5 Advantages of Designing Your Own Home
Home buyers today are bombarded with options and advertisements on prefabricated homes and neighbourhoods. Clients are able to see plans of their home before even really thinking about what their own needs are. Home buyers are taught to think: “Yes, I could probably live in this home” instead of “Yes, this is the home for me”. Clients are not encouraged to have independent thoughts and are encouraged to accept designs given to them rather than those they have thought out for themselves.
When designing a custom home, clients must be aware that they are in charge and have to be ready to accept the challenge of constant decision making. This will ensure that their future home is nothing short of their unique standards and expectations. Outlined below, you will find 5 unique advantages to designing your own custom home.
1. Your Budget is Flexible
Being financially aware through the duration of your project is an option only available when building custom. When purchasing a prefabricated home, clients are limited in deciding the price. They are given a final price that they must accept and cannot modify their home in any way to compensate for unwanted rooms or finishes. Alternately, if a client wishes to upgrade certain crucial rooms in their home, that option is not available to them despite potentially having room in their budget.
2. Full Customization
No family is a replica of one another, yet homes are continuously built assuming the needs of individuals. It seems that the only decision clients have a say in is the amount of bedrooms their home will have. A home needs to be built with its residents’ needs as a priority. What is the flow of the family? Do different individuals have different needs for privacy? Is the family able to accept an open concept home?
All of these questions are important when designing a custom home. What may work for one family may not necessarily work for another. When choosing a company to build with, ensure that they are receptive to your unique needs. It is important to remember that acceptance is a valued virtue when purchasing a prefabricated home whereas creativity is not.
3. No Renovations to Anticipate
While touring prefabricated home options, clients go into these homes expecting to renovate them. The basement is likely unfinished, there may be more walls than you anticipated, there is an unlikely chance of builders investing in open spaces… and suddenly what may have seemed like an easy purchase with no thought has turned into a 10-year renovation project where you are likely spending $70,000 – $110,000 in renovations, depending on your needs. With a custom home, everything comes as desired and your home is what you want it to be the second you step inside for the first time. Your home is already something personal that you don’t need to spend more time and money personalizing.
4. Managing the Construction
When purchasing a custom home, you are completely involved in the process – the home is yours and you are able to check up on it as much as you like. Your builder is devoting more time and also has a personal connection with your home and wants to ensure that it is up to your standards. You can oversee the construction if you please though generally, once the plan is finalized, you cannot modify it. By building custom, you are naturally more involved in the process of construction and become more attached to your home.
5. Unlimited, Modern and Energy Efficient Options
Though the amount of freedom can be overwhelming to some, it is important to note that most builders and custom home designers realize that this is an intensive process and they are willing to assist you in designing your home. Companies specializing in custom home building are always prepared with a few generic models of homes that they will modify for their clients in order to be sure that they still get their unique home. Builders will work as advisors and provide input as they are naturally more experienced in home building. After living through the design and the building of their own home, clients will feel more attached to their home due to the amount of time and effort that went into building it. The home will feel uniquely theirs and will serve as an oasis supporting their everyday life.
In today’s modern housing market, clients are constantly exposed to having the option to custom build their home. Many see this as a financial impossibility, but that is not necessarily the case. Considering the 3D technology that now goes into low-rise building design, clients can virtually see their home before beginning the process of realizing its physical form and adjust it within the confines of their budget. With a home that is properly insulated, structurally sound, fitted with natural energy options and built exactly to the clients wishes, it is the best possible solution to turning the activity of purchasing a house into purchasing a home for life.
Sources:
Lerner, M. (2014, May 12). How to Fulfill Your Fantasy With a Custom Home.
Retrieved from realtor.com: http://www.realtor.com/advice/finance/fulfill-fantasy-custom-home/
Platinum Series Homes. (2014). 6 Reasons to Build a Custom Home.
Retrieved from Platinum Series: http://www.platinumserieshomes.net/why-build-a-custom-home/
