Unless you have forayed into custom home construction previously, realize that while building a new home is exciting and, in the end, rewarding, the time prior to that can be challenging and complicated. Now, trust us, we aren’t trying to scare you off! Far from it, actually! Rather, it is our goal, at SeBern Custom Homes, to help our clients make the best and most educated decisions they can make, starting from the very beginning. Moreover, we have been doing this for a while, so we understand some of the mistakes that people can make when embarking on building a custom home. As such, here are some tips to consider.
Going in Without a Wish List
Yes, literally write down everything you want in your new custom home—and while we know that most people have budgets, do your best to try to incorporate everything you want now (especially structurally) so that you don’t have to do major renovations later. For instance, if you plan on aging in place, make sure that hallways and doorways are wide enough, or there is an elevator shaft already cut in the house. It’s easier to add these things now as opposed to later.
Failing to Make Changes During the Design Phase
Another key tip is to make changes during the design phase, not the construction phase. While it’s very common to make a few changes to a custom floor plan, realize it’s much more expensive to make a change during the construction process over the design phase. And we aren’t just talking about financial costs. When you decide, for instance, to add an extra room while construction is already underway, there may be delays experienced as the home builder has to acquire new supplies or bring on additional crew members, which just adds to the time until you get to move in.
Not Considering the Cost of Money
It’s wise to be mightily aware of the cost of money when building your custom home. If interest rates are low at the time of your build, take advantage of that and incorporate this bonus, per se, into your build.
Forgetting to Consider the Resale Process
You might be looking at your new custom home as a place where you will be for the rest of your life. However, let’s face facts—none of us know what’s going to happen down the road, be it a year from now or twenty years. You or your spouse could be offered an incredible job opportunity, there could be changes in your financial status—literally, a thousand things could occur that are completely out of your control. Therefore, while we encourage you to pursue a vision when you build your new home, also realize that if you make your design overly complex or too unique, there could be a problem experienced when you try to sell it. Consider the resale potential and value of the amenities and features you put into your home. You might be fortunate to build your forever home—but if fate’s hand is tempted, you will also be thankful in the long run that you were strategic right now.
Neglecting to Realize that Design Build Custom Builders Are Different
Not to toot our own horn here, but we aren’t only custom builders—we are actually design build custom builders, which means that after you accept a proposal and estimate from our team, we work with you on the design process, utilize the skills of our own architect, and drive the entire process until the point where you move in to your new home.  Frankly speaking, we want to work with you on your vision and ensure that the entire process is seamless from start to finish. Now, this isn’t an attack on a custom home builder, but what we have seen far too many times is a would-be homebuyer who already has plans in hand prior to approaching a builder—plans that may not work when it comes to put them into action.  Ultimately, trying to modify an existing plan to fit a custom program with a builder like SeBern can be a bit like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. We would love to speak with you about our process from start to finish and also help you learn about the mistakes to avoid as you embark on building your new custom home.  We invite you to give us a call today and set up a free consultation—we are looking forward to meeting you!
To set up a free consultation, call SeBern Custom Homes today at 630-377-7767.