Building a Custom Home

Building Your Dream Home 101

Building a Custom Home with all the amenities that you have always wanted can be an anxiety producing proposition or it can be organized in such a way that the "glitches" can be kept to a minimum.  I work through the entire process with you from selecting the lot to handing over the keys to your finished new home.   Here are the steps that we will go through:

The first order of business is to obtain financing.  Once you have all the financing in place so that you know what size loan you qualify for, what your payments will be, and how the payments to the contractor(s) for work in progress are paid, you will be able to make educated decisions about costs.  You will know why there are separate loans for land acquisition and for construction and what a 'take-out' loan is.

Now we start looking for a homesite.  Are you interested in acreage or a suburban sized lot in a gated community?  Is foothill living with septic tanks and wells instead of sewers and city water something that you have considered?   Once you have chosen the lifestyle and location of the community for your new home we will begin looking for the homesite.  Each possible homesite will need to be examined for easy access.  Are roads already in or do you have to develop and maintain a private road?

Will heavy equipment have any problems getting to the site?  What is the best orientation for a building with respect to the sun?  Are there any CC&Rs or zoning requirements that restrict use of the lot?  What easements are on the property that may restrict its use?   Investigating these issues before we write an offer will save time, money, and agony.  The general contractor that we have chosen will be a great resource in getting these questions answered for you.

Also in the contract with the general contractor, I will specify that the materials used will provide the most efficient energy use and we will spell out what the cost of change orders will be during construction.  Will landscaping be included?   Making all these decisions before the contract is drawn up with your general contractor will save time and money.

Designing the home is one of  the most important aspects of the process.  Who designs the home--can you use 'stock plans' or draw plans yourself, or do you need an architect?  You will need to spend time doing your "homework".  You can visit production subdivisions to get ideas, read books, watch videos, talk to other people who have built custom homes, order and study magazines with home plans, and talk to architects.  You will need to keep in mind the elements that will make the resale of the home possible also.

Fitting the finished product to your budget is also something to keep in mind. A general contractor can give you an idea of cost per square foot (depending on the quality of materials and extras that you want.)

After decisions have been made on the design, the next step is for the contractor to get permits.  The cost of the permits will be included in the contract with the general contractor. 

We will go over the timing of the project and what inspections will need take place.

We will make sure that your insurance carrier adds coverage for the workers on your job site along with the possibility of worker's compensation, liability and builder's risk insurance, if needed.  There may be a need for natural disaster insurance during construction.  You wouldn't want to lose your investment because of a brush fire.

We will discuss what liens are, what they accomplish, and how do you protect yourself from them?

Keeping the process under control requires checklists.  Using and customizing  home-building checklists and scheduling tools to keep the sequence of events organized helps to maintain control of the construction decisions.

The best part happens now -- your new home is complete and you move in. We will work together to make your dream home a reality with as few problems as possible.