Are you planning to have a house built? There’s a lot of things to consider. Below are some tips that you can use to help you with having your dream house built for you. They will help you with making the right decisions for you and having your needs met.
Don’t Do the Work Yourself
The general contractor’s your team coach. They gather the bids, work with the subcontractors and ensure the work’s done on schedule, in your budget and correctly.
General contractors have connections in that industry and they have great relationships with the things like electricians, plumbers, and other subcontractors. The subcontractors want to make sure they’re doing the best work possible for the general contractor so they’ll work with them again.
A subcontractor won’t stay in the budget and on schedule if they don’t know they’ll work with them again. Even though it may seem expensive to hire your own general contractor when you work with a professional it will help you stay on budget and on time.
Don’t Be Laid Back
This is going to likely be your life’s biggest investment. You shouldn’t be passive. Make sure that you’re there to make decisions. Read the contract and understand it. You may also want to have your lawyer look over it too.
Get copies of the insurance policy of the company. You want to make sure that they’re insured in case someone is injured. Otherwise, you may be on the hook for it. After they have started the construction, it can be very hard and costly to change the plans, so you want to make sure you know exactly the things you want before you get started.
Don’t Cut Corners on Your Budget
There are going to be builders who can promise cheap prices and faster turn around. But these savings often have a higher price later. They often will put extra expenses on later in the project.
Even if there aren’t additional fees, it’s highly likely that having a big difference in the price means that you are going to have lower quality materials. Think about it. What if the substandard windows don’t last as long? Chances are that you are going to pay as much as you saved and more to have them replaced.
Remember to Choose the Right Location
Although it’s convenient when you live near stores, strip malls or gas stations, you don’t want to live too close to them. You want to have things be accessible but you don’t want it to be right there. Why? Because even though you might like it being there, it could make it hard for you to sell your house in the future.
Stores and busy streets aren’t family friendly or quiet. Think about the resale value before you choose a place because it’s cheapest to build. Things such as water table, terrain, and slope also are going to affect how simple it will be to build your house, so you want to do some homework before you purchase your lot.
Remember the Neighborhood
Before you break ground, look at the homes that are in your neighborhood and make sure that you are building a house that’s around the same size of the ones that are in the area. The largest and smallest house in the neighborhood often can be the ones that are most difficult to sell.
You also should have a home style that’s similar to the ones in your neighborhood. If you’re surrounded by Victorian homes, putting a stucco home isn’t going to be a good idea.
Make Sure Your Budget Has a Buffer
You want to have a budget before you build your home. There should also be something called the slush fund in it. This is what will take into consideration those unforeseen overages and circumstances. There are always going to be incidentals even when you have a great well-intentioned bid.
Choose Your Builder with Care
Take a bit of time and interview a variety of builders before you choose one. Speak with previous clients. Make sure that you’re choosing someone who you’re able to connect to and who’s going to transform those ideas and make them a reality.
You also want to look at websites like Angie’s List. These sites will see what people have to say about the businesses. It’s also a good idea to ask to see previous work that the builder’s done, in person and in pictures. Remember that you’re going to be working with this person over several months.
Be Careful With the HVAC System
When you poorly plan this system, you may find that you’re having issues with mold growth and moisture. This can also mean that you are having problems with your health. You want to make sure that you are choosing the right size for your unit. When you have a unit that isn’t big enough, it’s going to underperform, and it won’t heat and cool your house efficiently. If you choose one that is too big, you’ll have high energy bills.
Choose the Right Place for the Laundry Room
One thing that you want to consider is how long do you plan to live in the house? If you are planning for it to be your forever home, you may not want to put the laundry room down in the basement, since it’s going to be harder for you to get up and down the stairs, as you get older. It’s a good idea to keep the laundry room closer to your bedrooms since that’s where most of your wash is going to come from. But the choice is very personal.
These are nine tips that you should remember when you are having your house built. Remember, this is a huge investment. You want to make sure that everything goes right with it and that you are happy with the results. These tips will help you with accomplishing that and enjoying your brand new home.
