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Building a
Custom Home
Building Your Dream Home 101
 Building
a Custom Home with all the amenities that you have
always wanted can be an anxiety producing
proposition or it can be organized in such a way
that the "glitches" can be kept to a minimum. I work
through the entire process with you from selecting
the lot to handing over the keys to your finished
new home. Here are the steps that we will go
through:
The first order of business is to obtain
financing. Once you have all the financing in place
so that you know what size loan you qualify for,
what your payments will be, and how the payments to
the contractor(s) for work in progress are paid, you
will be able to make educated decisions about costs.
You will know why there are separate loans for land
acquisition and for construction and what a
'take-out' loan is.
Now we start looking for a home site. Are you
interested in acreage or a suburban sized lot in a
gated community? Is foothill living with septic
tanks and wells instead of sewers and city water
something that you have considered? Once you have
chosen the lifestyle and location of the community
for your new home we will begin looking for the home
site. Each possible home site will need to be
examined for easy access. Are roads already in or do
you have to develop and maintain a private road?
 Will
heavy equipment have any problems getting to the
site? What is the best orientation for a building
with respect to the sun? Are there any CC&Rs or
zoning requirements that restrict use of the lot?
What easements are on the property that may restrict
its use? Investigating these issues before we write
an offer will save time, money, and agony. The
general contractor that we have chosen will be a
great resource in getting these questions answered
for you.
Also in the contract with the general contractor,
I will specify that the materials used will provide
the most efficient energy use and we will spell out
what the cost of change orders will be during
construction. Will landscaping be included? Making
all these decisions before the contract is drawn up
with your general contractor will save time and
money.
Designing the home is one of the most important
aspects of the process. Who designs the home--can
you use 'stock plans' or draw plans yourself, or do
you need an architect? You will need to spend time
doing your "homework". You can visit production
subdivisions to get ideas, read books, watch videos,
talk to other people who have built custom homes,
order and study magazines with home plans, and talk
to architects. You will need to keep in mind the
elements that will make the resale of the home
possible also.
 Fitting
the finished product to your budget is also
something to keep in mind. A general contractor can
give you an idea of cost per square foot (depending
on the quality of materials and extras that you
want.)
After decisions have been made on the design, the
next step is for the contractor to get permits. The
cost of the permits will be included in the contract
with the general contractor.
We will go over the timing of the project and
what inspections will need take place.
We will make sure that your insurance carrier
adds coverage for the workers on your job site along
with the possibility of worker's compensation,
liability and builder's risk insurance, if needed.
There may be a need for natural disaster insurance
during construction. You wouldn't want to lose your
investment because of a brush fire.
We will discuss what liens are, what they
accomplish, and how do you protect yourself from
them?
Keeping the process under control requires
checklists. Using and customizing home-building
checklists and scheduling tools to keep the sequence
of events organized helps to maintain control of the
construction decisions.
The best part happens now -- your new home is
complete and you move in. We will work together to
make your dream home a reality with as few problems
as possible.
Building Your Dream Home |
