Are you looking for the home of your dreams… a property that meets your every last specification, down to the smallest detail? Has it proven harder than you anticipated to find that home on the real estate market? Well, there is another option available to you: You can hire a homebuilder to design and construct a home from scratch, one that fulfills every one of your fondest desires.
This process is more common than you might think. Buyers end up working with builders all the time, deciding it’s ultimately not possible to find exactly what they want in pre-existing developments. It’s certainly an option to keep on the table, but before going down that road, there are a few things you may want to know about the custom home building process.
Before we get into that, just a quick reminder: If you have a home you’d like to get sold, you can always request a free seller’s report. In it, you’ll get some great tips for selling your own property, including an individualized recommendation for the best way for you to list. If that sounds valuable to you, make sure you claim your SOLD.com report today!
What to Know About Building a Custom Home
It’s more time consuming than just buying a place.
The first thing to be aware of is the timeline. If you find a house on the market that you want to make an offer on, you can potentially close in as little as a month. In fact, the process can be even quicker than that if you’re making a cash offer!
When it comes to building your own place, though, the process will always be quite a bit more time intensive. In fact, it can take six months just to start construction, then a few more months of actual work before you’re able to move in. Getting architectural plans approved, obtaining a construction loan… these things take some time. Be prepared for that.
You may run into some unexpected costs.
You’ll pay some money for the land, of course, but that’s usually just for starters.
Throughout the construction process, you’ll incur all kinds of fees. These may include things like architectural review, inspections, septic permits, topographical mapping, and on and on.
You can and should ask your builder for a ballpark estimate of what the final price is going to be but be aware that surprise costs can pop up at any time.
You can find plenty of ways to save money, if you’re willing to do the legwork.
If you want to find ways to offset some of those unexpected costs, you can… but it will take dome diligence.
For example, you can save a lot of money on appliances by looking for models that have been discontinued. And you can also save money when you buy, say, your dishwasher and your refrigerator from a company that rewards “bundled” purchases. You’ve just got to be willing to do your homework and actively seek these deals!
You may not end up with your dream home after all.
A lot of buyers pursue custom home design because they want the home of their dreams. That’s very admirable, but just be aware that, once you get into the process, you may find that your dream home isn’t really attainable. It may be too expensive, or just not feasible, to build the home you’ve always thought you wanted.
Compromises are usually required to facilitate a smooth and affordable process. Don’t let that discourage you!
You may still wish to work with an agent.
You might assume that, by building a custom home, you can avoid the need to hire a real estate agent. That’s actually true; by no means are you required to work with an agent! However, you may need some assistance in locating land and negotiating the best deal, in which case, working with an agent may still be advantageous.
What’s the Best Way to Sell a Property?
Those are our tips for building a home… but what about selling one? To learn the best way to sell a property, we urge you again to request your free seller’s report from SOLD.com. In it, you’ll get individualized tips for selling your own property. Take the first step toward getting your house sold today!
