I am 22 years old and live in California. My husband and I want to eventually buy some land and build our dream home on it, custom made all the way! How do I go about doing this? What are some good resources to look into for pricing and time? Thank You
next month will be 4 years since my custom designed home was completed. my wife and i met with two builders. the first was a "cookie cutter" type. when we showed the salesman our rough sketch of what we wanted he said, " we can do that….. but we can’t move that wall more than 6 inches….. no, we can’t do that at all", etc.
the next guy was a hands-on salesman as well as a site foreman for a custom home builder. first thing he said to us was "show me what you want and we’ll build it for you." he had an in-house graphic artist lay out a floor plan as well as a computerized drawing of what our home would look like. then he gave us some estimates on building costs per square foot and estimates for allowances for fixtures. we then went to Home Depot and other kitchen and bathroom companies to get pricing on how much it would cost for us to buy what we wanted and compared the expenses to the allowances the builder gave us. this then gave us a good idea of how much the final cost would be.
so first i would suggest making a rough floor plan for the home of your dreams and shop around (as well as ask around) for a reputable custom home builder to make a preliminary appointment to meet and discuss costs.
good luck!
March 1st, 2010 at 10:35 am
Start getting in contact with builders and see if any of them offer a "model" that fits what your dream house would look like. Once you have the specifics in mind you can then shop around with other builders that provide the same specific service. If no builders have a model that fits your specifics you will have to talk to an architect who often work on an hourly basis which is easy to shop, but remember some architects are simply better than others considering it is a creative profession.
References :
I am a Realtor
March 1st, 2010 at 10:47 am
It is much harder to get a loan for a property that is going to be used for a custom build. How much savings do you have? Can you buy the property outright? How much do you and your husband make? What area are you looking in and how much of a house do you want?
Then you have to find out if the town will allow you to build the house so you must get the plans from an architect and submit them with the Zoning board for approval.
Good Luck
References :
March 1st, 2010 at 10:55 am
next month will be 4 years since my custom designed home was completed. my wife and i met with two builders. the first was a "cookie cutter" type. when we showed the salesman our rough sketch of what we wanted he said, " we can do that….. but we can’t move that wall more than 6 inches….. no, we can’t do that at all", etc.
the next guy was a hands-on salesman as well as a site foreman for a custom home builder. first thing he said to us was "show me what you want and we’ll build it for you." he had an in-house graphic artist lay out a floor plan as well as a computerized drawing of what our home would look like. then he gave us some estimates on building costs per square foot and estimates for allowances for fixtures. we then went to Home Depot and other kitchen and bathroom companies to get pricing on how much it would cost for us to buy what we wanted and compared the expenses to the allowances the builder gave us. this then gave us a good idea of how much the final cost would be.
so first i would suggest making a rough floor plan for the home of your dreams and shop around (as well as ask around) for a reputable custom home builder to make a preliminary appointment to meet and discuss costs.
good luck!
References :