Building a Home | build a home | how to build a house

Before we can discuss how to build a custom home we need to understand just what a custom home is. The Custom Builders Council of the National Association of Home Builders defines a custom home is a home designed and built for a specific homeowner on a specific lot. There a lot of homes advertised as customs homes that are not. By the above definition if it is already built it has not been built for a specific homeowner. Most of these homes fall into closely related categories semi-custom and Spec homes.

Note that the definition does not address the level of quality in the home. A two bedroom home with a 4/12 roof pitch that is designed by an architect for a specific site and client would be custom. A three story six thousand square foot home with and elevator and seven bed room built for a parade of homes and marketed as custom is not a custom home. From a marketing stand point the builder of the second home is trying to present the features of the homes as being of a level usually found in custom homes.

A true custom home starts in the minds of the homeowner and architect and on a blank sheet of paper. This home is nearly always the most expensive because the homeowner are selecting features and materials without regard to the cost or more important taking advantage of the efficiencies of production homes where the builder can buy hundreds of sinks instead of one.

A semi-custom home is a home build from an existing plan with modifications, sometimes extensive modifications. In his type of home, if it is being built by a professional builder, it is far more common for the materials to be selected from a smaller group of suppliers and manufacturers with which the builder has a relationship. The builder usually will get better pricing because of the quantity that is purchased. The professional builder will also call on experience to select materials that are cost efficient within the quality level expected, easy to install and likely to create the least call backs.

A semi-custom home is likely to cost less - most often a lot less - for several reason including the design costs less because the plan is available and it is easier to modify and start from scratch; if a professional builder is involved he is selecting materials that are cost efficient, reliable and available; and the builder has built the plan before and has worked out the bugs in the plan.

A spec house is one built by a builder on speculation that the home will sell. The benefit of this type of home is the builder selects materials and features that the market in the area has selected. For example a fireplace might be added if they are popular in the price range of home being built. The builder can also build the home without dealing with a home owner during construction which reduces delays and changes.

While a production home may not fit in this discussion many production builders will try to market their homes as "custom' while using materials and methods more associated wit less expensive homes. The production home will always be less expensive but there will most often be little chance for customization.

There are more people than ever before who are making the very wise decision to build their Dream Home! From nice little bungalows nestled on inner city in-fill lots to huge 8,000 square foot mini mansions located on acreage waterfront home sites, the opportunities are endless for today's savvy Owner Builder.

However with the numerous examples of beautiful homes that will produce countless memories for their proud owners there are just as many cases of the Owner Builder project gone awry! The beautifully conceived Tudor style home that never reached completion, the Mediterranean stucco home that never left the architects' drawing board and the 4 story town home that went way over budget and took over a year and a half to complete!

My goal is not to discourage you from building the home of your dreams but instead I hope to educate you on the 5 most common mistakes that have plagued Owner Builders! If carefully heeded, your Custom Dream Home project will go off without a hitch and provide your family, friends and loved ones with numerous years of enjoyment!

Here are the 5 Mistakes you should avoid when you construct your Dream Home!

#1 - Do not over-build for the community or area. It is important that you build a home that is comparable to the majority of the homes in neighborhood and/or area. If the average home in the area is 4,500 sq. ft., then I suggest you build no more than 500-1000 sq. ft. larger than the average home in that area. In most cases, I suggest that you never build a home smaller than the average home as that could prove to be a challenge if you ever decide to sell.

#2 - They design a home that is too unique that doesn't have mass appeal!I am sure you can remember driving through a neighborhood and you saw a home that simply stuck out like a sore-thumb! I believe in being different however when it comes to designing my Dream Home I don't want a home so unique that it causes me to lose money. Really unique homes that are not comparable to the surrounding homes in an area are hard to value and in many cases the owners are never able to recoup their original investment.

#3 - Choosing the wrong builder!Your choice of builder in many cases is the single most important decision in the whole process of constructing your Dream Home! It is important that you exercise caution and that you thoroughly interview at least 3-4 different builders before making a decision. You should also visit the on-going projects of the builders to see the projects they are presently working on. The time you spend planning with and interviewing builders will prove to be the single most critical aspect of your Custom Dream Home project

#4 - Trying to save money by performing work on the home themselves!Unless you work full-time in the construction industry I strongly recommend that you pay experienced trades to perform all of the work on your Dream Home. Sweat equity generally takes longer than expected while the potential savings are never as substantial as anticipated and they generally add unnecessary stress and anxiety to a process that already has too many variables to be managed. It has been proven that time spent planning and managing your project is 3 times more valuable than time spent actually working on your Custom Dream Home!

#5 - Not securing Construction Loan Financing first before doing anything else in the planning process!I saved this for last with the hopes that it will stick with you when you forget any of the other mistakes! By securing your financing first, you now make it easier to design and plan your project because you know exactly how much money you have to spend. This becomes extremely important when you sit down to design your home so that you don't design a home that goes over your budget.

The other benefit to securing your financing first is it provides you with a strategic advantage when you negotiate with builders because they understand you are 100% qualified and are ready to begin construction once you decide on a builder!

Hopefully you will write these down and keep them close and review these mistakes as you begin the planning of your Custom Dream Home. Using these tips will save you time, prevent stress and help you produce a top-quality Dream Home that your family will enjoy for years to come!

In the midst of this so-called "real estate downturn" and "mortgage implosion" there is another rapidly growing trend that is quietly unfolding all around the country! Quite honestly, this is not being covered on the nightly evening news and you will probably never see this on CNN or MSNBC but it is nonetheless a growing trend that requires your attention!

If you take an evening drive around the inner city or to the outskirts of town nearly anywhere in the country you will see people building their Dream Home! From single story ranch homes on several acres to large 7,000 square foot mini-mansions on waterfront property, there are more people than ever before making the wise decision to build their Dream Home.

Despite the credit crunch, depressed home values and the sub-prime mortgage debacle the custom home sector of the real estate market has bucked this down-ward trend and grown steadily! This growth has been fueled by several factors including the historically low interest rates, lower commodity and construction material prices and the abundance of contractors and tradesmen. For the first time in several years there has been a slowdown in construction which has left many trades and contractors looking for work.

Construction materials have not been this low in nearly 7 years and 2008 is the first year in several years where the large builders have begun canceling and halting construction in their tract home communities.

This cocktail of events has created a perfect storm for Owner Builders looking to build their Dream Home. I am seeing the ability to negotiate better than normal pricing with trade contractors and many builders are looking for more work and are offering better terms than normal to book more work and keep their crews busy during this period.

Add to this that the average Owner Builder generally saves anywhere from 22 to 30% or more on the total construction costs of their home and you begin to get a picture of how beneficial building your own Custom Dream Home can be. Where I live the average custom home costs around $475,000, so a 22% savings nets you $104,500! That is a tremendous amount of money to save on a home that has been designed and constructed with your every desire, needs and wants in mind! With these kind of savings being realized, you can easily see why so many people are electing to build their Custom Dream Home!

An added incentive for building in this present environment is that the above figures do not factor in the potential cost savings on materials and labor from the trade contractors as well as the potential price and terms concessions that you could get from the land owners whom you will be purchasing the land from. Land developers are offering tremendous incentives and terms to secure more contracts; many are offering owner-financing and up to 2 years with no payments!

Another incentive for building your Custom Dream Home now is the present spike in energy prices! Most homes built before 2000 have several design flaws and deficiencies that contribute to higher than average heating and cooling costs, which have increased the overall cost of ownership for many families.

Using current technological innovations that have come on the market in the last 3-5 years, you could literally cut your energy costs by as much as 75% with a properly designed energy efficient home. A good friend of mine who purchased a tract home back in 2000 had cooling bills during the summer as high as $600 a month on a 2 story home that was 2,800 sq. ft. Using radiant barrier, dual paned windows, proper a/c system design and a tankless water heater he could literally slash those energy bills in half at a minimum! I predict that going forward energy efficiency and heating/cooling costs will move to the forefront of most homeowners buying decisions concerning their home.

When you consider the low interest rates, reduced prices on labor and construction materials and a true buyer's market for real estate in general I think you too will agree that now is the best time in recent history to build a Custom Dream Home!

Now more than ever, there are more people building their own dream home all around the country! You can drive through inner city America in most cities and experience the rapid redevelopment of the inner city with dense townhome construction and McMansions. (McMansions are semi-custom homes from 3,500 to 5,000 sq. ft)

Likewise you can take an evening drive to the outskirts of town and see more McMansions and estate homes being built on acreage and waterfront home sites. Many of these homes are being built by families fed up with the low quality inefficient tract homes and are opting for a more custom and personal approach to the homebuilding process.

Most people consider the merits and even dream of building their own home but never really grasp the true financial benefits and the reality of being able to design and build their Dream Home! The allure of being able to build the home of your dreams with your favorite amenities is quite a temptation to resist however most get equally (if not more) excited by the tremendous savings that can be realized!

Building your Dream Home for less has nothing to do with cutting corners or building a home that lacks quality and first class workmanship. In fact, you will find that most Owner Built homes are superior in quality and design to many tract homes and overall provide a better quality of life for their owners.

There are several pieces to the custom dream home puzzle however, I have found that there are (3) primary strategies to employ to help you build your Dream Home for less!

#1 - Secure favorable terms from a local Construction Loan Expert first! - Working with a lender who is well versed in the various construction loan programs available will go great lengths in helping to save you thousands of dollars when constructing your dream home. In most cases, your Construction Loan Expert will be able to provide you with referrals of reputable builders, real estate agents and architects as well as contractors who work with owner builders. And because you have the money in advance of securing any of the other respective members of your Custom Dream Home "Dream Team" it gives you an unfair advantage in negotiations, not to mention the added savings of providing you with the best loan terms available.

#2 - Eliminate the retail builder "markup" by managing certain aspects of the building process! - Most people think the largest cost savings are realized via sweat equity, however the time you spend planning and managing the process has proven to be 3 times more profitable than sweat equity! The best way to eliminate the retail builder mark-up is to hire an independent builder or general contractor to handle the day to day operations and management of your construction site. Generally you will be paying this construction professional based on the scope of the overall project or on a per square footage basis. People who build in this manner generally realize savings of 22-30% or more on the total construction costs of their Custom Dream Home.

#3 - Build your Custom Home in a relatively new, growing community with strong demographics! - We have all heard that location, location, location is the key to success in real estate. Location is especially important when constructing your Custom Dream Home. It is important that you really study the building and development trends as well as the demographics of the areas that interest you before making the final decision. I have seen cases where a $400k home increased in value to $750k in a 5 year period while a comparable home in a comparable community in that same time period only appreciated $75k. So as you can see location is truly key and it could have a drastic impact on your overall net worth.

I have found that upper middle class suburban communities and urban inner city areas tend to outperform over time so start your search there.

Using these tips as a guiding point, you should be well on your way to planning and eventually building your Custom Dream Home for Less! I trust that you find this article informative and helpful and I wish you the best with your Custom Dream Home project!

When we plan to construct house for residence or for commercial purpose selection of land becomes very important. We must test the land before start any construction to get maximum advantage and also to avoid mishaps and loses.

Procedure to Test the land: -

To test the land first make a pit of the size of 18"x18"x18"- and fill it with the same material- which has come out while digging the pit.

While filling the pit completely if we find some material left behind, the land will give prosperity to the owner. If nothing is left behind while filling the pit fully, the land is neutral and it will neither give any benefits nor any losses to the owner. But if the material is short of filling the pit the land will be risky to the owner.

Now take water and make a square pit and fill it with the water. If water in the pit rotates clockwise, it is good for the owner. If water in the pit rotates Anti-lock wise, the land is evil for the owner. If the quantity of water remains the same after 3 minutes the land is best for the owner. If water is halving the same after 3 minutes, the land is medium. And if water dries out totally after 3 minutes, the land is worst and not advisable to construct anything on that soil.

We should remove all stones, debris, Thorny trees etc completely. It will be harmful otherwise. The color of land should not be white, Red or green. The taste of land should be sweet, sour or chilly. Smell of land should be like Lotus, food grains, or some other sweet smell.

Jaipur real estate market is witnessing interesting trends. The city is witnessing a boom in the real estate transactions. Besides flats, plots, land banks and apartments; the city has hawelis and forts on sale. Many of Jaipur's ancient hawelis are up for sale or lease. Property brokers in Jaipur are offering big, palatial hawelis to be used as hotels or retail units.

Jaipur realtors, a local property brokerage firm, is offering a 100 years old haweli for sale. The plot size of this place is 864sq yards and is deal for hotel business. It is located near Johari Bazar, which is the city's Chief Business District (CBD). They have another heritage haweli of the size of 864 sq yards up for sale near Rajmandir Cinema Hall. The brokers say these hawelis can be remodeled per the commercial requirements for a limited time period.

Besides this, the brokerage firm also has many forts, fortresses and old garhs (small forts) up for leasing. All such properties usually belong to the erstwhile royals who have now leased or sub-let the properties for commercial benefits. Such properties are ideal for large commercial operations like malls or hospitality businesses. Hence, these properties always fetch good rental returns.

Rajasthan is known for its rich cultural heritage. Hence the hospitality units always do well there. Now, even retail units are gaining popularity and the property brokers are wooing big retail houses like Big Bazaar or Reliance for such properties.

There are other developments on the residential front also. Lucknow-based property developer - Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd.- has expressed their interest in building residential units in Jaipur. Sahara has however commissioned Era Infra Engineering to carry out the construction activity. This project is worth Rs 320 million and is expected to be completed by 2009.

Being one of the fastest growing cities of India, property prices in Gurgaon are at the levels, which most real estate buyers find beyond their reach. If someone wants to buy a house in good localities developed by the likes of DLF, Unitech and Ansals, he really needs to have a deep pocket.

In the other case, you don't have any choice except to buy a property in the upcoming areas of Gurgaon around Sohna road, where at least a property buyer get a house in a moderate range of Rs 25-Rs 35 lakh.

If a buyer has a budget in between Rs 50 lakh and 70 lakh, he can get an apartment with an area of 1,300-1,800 sq ft with 100% power back up, covered/ open parking and 24x7 security, informed Sumit Arora, a property dealer. He further informed that as per buyers' requirement we also suggest them to buy a flat around Sohna road, where they will get a 1,800-2,200 sq ft property in the same range.

Mahinder Singh, another Gurgaon-based property dealer, says that in the range of Rs 40,00,000 to Rs 50,00,000, a buyer gets a 1,000-1,500 sq ft flat in co-operative societies spread in the sectors of 10a, 9, 40, 45, 46, 55, 56 but the buyer doesn't get amenities such as swimming pool, club, auditorium, which they get from renowned property builders.

Sachin Gupta, an MNC employee, at the other end expressed that it has become almost impossible for a middle class family to buy a house in the NCR, especially in Gurgaon where the property prices have risen so high that you can't afford to buy an inhabitable property. Upcoming destinations like Manesar and Bhiwadi make an option but they are way off from the work place, he comments. A common man's concern indeed.

You made your decision; you are finally going to build that log home. Not just any log home, but that special creation you've held in your mind's eye for so many years. You have walked on those hardwood floors, gazed out from behind those oversized picture windows, cooked dinner, curled up by the fire, and even slept in that special home - using that vivid imagination of yours. Oh yeah, you've been dreaming about your log home for a long time, and you have finally decided to make your dream become your reality.

Got land? Before you spend too much time browsing floor plan possibilities, you need to know where that home will be built. Not all floor plan designs are suited for all building sites. For instance, a walk-out basement typically requires a home being built on a slope or recessed into a hillside. Additionally, some plans are designed to take advantage of the home's location relative to sunlight so even if you already own your land, you will want to know where and how your home will be positioned on your property. Once you have an idea of where those logs will be stacked it's time to figure out what that stack needs to look like.

Now the fun begins, and the first order of business is to choose the right floor plan that is consistent with the home you have pictured in your mind's eye - and the property on which it will be built. Odds are you'll probably not open a magazine by chance and stumble upon a floor plan that has occupied your dreams all these years. Choosing a plan and refining the design to meet your needs will require some research, self-introspection and creative inspiration.

By and large, almost any residential floor plan can be adapted to a log home, but there are substantial differences and considerations that need to be addressed. One such example is that of room dimensions as they relate to the diameter of the logs you will be utilizing. A custom handcrafted home made from 20" diameter logs will have a different footprint than one requiring 6" milled logs. If this is the first time you will be dealing with a log home manufacturer or architect, make sure you are comparing 'apples to apples' when discussing interior dimensions. If you want a room to be 14' wide, make certain that your designer knows that you want the interior of the room to have 14' of open clearance and not measured from the center of the corresponding logs. Using the example above, your 14' room could shrink to 12' if such presumptions are not understood.

A floor plan is about space deployment, or more specifically, the space you want (or need) for family members, guests, pets, entertaining and basic household operations (i.e. cooking, dining, laundry, storage, etc.). Furthermore, it is easy to overlook space requirements for many things we take for granted such as hobbies, displaying collections and other family activities. Try to anticipate as many of your family's needs as possible and expand your floor plan to accommodate your desires.

Once you have identified this all-encompassing 'wish list' you will almost certainly find yourself over budget. If money is no object - no problem, but if that Lotto jackpot has so far eluded you there are things you can do to bring that budget back in line. The most obvious and often least expensive way of doubling your floor space is to make use of the basement. A properly designed and finished basement is the perfect place to have a spare guest bedroom, home theater, hobby or play rooms, additional bathroom(s), laundry facilities or a home office.

One of the best tips about using a basement for additional living space is to raise the ceiling. Adding an extra foot (or more) in the height of your basement ceiling is much less expensive than adding an additional floor or expanding the overall floor plan, and the added height will eliminate that closed-in feeling you get with so many basements.

Adding or enlarging dormers is another way of capturing space from a second story or loft that is framed by a sloping roof line. You will be surprised how a well-positioned dormer can make a small loft appear much larger and provide vertical walls to accept seating, bookcases or tables that usually will not work with a conventional knee wall.

It is also a good idea to keep a list of things that you don't like; things you may have seen in a magazine or noted when visiting other log homes. Some of the most frequent complaints one hears about log homes, especially older models, is the lack of storage space and small closets or bathrooms. This is most often the result of poor planning or not taking into consideration the diameter of log walls and the lack of attics in most log homes. Refer to your list when discussing details with your designer and remember that in most cases you cannot build a closet or a bathroom that is too large.

These are just a few ideas that can help you choose and refine a floor plan to fit your lifestyle and accommodate your family's needs. Your log home company or architect will have many ideas that you may not have considered so encourage them to offer suggestions. Explain what you are trying to achieve and let their experience and knowledge guide you, but in the end, this is your floor plan.