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BUILDING YOUR OWN HOME |
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5 Steps:
Building Your Own Home |
- » Visit a lending institution to find out how much you qualify to borrow to build a home. Check with banks and mortgage companies. (If you need some suggestions on who to try, ask a builder for help.) If you don’t know how much money you have to spend, then you cannot decide anything.
- » Visit with a builder to find out what size home you need or can afford. Discuss things that are important to you that should be considered when building your home. Talk with more than one. You can gain knowledge from talking to these people about what their company is like and how comfortable you feel with them.
- » Pick a builder. Make sure that the builder you plan to work with is properly licensed to do business in the locality you wish to build. Make sure that they are properly insured in case of accidents. Ask for references and pictures of previously constructed homes. Check with the better business bureau to see if there have been any complaints logged against them. Check to see if the owner or owners have ever filed bankruptcy (VERY IMPORTANT!). Ask around about the builder to friends and acquaintances. Check to see if the builder is paying his bills. Ask them if they could give you references from their subcontractors. Check to see if the contractor is a class “A” contractor. In some states this means that the contractor has some sort of financial security that can be gotten if there becomes a need to litigate for uncompleted work. Check with the bank that the contractor deals with and make sure that the company is financially secure enough to take on your project. If you are planning to build in a subdivision where there is only one builder, randomly knock on doors and ask the owner’s of finished houses how they like the home and about their satisfaction. Be leery of giant companies. It is better to go with a smaller company that has more “hands on” and control over the project and less of a “crackerbox” approach to your home.
- » Pick out your lot. While friends and family mean well, they may not be able to pick out a buried ridge of rocks, a flood plain, or a difficult problem with the lot. Unless you are an expert on land and building do not purchase a piece of land without first asking a builder to look at the lot. Narrow down your list to no more than 3 parcels that you are interested in and ask a builder to give advice on construction difficulty. If you are looking at lots within a subdivision where there is only one builder allowed to build your home be very skeptical. Knock on the doors of people that have had there homes build by these “track builders” and get a reference on their quality and the owners satisfaction (if there is no one living in the subdivision yet look around for other subdivisions that they have built or just ask them for a list). Don’t just take the word of your Realtor on how buildable a lot is. They may not be as knowledgeable about the construction process as you may assume or they may tell you they are. Remember the Realtor gets a commission on what he sells you. Check with builders to find lots. Sometimes they will have lots or know where to find some.
- » Pick a floor plan. Deciding where you want to live should come before what the house should look like. While some floor plans could work well almost anywhere, you should consider the lay of the land and any possible views that could be taken advantage of before you fall in love with a floor plan. Your builder should be able to supply you with many floor plans to consider (not just a basic 5 or 10). Do not purchase floor plans from an outside source! (unless you don’t have anything better to do with your money) Your builder should be able to come up with a plan that suits you for a very nominal amount of money or free. If you see a floor plan that you like that your builder did not offer, get a copy of the general layout and discuss it with your builder. Do not purchase “kit homes”, “Home Packages” or “Modulars” until you have selected a builder. You need to have an idea of what all the costs of constructing your home will be before you spend money. Don’t be pressured by salesmen to buy right away. It may cost you more in the long run.
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