As the Local Real Estate Market continues to improve, the supply of existing houses is starting to get depleted. If you are like many potential homebuyers who are finding fewer existing homes to choose from, perhaps you may want to consider building your own. Having gone through this experience myself, I can offer some sound basic advice before you go down this road. This type of project is not for the faint of heart so you first need to be honest with yourself. How do you deal with disappointment or about going over the budget you had decided was all you could afford? Do you live close to where you are planning to build or will you need to oversee the project from afar? If you have a wife, partner or significant other, are you both in agreement with the basic concept? If not, I don’t recommend building, but on the other hand if you both have thought this through extensively, then it could truly be your dream home. There are some basic things you should do. First, establish a budget in advance that includes all the potential costs; the purchase of the property, the development of the land to include the infrastructure, such as wells, septic systems, driveways, bringing power to the site and landscaping. All too often folks buy the land before putting a pencil to all the costs associated with preparing the site before building. You can get estimates from local vendors on all these costs. Next, what style and size home are you planning on putting up? How many square feet, what amenities are you thinking about, and will it be a modular or a framed house? Will you be employing the services of an architect or perhaps getting your own plans and bidding the job out to a contractor? I hope by raising some basic questions, you will do your homework well in advance, so that in the end it truly will be your dream come true.
