Building a Home

Have you ever thought about building a home? I don't mean actually digging the foundation and doing all the work yourself, that's way too much work for your average person. No, I mean buying a 'custom' or 'semi custom' or even a 'Build to Plan' home from a Builder, then being involved in the process from the moment you sign the contract to when you walk through the front door of the finished home for the first time. It's VERY satisfying, I think more so than simply buying a pre-owned home, but there are some pros and cons to consider -


Pros -

• You get closer to your 'ideal' home as opposed to someone else's ideal
• You may be able to affect or influence the design, build, and finish of your home
• It's clean and tidy on day one, with no damage to fix up
• You can get the builder to build in or prepare the home for subsequent additions
• In a rising market, your home may be worth more than you pay for it on day one.

Cons -

• No matter how carefully you plan, not everything will be perfect!
• The level of influence you have (or want!) may be limited
• Basic items such as towel rails/curtain rods etc will generally have to be added by you
• You are at the mercy of the builder pricewise for anything not agreed upon in advance
• In a falling market your home may be worth less than what you agreed to pay for it on day one, plus you may be stuck with your previous home!
• You have to wait 6-12 months for your home to be built

So, here's few of the pros and cons of building a home as against buying one pre-owned. In subsequent posts, I'll examine our building process from start to finish, and point out some things to look out for!