When building a new home it’s an exciting time, but it can also be stressful. Since it’s your home, you have to make the decision on a lot of items or else the builder will, and it could turn out to not be your dream home.
Pay Attention to Numbers
When you begin building your home, you will want to run some numbers so you can have an estimate of how much construction will cost. Once you determine how much you can afford, you can get your plan and secure financing. You will need a construction line of credit and then a residential mortgage.
Research the Reviews of the Builder
There are a lot of builders out there, but not all are created equal. You can use recommendations from family and friends or search for information online. Use builders that are members of the National Association of Home Builders, in order to make sure you are getting quality work.
Build While Keeping Resale in Mind
You may be building your forever home, but plans change and you may not be able to stay in your home forever. You should pay attention to the potential resale value. If you are including so many upgrades that you are overpricing your home for your neighborhood, then you will have trouble with resale. Ask yourself if features you are using are going to appeal to other people.
Think Green
When you build green, you will save money and help ensure your resale value remains high. Do your research to help get the energy efficiency potential out of your home. Some examples of this are ensuring that you have south facing windows so you can get sunshine and help heat your home. Build bathrooms, the laundry area, and garage on the south side, and have smaller windows to help prevent heat loss. Choose insulation and HVAC systems carefully to help maximize efficiency, and choose other appliances that are energy efficient as well as water-saving toilets and faucets.
Think about Your Punch List
Your punch list is for the end of construction and includes what still needs to be done and what needs to be repaired. You and your contractor will create this list before you close and when you go through your final walkthrough. Every time you visit the construction site you should be taking notes. If you are working with a real estate agent, have them help because you may be attached to your home and someone else may have a better eye for finding issues. There are two types of flaws: reasonable flaws and unreasonable flaws. Reasonable flaws are within normal building construction or don’t really affect the value of the home. Unreasonable flaws should be fixed and may affect the value of the home. When you have a final walkthrough, make sure the items on the punch list have been fixed. Make sure you have money set aside to complete the punch list. This is a fun time because the home is almost complete. Don’t move too fast through the punch list because you want the problems fixed.
When doing your research, there are some questions you should ask to give you a better idea of working with your builder.
Chloe Marie is an independent author, younger sister, and a very eccentric aunt living in Austin, Texas. She enjoys discovering different ways to keep her home environmentally friendly and blogs about using energy efficient methods for custom home updates.
