If you have decided to build your own house, then there are a lot of things for you to consider during the construction as well as before and after. You need to juggle a lot of balls and make sure not to drop any of them. Here are some things that you need to not forget about when you decide to build your own home.
Financing
One of the most important parts when building your own home is how you are going to finance it. You need to set yourself a budget, and you need to make sure that you also have a contingency budget as well. The reason for this is that unforeseen circumstances might cause you to go over your budget. You don’t want construction to stop part way through due to a simple error. This is why you should have some money aside just in case and not to blow everything on your budget. Speaking of blowing everything, you want to be clever about how you spend your money as it can quickly get away with you and leave you broke and with an unfinished house. However, if you plan your budget meticulously and know exactly what is meant to happen when and where, then you will no doubt be in your new home before too long.
In terms of actual finance, you will likely need to go to a bank to get finance in a similar way to when you want to buy a house. Things will be slightly trickier than that because your house doesn’t exist yet, but there are several ways that you can get the funds to build your home. On the other hand, you might have sold your previous house and are using those funds to pay for the construction of this one.
Legal Stuff
There, unfortunately, several legal hoops that you need to jump through before you can get to work on building your house. It is best that you get these sorted before you start to looking into hiring people to start building or even planning your home as there can be delays getting things signed off. Depending on where you are, you will need to deal with neighbors and have agreements with them regarding the construction and where you are building the house. You need to look into the specifics that will affect your exact house building plans as they will differ from area to area.
Where to build
This will probably be one of the most time-consuming parts of the process as you look for the perfect place to build your home. And this makes perfect sense. You don’t want to settle for somewhere that is the second rate and that you don’t want to live. When deciding where to build, you need to treat it in a similar way to buying a house in an area. You need to check out things like local amenities, school and the overall feel of the neighborhood. If you aren’t happy with something, then you should pick elsewhere to build your home. Don’t forget that you are going to be living in this area once the construction is complete, so if you don’t like anything then maybe you should look somewhere else.
As well as the area, there are also practical building considerations that need to take place. You need to find somewhere that you can actually build your house and this might end up being part of the legal stuff as well as some land won’t allow you to build the sort of house that you want for one reason or another. You will want to make sure that you speak with your architect and that you know whether the land that you pick will be appropriate for building your home.
Have the building designed
You will want to ensure that you have a professional design your home. Kit homes can be a great idea as they take out a lot of the hassle of other types of project and are often completed much faster. However, you might want more freedom or control over your build and decide to build it from the ground up while working with an architect. If you follow this route, then you need to make sure that you make your requirements clear and that they fully understand what you mean. This means detailing things like the number of rooms, bathrooms, storage as well as the size of each part of the house. If you want to have any specific building requirements, then this is part where you need to make sure that they are taken into consideration. This is because once the architect has finalized the plans, it is much harder to get things changed and small changes can cause massive timescale and budget differences later on. You need to go to your meeting with the architect knowing exactly what you want. This might mean having a list of things or even your own drawings of a plan you have made of the building. Either way, make sure that you leave that meeting with a full understanding of what the building will look like and the budget you are working with.
Picking a builder
Picking a builder can be hard. It is best to go with a builder with a good reputation that is a little more expensive, than one that is cheap but you aren’t sure about. This is because these are the people who will build the home you are going to live in and you want to feel like they are going to do as good a job as possible. Once you have hired your builder, you should make sure to keep on top of their work and make sure that they are sticking to their timescales. If they start to slip, then you need to find out what the problem is and fix it. The longer they take, the more the build will cost. This is why it is often best to pay the builders based on the project, rather than by the hour. This way, the builders are more motivated to stick to their timescales and not let anything exceed the agreed times. If you know a builder or can have one recommended by friends and family, then this is usually a good idea as you know that they will do a good job and in a timely manner.
Watch The Construction
This can be an enjoyable part of the process. You get to see your home go from nothing to a livable house. There are roughly five stages of building a home. Firstly, the builders will create the home’s foundation. They will create the basic structure of the house including where the windows and doors will be. They will start adding the basic walls, floors and other structures. Next will come adding things like the electrics, gas and water services. Finally, the house will be decorated both inside and out. If at any point when following the construction you feel that mistakes are being made, plans not followed or are concerned about anything else, then you need to speak to builders and have it rectified.
Keeping to budget and timescales
This can be the hardest part of building your own home. It can be easy to let things start to slide and for small expenses to quickly turn into large ones. This is why you need to be on top of your spending at all times and ensure that everyone is aware of the budget and are working to the same figures. This goes for the architect, builders and other people involved in the construction. This includes your own family members.
