more go-carts on Craigs List
We had a home built for my MIL to live in back 2002. It was built by a family friend. The construction was okay, not great. We live in it now, and I would probably do a few things differently if I could.
Thad P @ thadthoughts.com recently posted..Movie Tickets and $50 Dining Dollars Giveaway
For this very reason, I sometimes think it is better in some situations to contract a complete stranger to do the job. Less awkwardness around the situation.
I think doing thorough search on the builder including background check is must as large sum of money is involved. I know a hotelier friend of mine who lost several hundred thousands worth of material when his builder filed for bankruptcy in the middle of the construction project. I’d assume that same can happen to a retail customer as well.
Shilpan recently posted..4 Tips to Boost Your Self-Confidence
Or, the builder stops paying his bills, you take possession of the house and all liens are filed against the property (which you now own), not the builder. Or, if you take the company to court, the Builder starts a new company (a little paperwork) and you never know the difference. I know people think I am a cynic and bearish, but I’ve been screwed sideways so many times when it comes to money, I can’t help but flinch.
Bichon Frise recently posted..Protecting Income – Social Security Survivor & Disability Benefits
It never hurts to consider the possibilities – even if they are pretty negative. Stuff happens to people all the time because they do not consider the risks.
Yet again why real estate projects scare me!
With the Internet, it certainly helps to see if there are any BBB complaints or random reviews about their terrible service. As you said – when that much money is involved, me and the builder are going to get to know each other REALLY nice!