Building the Dream: 8 Important Steps to Building Your Own Home

Over 5 million homes were sold in 2018 in the US alone! That’s a whole lot of people moving house. But moving into someone else’s old home isn’t the dream for everyone. Sometimes, you just want to start from scratch. From the counters in your kitchen to your porch furniture, you can design it all when you self-build. But there’s a lot to learn before you start!

To make sure you know what you’re doing, check out our steps to building your own home.

1. Sort Your Finances

Most people who have taken on the task of building a new home will tell you that it always costs more than you think. Don’t let it scare you, though – it’ll be worth it in the end! To try and sort your finances as much as you can, create a detailed budget. You’ll have to do a lot of market research on this. Find out the average prices of materials, hiring costs, and extra fees you might run into.

Even if you’ve saved up a lot of money, you can look into self-build mortgages for a little extra help. Put this extra cash aside for any problems you run into, just to make sure you’re always covered. You should also make sure you have the right insurance policies as you build. These will save you a lot of money and worry if there are any big mishaps.

2. Take Time to Hire the Right People

One of the most important home building tips is to spend time making sure you hire the right people. This is especially important if you have no building experience. The team you hire is going to guide you through the process, so choose wisely! Meet lots of architects, builders, and other staff for interviews, and ask for referrals from others. If you can get past reviews for workers, do so. Find people who understand your vision and who you feel comfortable with, too.

3. Consider Hiring a Designer

Even if you think you know exactly what you want, a designer is invaluable when building a home. They can help blend your ideas with practicality, and they’ll have much more experience of the building process. There are also so many tiny decisions to be made every day, so giving some control to a designer who understands you will save a lot of time. Try and find a designer with a 3D visualization studio. They’ll be able to create realistic, 3D images of your ideas so you can see what your finished home will look like. It’s a great way to make sure you’ll like the design ideas so don’t skip it!

4. Plan as Much as You Can

As we said, every day is going to be full of decisions. To stop delays in building, you’ll have to make these quickly too. To keep stress to a minimum and building fast, try and plan as much as you can. After you’ve created the architectural plans, think of every little design feature your builders will need. Have tile choices and flooring ideas for every room, and make sure your doors and windows are already chosen. Plan right down to the tiny details, including:

• The style and color of doorknobs
• The finish of your kitchen counters
• The style of window you want
• The color of your skirting board

5. Visit the Site Frequently

If you ask anyone for tips for building a house, they’ll tell you to visit the site all the time. Of course, you can’t be there 24/7, but if you can make visits every day, then do! This will just keep you on top of what work is going on. It’ll also stop any communication problems and keep everyone on the same page. Even the best builders can make mistakes, but regular visits will keep them to a minimum.

6. Keep Good Relationships

From your architect to the team fitting your windows, make sure you make an effort with all of your team. Not only is this good manners, but it also makes building a home much easier! If your team is on your side, they can talk to you easily and understand what you want, so there will be fewer errors. You’ll both understand each other and feel comfortable to ask when you don’t. Creating relationships with your team will encourage them to do their best work. You can also keep in touch for future jobs, which will be handy over the years!

7. Hire an Independent Inspector

When it comes to tips for building a new home, we’d always recommend hiring an independent inspector. Your building team will send out their own, but someone you hire will usually be more vigilant. They may find errors your building team doesn’t look for and will be more critical of the work. For the highest standard of quality, always opt for an independent inspector.

8. Look for Ways to Save Money

For the last piece of advice, we’ve got some money-saving tips. By spending some extra time being savvy with your cash, you can reduce costs by a lot in the end! Here are some ways to save money:

• Avoid site preparation charges by finding a good lot that’s free of debris
• Choose a stock plan instead of a custom-drawn plan for your architecture
• Find items for scrapyards or demolition sites to build your home

Start With These Steps to Building Your Own Home

Building a home can be incredibly rewarding. It’s a huge project to undertake, though, so make sure you’re prepared! Our steps to building your own home are a good place to start. For more advice on self-building and property, check out some of our other articles.