Overcoming Obstacles You’ll Face When Building a Custom Home
If you’d rather build your perfect dream home than hope to find it for sale on the market, you know all too well the feeling of excitement it gives you to make floor plans and visualize the house design. A new house design is a perfect way to ensure you get everything you want.
However, creating a custom-built home has obstacles along the way that the average person might not think of. As home builders in Waco, TX, we’ve seen it all, and we’ve compiled a list of the biggest challenges faced by American home builders — and how to avoid them.
Budget
Depending on your new house design, building a custom home can be more expensive than buying a pre-existing home. Having a budget set before you begin building can help guide you through the rest of the process and save you a lot of trouble down the line.
Once you’ve drawn your house blueprint, calculate the cost of materials and labor, and don’t forget to consider any permit costs or other state or city fees. If you need a loan to reach the total amount, consider what loan options are available to you and if you can afford them. If you find that the cost is simply too high, you can scale down until you’re in a range you’re comfortable with.
Once you’ve set your budget and started work, it’s essential to stay within the limitations you’ve set yourself. If you decided to expand or spend more money than planned, you could end up with an unfinished house and be left scrambling to secure the funds to finish it.
Detailing Your Plan
Modern house design is a complicated thing. Everything about your design, from material types, window and door placement, measurements, and more, needs to be planned. Unless you’re a professional home designer or architect, you most likely aren’t prepared for the number of small details you need to polish before your blueprint can come to life.
Reputable home construction companies will help you in every part of the process, including your design. At Northstar Custom Homes, our team will go over your plan with you to make sure there are no surprises once you break ground. We’ll also suggest improvements for function, safety, and cost so that you can get the most out of your design.
Getting Permits
Before you can begin building, you need to get all the necessary permits. This process can be time-consuming, especially if you don’t know what you need beforehand. On top of that, the required paperwork can be both complex and tedious for the layman. However, permits are necessary.
Northstar Custom Homes will help with completing the paperwork and applying for the necessary permits. We’ll also help account for problems that can occur during the process, like delays, as they happen so that you spend your time (and money) in the most productive way possible.
Bad Weather
When it comes time to build, even the best-laid plans can run up against uncooperative weather. Construction can only take place in safe conditions. Severe storms and natural disasters will put a halt to the building, regardless of the schedule you set for yourself.
Your building team will be paying attention to weather forecasts and adjust accordingly, often making contingency plans days in advance. Of course, delays may happen that are entirely unpredictable. However, by collaborating with your team, you can help minimize the time and money lost when they do occur.
Material Delays
When you first begin planning your new home, you might not think about the specifics of what will go into it. You may think, “I’d like a walk-in tub,” without actually choosing the specific make and model you want. This can cause significant delays for luxury home builders, forcing them to source those pieces during construction. While you may find that you can find things locally at home improvement stores, the selection will be limited. If you order them, you’ll be waiting for delivery.
If you can’t purchase everything before the building starts, you should at least source them and estimate lead times for each item so you can purchase on-time for building. Your design team will have business connections to show and sell you materials and fixtures for the project.
Changes of Heart
You may find yourself totally in love with your design when you start, only to find yourself questioning certain aspects of it once it comes to life. While it’s always best to plan ahead and follow through when it comes to building, sometimes changes just need to be made. Incorporating this into the design and the timeline pushes the schedule back and will require compromises on your part and that of the builders.
As experienced home builders in Waco, we understand the importance of flexibility. We do our best to anticipate changes where possible and help plan for adaptations if they come along. This extends to our clients as well. If you communicate with the team as concerns arise, we can account for them quickly and adjust as needed – as always, the sooner the better.
Let’s Talk
At Northstar Custom Homes, building homes is our passion. We build to suit from design conception to the finished project. Northstar Custom Homes is focused on you from beginning to end and we walk with you every step of the building process.
Whether you’re looking to follow a specific floor plan or looking to have the best possible view, let our team help you make your visitation reality. Home builders in Waco can count on us to make their dream home come to live.
If you’re ready to take the next steps to turning your dream home into reality, contact us today.