How to Build a Home Instead of Buying One

Isn't it a dream to be able to build your own home? You can have it the way you like it and where you like it. In many ways the sky is the limit, but this will also be a potential issue as you are effectively project managing a construction and without the proper preparation it could go a bit wrong. This guide will look at a few issues you should be mindful of when planning this project.

What Type Of Property Are You Looking To Build?
It's all very well having an idea of your dream home, you'd want a huge space here a room of this shape over there, etc etc. But what you really have to be aware of is the cost and practicality of your project, you need to know what you want. Is it a custom design? If so the costs of architects and builders will be much more or are you happy to have a standard design on your own plot? It all depends on your budget and ideas.

Buy A Plot Of Land
Once you have a basic idea of what you want location should be the next thing you are thinking of. Firstly where in the country are you looking at building and what opportunities are there in the area, there are thankfully good places online to get an idea of what's available such as this handy directory of available developments in Iowa. Once you’ve started to look at this you'll get a good idea of what's out there.

Cost Of Basic Amenities Being Hooked Up
The cost of hooking up basic amenities of gas, electricity, water etc is absolutely key as if you get this wrong or forget it the cost can have a crippling effect on your budget. This is not easy to estimate when just viewing a plot and sellers may give vague assurances that it won't be a large cost but this is no substitute for finding out for yourself as costs can run to tens of thousands and even more if it's rural, for example a remote plot might have some road building needed!

Getting The Correct Contractors
Finding the right housebuilder is absolutely essential as you want someone you can work with for the duration of what will be a lengthy and costly process. It's key to get a builder with a good track record and reputation and that can prove and demonstrate past work with testimonials. If you feel you'd rather employ different contractors yourself for different aspects of the work and bring it all together that could be a possibility, however be aware you are effectively doing the job of project manager and if you don't have the time or experience for this then any savings made could easily turn into huge extra costs.

Managing Budgets
All this is dependant on budget and as you're probably planning right now there are a lot of factors such as what you'll get for selling your own home and getting everything done in the right timescale and in the right order. Make sure you are on top of everything from the start and stay that way so that you don't have a costly overrun!