By WebEditorPosted on 2020-02-202021-03-22 From picking the ideal plot of land to watching your dream home turn into a reality, there are a lot of things to love about building your own custom home. First and foremost, a custom home represents the opportunity to build a place that perfectly represents you and your family’s taste, style, needs, and more. The process is no doubt an exciting one, but it can also be quite overwhelming. While you will hopefully be working with an architect and loads of other experienced professionals along the way, it certainly also pays for you to be as prepared as possible. So, in order to prepare yourself, we have listed the 9 major steps of Building A Custom New Home from start to finish! Step 1: Choose and buy the homesite Selecting the perfect lot that accommodates you and your family’s needs is very important. You can always renovate a home, but the land it is on is the land. Major things to consider include: Amount of acreage Location within the community Orientation of the property The views Amount of frontage Step 2: Choose the right builder for the job Once you have locked down your homesite and made the necessary purchases, it is time to decide what architect and builder you are going to let work on your home. Major factors to keep in mind include: Reputation from previous clients as well as suppliers and financial institutions Previous jobs and style of work Years of experience Upfront about how much it will all cost Whether or not you think you two could work well together throughout the entire course of the project Step 3: Design your floorplan Now that you’ve got your architect and building team in place, it is time to design your floorplan. This is where the fun really begins as you start to make major choices about what your home will look like. While you begin developing your floorplan, here are some important things that you will want to keep in mind: The size of your home The number of bedrooms and bathrooms in your home How many stories your home will be Any rooms that are not considered standard like a gym, indoor pool, game room, wine cellar or gourmet kitchen The overall look and style of the build Material necessities in specific rooms like kitchens and bathrooms How the home will sit on and interact with the surrounding land (this is especially important if the home is something like a beach house or mountain home) Your budget If you are having a hard time coming up with a completely original floorplan, there is nothing wrong with asking your architect to bring floorplans of their previous builds for you to get inspired by and steal form Step 4: Sign on the dotted line Once the major design decisions have been made, your building will be able to price the home. When you are happy with the price, you will then sign the purchase agreement. One important thing to keep in mind is that if the price does end up being beyond your budget, you have every right to ask for edits to bring the price down. You must make sure that you remain within your budget so that you do not overextend yourself. Step 5: Secure necessary financing Chances are pretty good that you are going to need to apply for and secure quite a bit of financing. The best option when you are building a custom home is to apply for land loan and home mortgage so that you can get all the money you need in one place at one time. Step 6: Pick the fixtures and finishes that you want The major decisions that you will make during your custom home build will take place during the design step. That being said, once you are about to actually get to building, you will have to make decisions regarding final finishes and fixture choices throughout your home. If you are not sure where to begin on this front, don’t hesitate to ask about designers who you can hire to help guide you through this very important process. Step 7: Have your plans approved Once everything is ready to go, you have one more step before you can actually break ground. You are going to have your building plans approved by the Architectural Review Committee or ARC. It is this committee’s job to make sure that your plans are sound and that everything complies with the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions or CC&Rs of the community. Don’t worry, your builder will be submitting your plan to the ARC and will update you on the progress. Step 8: Get started on the build The day has finally come for the first scoop of dirt to be scooped out of the ground. Now will begin a wild and exciting time of activity where you will see your dreams slowly come to life. Here are some major milestones you can expect your home build: Site preparation and excavation of the land Foundation and framing, this is when the home starts to take shape Installation of the mechanicals, heating and cooling, plumbing and electric, as well as insulation and drywall Flooring and paint and other finishing touches like trim and cabinets Fixtures and appliances such as lighting, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, landscaping and more Step 9: Closing time Finally! Now is the time for you to do a detailed walk-through with your architect and builder to make sure that all over plans have actually been carried out. You want to inspect each and every inch of your home with a detailed checklist to make sure that nothing has been missed over overlooked. Once you have made sure that everything is how it was planned and that any questions have been answered, it is time to close. All that’s left is for you to get your keys and move into your fully custom built home! Home Decor
