Avoid These 4 Mistakes When Building a Custom Home

Mistake#1: Moving Too Fast

Some clients know exactly what they want when it comes to custom home design ideas, and don’t want to waste time before breaking ground. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of expansive square footage and shiny finishes to come, but moving too fast in the layout and design phase could lead to outgrowing the home unnecessarily if you aren’t considering how your needs will evolve over time.

Solution: Take Your Time When Making Decisions – Think About the Future

Would it make sense to include an extra garage space for when the kids start driving? Should you incorporate an extra living space and second kitchen for an aging parent to move in at some point? Right now you’re only driving two cars, and want a bonus room with ample storage and play space for young children, but use the critical design phase to assess your family’s needs both now and in the long term. Lean on the design experts to figure out various possibilities for incorporating an in-law suite as part of that bonus space. Spending the time to make these changes on paper is far more cost effective than doing so after construction begins or renovating a finished build years later.

Remember: this is your dream home, so it makes sense to take the time you need to get it right! Whether you’re finding your builder, fine tuning your floor plan, or selecting what seems like the 172nd faucet, take the time you need to make these decisions.

Mistake#2: Only Considering the Cheapest Lots

An amazing builder will craft a supreme abode, no doubt. But every build is made better when it starts with a special lot. Cheap lots are just that – they’re cheap for a reason, and sometimes you won’t know until you’re living in the house. Is it cheap because it sits behind a tall apartment building and gets little sun? Or because it’s part of a bulk development project with neighbors an arm’s length away? Cookie cutter lots can detract from the home’s overall appeal, especially if several similar facades pop up nearby.These are challenging questions to pose when all you have to go on is your imagination and you’re just standing on a pile of dirt marked “For Sale.”

Solution: Remember – a Great Lot Increases Home Value

Location. Location. Location. When you start with a solid lot you’re not only bound to enjoy the home more, you’re also likely to see increasing value in the future. Always start with a lot that gives you the space and neighborhood amenities you want, then focus on designing a masterful floor plan.

Bigger lots, especially outside of developments, give you more flexibility with the orientation of the home as well as the square footage. This means you can enhance the view and take full advantage of the land and the natural light.

Mistake#3: Choosing a Builder Based on Price

Many factors contribute to the price of a custom home. The lot, labor, materials, design process and so much more all go into the grand total, but not every builder structures the cost the same way. Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples when assessing estimates and don’t assume one builder is better because their estimate is lower.

Some builders are less expensive because they hire less experienced subcontractors. Or, the materials used on the exterior and as inside finishes are low-grade products. These make the initial price look pretty good, but most clients pursuing a custom build want the best of the best. Ask your builder about what is included in the price. Is that the baseline, common finishes price and should you expect an extra $30,000 in upgrades to make the home truly custom?

Solution: Go With a Team You Trust to Build Your Dream Home

Choosing the right builder might be the most important decision you make. Talk to people who’ve built with them before, look at their previous work, compare their expertise and portfolio to other similar builders and ask lots of questions.

Weaver Custom Homes has been a trusted custom builder for more than 40 years. Our homes are not only beautiful but also very livable, designed for the way you live today and years to come. We may not be the cheapest builder, but we are certainly in the same range as our peers. More importantly, there are several factors that set our work apart: the quality of the materials, workmanship, and scope of work. Our expert team is big enough to have efficient processes in place but small enough that we get to know every client on a personal level. Our homes are durable, designed works of art created exactly for you to call your own.

Mistake#4: Settling for Less Than Custom

Building a home and building a truly custom home are two different things. Some builders offer semi-custom homes which better serve certain budgets, but they’ll never be one-of-a-kind floor plans engineered for your specific lifestyle. When you select an existing design, you’re compromising a vision that could require modifying future plans. Or, you’ll end up paying for features you may not want like expansive windows that could impact the home’s energy efficiency.

Solution: Pick a Custom Builder, Not a Convenient Floor Plan

Is there more work involved in a custom build? Absolutely. But the extra time and attention that goes into creating a truly custom design far outweighs the temporary convenience of a copy and paste project. This is your home and it should be built for YOU.

Seek a partner like Weaver Custom Homes who offers decades of real world experience in all phases of floor plan creation, interior design, and construction. We start from scratch to create a personalized plan that meets your unique needs before collaborating with building system experts, skilled craftsmen, and other trusted professionals to reach the high bar we’ve set with each custom design.