If you are building your own custom dream home, congratulations! You are embarking on one of life’s most exciting journeys – the chance to take an active part in shaping the home where you, family, and friends will make precious memories.
The process, as put forth below, typically follows this path:
Creating your budget to assess your home needs
Location, location, location – find your land
Choose the right home builder
Development!
The journey generally begins with you creating a budget for your home and fully assessing what your home needs are – that budget will ultimately drive many of the decisions about what your home ultimately looks like on the day you finally move in. Your budget will have to factor in a wide range of issues that you may have never considered before, everything from potential upgrades to the property your home will sit on.
Beyond the house itself, you also need to make decisions about the land where you envision your custom home. This is where the process can certainly be more extensive than selecting an existing home; not only do you need to consider historic property price rates and the quality of the local school systems, you also need to ensure that the physical property meets the needs for your envisioned home.
Upon identifying the right land plot, you need to choose the right builder to work with. (In Kalamazoo, of course, we are partial to the deeply experienced bench at Powell Custom Homes for virtually all of your home building needs.) In general you will want to ensure that the builder has a track record in the type of size, layout, and features of the home that you have envisioned in your mind’s eye. One of the top qualities that you should look for in your custom home builder from your very first meeting is an attention to detail. Do they actively listen to you? Do they notice the small things? These are very important qualities; because what will ultimately make your home such a magical place is the quality of the thousands of small details that go into a custom project.
Once you have identified the right builder, it’s time to get to the development phase and all of the fun that entails – everything from framing construction to installing heating and water.
You may find this to be the most exciting part of the journey of all – as you finally begin to see your long-imagined home begin to come to life.