Building Your Own Home? 5 Things You Need To Know
The dream for a majority of people is to build their own home from scratch and keep it in the family for generations. Then, there are those that want to build a new home simply because the land is free and it’s a good spot for an investment. No matter what your plans are with a new home construction, there are many things that you should know before getting into the project.t Here are the five key takeaways:
Crunch the Numbers
Obviously, building a house is going to be expensive, and if you’ve gotten this far, you may already have enough to get the project going. However, you want to make sure that you have way more than enough, actually. When buying an existing home, mortgage lenders will line up to give you offers, but mortgages are almost nonexistent when it comes to new home construction. While the value is higher, it’s a lot more of a risk.
With that in mind, you’ll want to make sure that you have everything you want in the home down to the smallest detail. This will help you get closer to the final amount of money that you’ll be spending, but it’s almost a guarantee that your estimate will not be anywhere close to the final price. It’s always better to have the money and not need it than vice versa.
Think of the Permits
Just because you purchased a piece of land doesn’t mean that you can dive on into your brand-new home project. Instead, you’ll need a permit for just about everything and you’ll have to make sure that your project is up to code. In most states, the bare minimum of permits that you’ll need is four, with those being electrical, building, mechanical, and plumbing.
When added up, those permits tend to cost around $3,000 alone. You’ll also want to check the zoning for the home. There may be ordinances or laws in your area that make it so that your home has to be of certain dimensions, can’t have a detached garage, etc. There are a lot of variables at play, so know what you can build before even buying the land.
Don’t Skimp on Foundation
Naturally, you shouldn’t just take the cheapest option for anything when building a home, but a lot of things that you do go cheap on can be renovated in the future. Things like windows and doors can be replaced easily, but one thing that you can’t redo without taking down the entire house is the foundation.
Make sure to check when looking into a piece of property how well a foundation is going to stay in place in that place. Then, make sure that you’re installing a foundation that’s going to be waterproof and last for many, many years. Pouring the foundation is obviously a project that you don’t want to take on yourself, either, which leads us to our next point.
Hire the Right People
While all of us have this grand dream that we’re going to build our own houses from scratch, the truth is that it takes a village. You’re going to need contractors for different parts of the house, from the foundation itself to the roofing. Always shop around in your area, read reviews, and talk to people that have used the contractors in the past. Sure, the good ones might be more expensive, but it will be worth it in the long run.
The most important contractors that you’re going to need are the electricians and the plumbers. These are two of the most vital pieces of any house, so it’s yet another thing where spending a lot more is probably going to be worth the investment because of the quality. You don’t want to feel left out and leave the constructors to do all of the work, though, leading to our last point.
Be Hands-On
Throughout the process of your home being built, there’s going to be the urge to arrive at the site every day. For others, though, they might just write blank checks and not show up until the house is completely finished. There’s a medium in between, though, and the rule of thumb is that you should show up once per week.
Don’t be afraid to offer some input and make suggestions while asking a ton of questions. After all, this is your home and likely costing you a lot of money. Don’t be overbearing, but make sure that you have a fingerprint on your project.