Archive for the ‘Building a Home’ category

Estimating Your House Building Costs

July 15th, 2011

You want your dream home to be built but just how much house building costs do you need to prepare? This is often asked by everyone who wants to construct homes. It is vital to have the appropriate estimated amount so that you can determine if you have the ability to cover all the expenses. The key is thorough planning. Below are some of the things that you need to take into consideration when estimating the construction costs.

First, you need to count how much square feet your home covers as you will need this detail when you contact a local builder. This is what they ask for as they charge per square foot. They can help with providing you ballpark figure depending on the particulars that you will tell them. It is important that you know what their estimated price includes so that you will be able to determine whether there would be additional expenses that you need to pay.

Second, you need to acknowledge the fact that there are certain parts of house that will cost more such as bathroom and kitchen. This is because of the pertinent details that you need to add into it. Windows can also cause a big dent in the budget especially if you prefer to have many of it. Its size and quality will also have an effect on the cost. You are most likely to have less house building expenses in putting up two-storey home. This is because it requires smaller roof, ventilation and plumbing. » Read more: Estimating Your House Building Costs

7 Steps To Success When Building A Custom Home

July 15th, 2011

Sometimes building a custom home can be intimidating. In today’s home market, most houses consist of a cookie cutter house plan that everyone else within your community has. You may have noticed when driving through that hip new subdivision that the houses all look similar on the outside. Chances are, those houses look nearly identical on the inside as well. So it’s natural for us to be unaware of how the custom home building process works. Since custom homes are just that…custom, every builder’s process is different; however, these seven steps should see you through to achieving success when building your custom home.

  1. Budget – Before you begin wasting your time or a builder’s, you should first determine what your budget would be. Add up your total monthly expenses, aside from housing (since that’s what you’re trying to determine), and whatever money you have leftover to spare from your income is what your budget should be. Once you have your budget, you can then determine what type of custom home you can afford.
  2. Location - Next, figure out where you would like to live. Seems easy, right? Well, remember that there are always several things to consider when choosing a location. How convenient would your location be for shopping, schools, work? Are you near a freeway on-ramp? Is there too much noise pollution? Figure out what schools are in your district, even if you don’t have kids. Having good schools in your district means good property value. What will this area look like in 10 years? Will it be heavily developed? Will it be congested? Will that brook you love so much be a parking lot?
  3. List - Now that you’ve selected your location, you can begin creating a list of builders that build in your specific area. What’s the best way to do this? Search engines can provide great results. For example, if you were looking for custom home builders in Dallas, pull up Google and type in “Custom Home Builders Dallas”. You’ll receive a string of search results that should be relevant to your search. In addition, you can cross check these search results for reviews on Google Places or Yelp. Once you have your list, begin your extensive research. Request information/brochures, peruse their website and even visit some model homes. Try to get a feel for the builders’ price range, the types of custom homes they build, their reputation, and their expertise.
  4. Decide - Once you’ve done your thorough research, it’s time to choose which builder you’d like to go with. Take your time making your final decision. » Read more: 7 Steps To Success When Building A Custom Home