What You Need to Know Before Building a Home

Sweat equity is the term used when an owner contributes to the labor of building a home.

Building a home is a major step in your life. It is an opportunity to design into the home the little things that are important, while leaving out costly options that don't appeal to you. Building a new home, though, doesn't happen overnight, and it doesn't happen by chance. A prospective homebuilder must have several areas clear in his mind before attempting a project this large.

Financing

The most critical knowledge is how much it will cost to build a home and whether there is sufficient money to pay for the start and an ongoing mortgage. The cost of the home is dependent upon location, size, style and materials. A qualified architect or contractor can help you determine what is best for the family and what the home will cost. Mortgage brokers at banks or independent companies work with you to determine the ability to find financing for the home. A homebuilding mortgage to provide enough upfront money for the contractor to build the home might be needed. After the home is built, that mortgage is converted to a normal mortgage with monthly payments.

Home Style

The location often determines the style of a home. Many newer suburban subdivisions require that all homes match a range within a certain design style. Other styles are dictated by aesthetics. For example, normally a log cabin in a lodge style is not found surrounded by modern trilevel homes. A hillside dictates that a flat ranch cannot be built there. You must either find a location and match a home to it or find a home style you want and then match the location to it.

Building Codes

There are many building code legalities to building a home, and, depending upon your relationship with the contractor, you may need to be familiar with them. If the contractor is handling all aspects of the home, then you have less to concern yourself with. But if you are helping to pick out material and design the home, you should have a basic understanding of what the codes allow and prohibit.

Professional Responsibility

Working with professionals in their own field is often confusing because they know their jobs and you don't. They take certain things for granted and assume that you understand. Knowing the exact responsibility of every party in the planning and execution is critical. Otherwise, wrong decisions may be made by the wrong party, and the finished home will be disappointing. Have them take the necessary time to go over all the steps, processes and decisions until you are comfortable that nothing is being left behind.

References

• Home Building Smart: Homebuilding Steps --- Five Key Things to Know Before Starting; 2011
• Say Build: Smart Home Building Plans -- Construction Guide and Steps
• Small Home Building: Steps in Building a Home; 2011

Resources

• My Construction Planner