Building the Dream: 5 Tips When Building a Custom Home

Posted On Thursday, 03 December 2020 22:12

When it comes to building your ‘dream home’, nothing compares to a custom home build. 

You’ll have complete freedom to customise every element of the home to suit the individual location, the composition of your family, your personal style preferences and the way you like to live day-to-day—but while the benefits are plentiful, building a custom home does still come with some risks and challenges.

If you want to ensure the experience you have when building a custom home is a pleasant one, here are five valuable tips to help you navigate your homebuilding venture like a seasoned property developer.

1. Build a contingency into your budget

A budget blowout after construction has already commenced is possibly the most significant risk homeowners face when building a custom home. 

Unlike buying a fixed price house and land package where there are very few unknowns, you’re more likely to come across unexpected costs with a custom home build, and if you can’t cover the additional costs, you may find yourself with an uninhabitable half-finished home.

Building a contingency into your budget of around 10% of the total cost of the project will ensure you’re prepared to handle any financial overruns without jeopardising the entire project.

2. Take the time to perfect the design

Requesting additional changes to your home after you’ve signed off on the plans is one of the most common causes of budget blowouts. 

When your builder provides a quote for construction, it is developed based on the exact specifications included in the design. Any changes you make after that will need to be re-costed and could mean big money. 

Investing a little extra time early in the piece to thoroughly consider each element of the home and perfect your designs will negate the need to incorporate any potentially costly changes further down the track.

3. Ask for an itemised break down of costs

Home construction quotes can be confusing and it can be difficult to understand where your money is actually going. Requesting for your quote to be itemised with a detailed breakdown of individual costs will provide greater control over the design and budget to build your ideal custom home. 

You’ll be able to see what each dollar is being used for, making it easier to determine which features you want to add, edit or delete to ensure you can include everything you want in your new home while working within the constraints of your budget.

4. Research the builder

Home construction contractors come in all shapes and sizes. While some builders specialise in custom built homes and will be well-equipped to manage the project, others may lack the necessary knowledge and experience to handle the unique challenges of following a one-of-a-kind design.

Before you commit to a contractor, it’s worthwhile doing some research to find out more about them to decide if they’re really up for the task. 

View their portfolio of previous projects and do a few online searches to read the feedback from previous customers. You may even want to ask to speak with some previous clients to find out more about what their experience was like.

5. Confirm how you’ll be updated throughout the project

Communication can also be a major bugbear for homeowners undertaking a custom build. 

If you’re expecting to receive frequent detailed progress updates but your building contractor tends to adopt a more ad hoc or unstructured approach to keeping you in the loop, you’ll likely find yourself feeling anxious or uneasy about the whole project.

Rather than leaving it to chance, it’s best to specify the frequency, method and level of detail you would like to see with each update early in the piece—if the builder seems unresponsive or unwilling to accommodate your wishes, they may not be the right fit for your project.

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Agent Resource

Limited time offer - 50% off - click here

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.