Building your house from scratch can be an exciting yet burdensome experience. To execute your dream home requires you to be an involved participant throughout the whole process whether you are building from the ground up or adding a second story to your existing one. Many decisions need to be carried out and you cannot delegate to someone else because when things don’t go according to how you planned then you will be the one who suffers the consequences. However, if you are willing to take the risk and have someone to make the decisions on your behalf it is best to outsource someone with extensive building knowledge but it shouldn’t be your hired contractor.
What To Consider
Here are some of the key factors that you need to take into consideration before you commit to your decision to build or renovate your dream home.
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Costs
The first and very essential part of planning to build is knowing your numbers. You need to assess whether you can afford to build the house that you have envisioned. You can either do it yourself or use the costs that most home builders include with their house plans, but you will have to pay a minor fee. The costs will include a comprehensive list of calculations such as the construction, down payment, tax benefits, and any other related and significant costs. The best step is going to the bank to determine the kind of financing that you need, however, there is a distinct difference between home construction lending and conventional mortgage financing. You need to have a construction credit that will be responsible for the payment of your suppliers and subcontractors and then once the house is completed, you will need to have a residential mortgage that will be used to pay off the construction line.
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Find The Right Builder
You need to conduct extensive research to find out who the most reliable builder can produce quality work without taking potentially risky shortcuts. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has highly recommended builders if you cannot find one online.
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Understand The Property Market
When you are building your home or buying it off the market, it is always important to do so with the knowledge of reselling it one day. So, you need to know its potential value in your neighborhood so that you don’t end up over pricing it.
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Be Innovative
Nowadays, the building industry uses technological advances to ensure that energy efficiency is a priority. For instance, it is crucial to find the right heating and cooling systems that are offered by many HVAC service companies. Going green is the best way to curb high energy costs, so purchasing an adequate HVAC system that requires little to no maintenance is ideal.
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Keep Notes
Having a list to keep track of what has been done and what still needs to be done is important to note potential problems that could affect the quality of your home. This will help you avoid any unpleasant surprises once the construction is completed.
The Bottom Line
If you are just adding a second story to your home then you are familiar with most of the basic principles of the building process. However, if you are someone who has never had to go through the process of building a house before, it is important to conduct research and to speak to family and friends who have gone through the process. The most important thing to remember is that the payment should be done after the job is completed. The process requires a lot of hard work and it can be lengthy with many unpredictable setbacks.