Let’s look at some tips for building a custom home. Building a custom home can be a dream come true. You can place everything just where you want it. The flow can be made to work exactly as you would like for your family. There are many benefits for building a custom home. We’d like to give you a few tips on some areas to think about when building a custom home.

Do your research when buying raw land

• Many times you have your perfect piece of property picked out before beginning to build. You may want a large piece of land, maybe you are wanting waterfront, or you just want the perfect location. Something you need to consider is what it will cost to prep the property. Do you have to put in a well or septic system, or do you have to work with the city to get lines ran to your land? All of these areas need to be thought through and added into the budget.

Be ready to adapt your design to fit your building site

• Each building site has specific characteristics that you may love, yet they may also make it more difficult to build your dream home. If your waterfront property makes it difficult to have the size home you would like to have, you may have to modify your design. If you bought within a neighborhood, you will have to look into their criteria for building…some are very particular. Your lot may have beautiful, mature trees that you would be better to incorporate into your landscaping, rather than take down. Thinking through working with your land rather than against it, will save you money and heartache down the road.

Set a clear budget before beginning the design process

• Many times designers and clients believe they are on the same page until the design and price tag come out and everyone is disappointed. Setting a clear budget will help the designer understand where you want to be. If you begin working on your home design without a set budget, you may get way outside your means fast.

Choose a home designer that fits your style

• This sounds obvious, but many people will choose a designer expecting them to be good in all areas.

  Most often, designers have strengths in certain areas, modern, arts and crafts style, or classic. You will want to really look into the style of your designer before making a commitment. The designer will tend to fall back on what they are good at and you may not get what you want.

Give green building a look

• Most people have a misconception that incorporating green building techniques will be expensive. The truth is that most green building practices put into place in the design phase cost little to nothing extra. Most of these savings come from engineering changes, not architectural ones. Take a look at window orientation, heating system, roof overhangs, etc. and you will be surprised at how you can add to the efficiency of your home without giving up any design aspects.