The housing market in certain states is exploding right now. People are shuffling all around the country for cheaper living costs. So, what better time to have a custom home built, right? Well, that will depend on your situation and what the market is dictating at the time. Better Build Now would love to be a part of that process for your journey, so we put together some tips to guide you through the thought process of deciding between an existing home to take the dive into a custom-built home.
Be Flexible
One of the things you will see stressed in our blog posts is the budget. This is something that you must build flexibility in when you are creating the budget for your new home. As we have mentioned before, there are factors that sometimes come into play that will impact the cost of the build going up, such as weather, labor shortages, and supply chain. However, there are also going to be times when a “bargain” presents itself in terms of upgrading, and you want to have that flexibility to take advantage of that situation. Point being, you should not be rubbing two pennies together if you are about to buy a custom-built home.
The Lending Process
Know that the lending process can be different for custom-built homes over what we would consider to be a “typical” mortgage, especially if you are the one securing the land. If this is an area that does not already have existing plumbing, gas, and electrical lines, that can become even more challenging. For instance, when buying an existing home, you would generally put 20 percent down and secure a home mortgage. When doing a custom build, you may have to get a temporary construction loan that is later converted to a home mortgage, which would mean more closing costs.
Ask Questions
This is a very long process and in all likelihood, you have not gone through it before. So, you want to make a list of questions and make sure they are all asked and answered. If you have little to no construction experience, we are also going to recommend that you hire a residential construction project manager or a consultant. They can help guide you through these waters and ensure your interests are protected through every aspect of the process. Best of all, these professionals will generally have existing relationships with reliable contractors, which can be invaluable when it comes time to start the building process.