Many would agree that building a custom home is quite a process, even if they have no experience doing so. Just from what you’ve heard, seen, read and what you can gather… it can seem like a long, complicated process. It’s true that there are many steps and many parts to building a custom home. However, the end result is the home you’ve been dreaming of.
From beginning to end, custom home building can be a 1 to 2 year process. In the beginning, the client may decide he or she wants to build. Once that decision is made, they need to pick a location and a builder. The land on which they’re building must be secured.
The contractor, I believe, should be chosen at this time because this is the individual that will be doing business with this person for 1 to 2 years. Subsequently if any warranty issues arise you want someone who will service your home. A good contractor will give you a range you can expect to spend.
Once this is covered, it is time to engage a qualified architect. I see so many people do things backwards. They buy the lot, hire the architect, do the plans and then choose a contractor to give them a price. Many times the client then realizes the cost of the project is above their original budget. If an individual considering building first comes to a qualified builder, they can help them with location and pricing that fits within their budget.
However, if you already have the location and plans done, remember this: cheaper is not always better. You are building your home, not your office. You want someone that cares and will be there if something is defective. I believe, if after getting estimates, your preferred contractor is within 5 percent of competition, that that is money well invested.
At Lynch Construction Group, we ask a lot of questions. What is important to the client? Speed or craftsmanship? What is the budget? Where do the children go to school? What is your home location going to be and where is your office located? We know that it is important to find out our client’s priorities in order to have success in building them their custom dream home.
Call us for a free consultation at 225-445-0350 or get in touch with us on our website! We can help guide you into a home you will be happy with.
Wondering what type of work we do? Take a look at our past project portfolio or check out our Houzz or Pinterest profiles to see some of our past work.
Thanks for talking about the correct order of things! It does make sense to get the contractor first, before getting the architect. Is it likewise just as bad to come to the contractor with plans for the home you want and then get a bid off of that? (This is if you can find plans out there on the market, already drawn up that we would then have to purchase.) And if it’s best to hire a contractor before securing plans, what would bids look like?
Those are great questions.
I think it is important to speak with an experienced contractor first. I have had clients come to me with stock plans they bought off the internet and the finishes, detail work, and size of the home blew their budget. You are correct to get exact estimates you need plans, but an experienced contractor can give you a good range of price. You then can add or take away to meet your budget.
Now, if you are looking in a new constuction subdivision that you know how much the homes are selling for and you have plans done in a similar fashion , then I think it’s safe to do plans first and put out for bid.
I hope this helps
Thank you,
Robert
I will have to agree with you when you say that cheaper isn’t always better. I know when constructing your own home, you will want to go cheaper, but I think it is important to not always go cheaper. Do a little research on the materials and find out which materials need a specific quality and which don’t.
This is some great information, and I appreciate your point that building a custom home can take up to two years. My husband and I have decided that we want to build our dream home, and we were wondering how long it could take. Two years is a long time, but it would definitely be worth having exactly what we want, so we’ll look more into it. Thanks for the great post!
Thank you for all this great information about the customer home building process! I overheard my friend that she wants to do custom home building and I didn’t know exactly what she meant. That makes sense that it would be a 1 to 2 year process since everything is being figured out for the first time unlike a pre-built or pre-planned home. I will show this to my friend and hopefully this process is perfect for her to get her dream home.
Glad this was helpful to you Sandra! Thanks for the comment!