Five questions to ask yourself before building a custom home

Many people dream of someday building their own home. They dream of creating a space designed to their personal touch and covered in their own fingerprints. While that’s a nice fantasy, there is so much more to building a custom home than just a general vision. “Fantasy” may not be the best word. After all,building a custom home is possible and plenty of people have successfully built custom homes. 

It is important to realize, however, all that goes into building your own home. Moreover, it is essential for you to have a defined plan and ensure that every single one of your questions gets answered. Questions not only for your builder, but also for yourself. Here are five important questions to ask yourself before committing to building a custom home.

Can you handle it?

Questions before building a custom homeBuilding a custom home is a stressful process. You will have to hire a builder, communicate your vision to the builder, likely get a loan from the bank, and determine a budget for the process. Additionally, you will have to monitor the build, communicate with multiple parties throughout the build, and rely on the home to be built timely. And, you must brace yourself for potential road blocks and delays. Can you handle all of this? If not, or if you are not sure, you may want to rethink having a home built from scratch.

How big is your family and how big will your family be?

Assuming you are planning on living in your custom home for a number of years, you will want to plan a number of years ahead. If it’s just you and your significant other initially, then this may be a good time for you to have that fun conversation about how many kids you want to have. You need to plan 10-15 years ahead, perhaps even 20. Pets have a say in all of this as well. For example, your beloved puppy might grow some serious claws. You need to have a flooring choice selected that will be scratch-resistant. Also, if your pup sheds frequently, this will affect the decision regarding the HVAC system and air filter selected.

Where will your home be built?

Location is key. Distance from your place of work will need to be considered. School districts and proximity to school or schools is another consideration. You’ll want to review neighborhoods before choosing one. Then, you’ll want to choose a lot and inspect the lot (the builder can help you with this). Remember, many years of your life will be invested in this single location. Be 100% certain that the chosen location is worthy of your lifestyle.  

Are there specific features you are wanting to incorporate in your custom-built home?

More likely than not, the desire to add specific features to your home played a role in your choice to have your home built. Whether you want a balcony, a brick oven, an outdoor kitchen, or a swimming pool, you need to confirm with your builder that he/she can build a home with your desired features. You’ve invested a ton of thought and time at this point; therefore, you deserve the home to be built just as you want it.

What are you looking for in a builder?

Have a list of questions ready for potential builders. You will want to interview a few of them before narrowing it down to one. Obviously, choosing a builder is rather important to the process. You will be placing a ton of faith in the builder to build your home precisely, timely, and within budget.

We’ll help you pick the right builder, or at least ask the right questions for suitable builders in our next blog post. Stay tuned…

In the meantime, feel free to jump start the home building process by contacting Ryan Hartman Custom Homes. We’ve been providing professional home building consultation for over 40 years. We think of everything when it comes to building a new home and we’ll walk you through the process step by step.

Contact Ryan Hartman Custom Homes today!

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