Three Tips for Getting the Custom Built Home of Your Dreams

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned,” Maya Angelou, the American poet, once wrote. Being able to have a home we feel comfortable in, that provides a safe space for us and our family members, is something many of us hold close to our hearts.

Have you been looking into the possibility of custom built homes? There are many advantages inherent with building a home to your specifications, rather than having to fit your needs around an existing home. It’s easier, for example, to plan out a safe place that older parents can eventually move into when one has the ability to build a semi-separate living space within the home, complete with kitchenette and outside door.

It’s not hard to get the custom dream homes that you’ve been looking for. There are, though, some road bumps you could potentially hit along the way. Here are several tips for making sure the house you plan out is the home you end up with.

1. Plan for Future Needs

It’s easy to be short-sighted when it comes to your present needs. Your kids are babies — it’s the nursery that matters! The average family lives in their home for seven years, but this statistic includes many people who rent rather than pay a mortgage. If you’re considering custom built homes, you probably want to be there for a while. Are your parents older — will they eventually need a place to stay? If your friends are becoming more interested in home entertaining, would a finished bar area be an interesting addition to the basement? Et cetera.

2. Be Smart About Builders for Custom Design Homes

Like most people, you’ll be tempted to go with the developer offering the lowest price. If you’re looking at new custom homes, though, you want to go for quality over price, especially because finding a great developer can save you money in the long term even if the price looks higher upfront. We’ve all heard the stories about custom homes not built on schedule, and homeowners having to pay for a four month stay in a local hotel. Find a home design team that has a great local reputation for honesty, beautiful design, and dependability.

3. Be Careful of Over-Customization

Customization is great, but be wary of going overboard. Everyone has their childhood customization dream, whether it’s a guitar-shaped pool or an entire room built to be a cat playground. Highly customized, hard-to-remove features, though, can ultimately bring down the value of your home when it comes to buyers down the road. Most people want to see a clean slate, not custom built homes made to look like a jungle.

Do you have advice for families interested in custom luxury homes? Let us know in the comments. Reference links.