When designing a custom home, there is a great deal to consider. Custom home designs offer many opportunities to get exactly what you want, but you need to know what questions to be asking, or it's easy to miss something big.
To help custom home builders plan a bit more thoroughly, we've put together a list of the most important questions you should be asking before starting on your project.
Question #1: Why Are You Making a Custom Home?This is a simple but critical question any custom home builder had better ask. In essence, why are you doing this?
That's not a facetious question. There are plenty of reasons to want a custom home. You get an immense amount of customizability that's almost impossible to get with a traditional home purchase.
At the same time, you now have many design choices you'll be making. So what do you want out of your new home?
For some people, it's about style or achieving a strong aesthetic. Others have the perfect room layout in mind, allowing for day-to-day convenience and pleasing flow to one's day.
Your answer to this question and the next we mention will guide almost every aspect of the project in ways both big and small.
Question #2: What is the Base Design Aesthetic?There are many different kinds of homes one can build. While there are certain to be types of homes outside your price range, you still have a choice to make. What sort of home do you see yourself living in?
This could be called your base design aesthetic. If you're making custom home plans, a great many of your choices should be built around that base. This will help your home maintain a sense of coherence.
You can still make design decisions that deviate from the base. What's important is you know when you're deviating in the first place.
Question #3: How Will You Set Your Budget?It is next to impossible to predict with total accuracy how much a construction project will cost. What isn't impossible is estimating the cost to an accurate enough degree that setbacks won't ruin the project or your wallet.
There are a few ways to estimate the cost of a project, but one of the best is talking with an expert. For many people, building a custom home is a new, alien experience. For construction experts, it's just another job.
How difficult it is to set your budget will depend on how specific your plans for your home and how much you're willing to spend.
If you cannot deviate on your design goals or price, it may be a lengthy process to figure out exactly what is and isn't doable. If you're able to budge, a lot of that complexity can be smoothed over.
Question #4: Who Will You Be Working With?Unless you're a construction expert, building a custom home will mean working with a construction company.
We don't think we're just biased in thinking Jeff Watson Homes should be one of the first companies you consider for a project like this. While we do have a horse in this race, this kind of work is literally our specialty.
Whatever your choice, make sure the process is transparent, with check-ins at every step to confirm details with you and make sure you're getting what you want.
Unless you want a lot of work ahead of you, make sure you're choosing a company that knows how to interact with vendors and subcontractors to nail down the nitty-gritty of the project without your needing to make dozens of tiny choices.
Question #5: Where Will You Be Living?Perhaps as important as the home itself is where it will be located. Lot selection and evaluation is an important element of the building process.
Location can have a big impact on your costs and determine what your day-to-day life in the home is going to look like. Even if you don't spend much time outside, the choice still matters.
You can't phone in lot selection; changing terrain if you decide you're unhappy with it is expensive and time-consuming. That aside, it's also just silly not to try and get either the nicest or most affordable lot for your needs.
Keep in mind this all also determines things like what businesses will be in range, what events will be nearby, and the overall culture you'll be immersed in.
Question #6: Are There Any Plans to Expand?If you plan on expanding your home in the future, it can do a great deal of good to design a house with that in mind.
Done right, this sort of planning can have a dramatic impact on the costs of your plans. The fewer things need to be moved and altered, the more affordable the project.
This is also important for aesthetic reasons. Home expansions run the risk of looking globbed onto a home if there wasn't any planning involved. With effort, the new construction can fit in more seamlessly.
We'd Love to Help Meet Your Custom Home NeedsA custom home is a big undertaking but one that is well worth it if done right. By asking the right questions and working with the right professionals, a custom home can bring joy for literal decades.
No matter what part of the process you're on, the odds are good our team at Jeff Watson Homes can help. If you'd like to work with a company specializing in these kinds of projects and with a good track history, contact us!
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