Pitfalls in building a new house?

I plan on building my dream home but many people are warning me that this is trouble. What should I look for in a builder and how do I avoid cost blow out?Pitfalls in building a new house?
Wow. Where should I start? Yes, it's more trouble than you think, building a house. It can be a great learning experience and you can certainly get exactly what you want if you can afford that, but it's likely to cost more than you thought and take longer. First, most people find it very hard to translate what's in their head to something physical. Heck, I've worked with people who are getting paid $100,000 a year to do just that and they sometimes have trouble with it. As the first poster suggested, hiring an architect is a very good idea. If you should be lucky enough to find some stock house plans that are what you want, maybe you don't need one.





Ask around your area for a builder that people have been happy with. If you see houses you like, go knock on the door and ask who built it and how did things go. People are generally very willing to share about this. Plans in hand, talk with a few builders. You not only need a good builder, you need one you can deal with, one you can talk to, who won't talk down to you even if he is the expert.





Avoiding cost blow-out is simple and complicated. Be prepared to visit the building site often to see how things are going, but if you change things along the way because they don't look like what you thought after they're built, that's guaranteed to blow your budget. Make all your choices as far ahead of time as you can, and don't change once you've chosen. You don't want your builder to be held up because all of a sudden you don't like the tile you picked and have to go find another. Choosing ahead of time can also mean that you don't wait for deliveries which makes for less downtime. When making a budget, estimate on the high side and don't forget to include taxes and delivery charges. Ceramic tile might be $2/sf, but ordering 500sf won't be just $1000, it'll be that plus tax, plus delivery maybe, plus grout, plus special corner tiles maybe, etc etc. Lumber prices can fluctuate so can be very hard to predict. If they happen to jump 15% between when you estimate and when you order, you're stuck with that. They could go down, too, but somehow that rarely happens when you'd like it to.





Building contracts sometimes include penalties for overtime, that is, if the house is completed behind schedule. Discuss that with a builder. It might encourage him to give you a totally realistic time in the first place. I'd rather have a later but solid completion date than an earlier one promised but not delivered.Pitfalls in building a new house?
We have built for three homes over the last 14 years but have always chosen a community where the developer offers one or more builders from which to choose. The basic home price prior to interior and exterior options other than standard is determined by the type of neighborhood and size of the homes in that neighborhood. You choose the options you would like to add from their design centers so you control the budget you wish to stay within. Homes in these communities are generally done within 4 to 5 months after signing contract. If you wish to just buy a piece of land and go it alone, your process will be much more arduous particularly since you have never been part of any new home build process. First you would need to find the right architect. One that would be able to visualize your dream. Then you would have to interview builders unless of course the architect took over that role as well. Figure the cost of the architect, blueprint and designs as well as your contractor fees and of course having to do all your homework on interior design. Too much work, too much time and mostly too much money. Building within a pre-determined community offers so many choices that it's easy to find a dream home and so much less stress and work.
I don't know where these people are finding their builders, but we just had a custom home built and did not have the troubles listed to great length here..the biggest thing would be to do your homework..your home will not cost you double what is estimated..if you are building your dream home, you must have been looking at plans and land..get your land first..then you can get your plans drawn up and registered...to find a builder, you have to look around locally and ask around..people are more than happy to give out opinions..find at least three to get written estimates..this includes time lines and costs..going custom will mean you must discuss all extras with your builder so he knows how to estimate...you can change some things along the way, but that can up your cost, which is common sense..just be aware, and usually if the weather is good it will be done within a month after the timeline...you do your research and you will not have problems...make sure your builder has no problems with you stopping in any time you want whether they are there or not...if not..do not deal with them..find another. When purchasing land it is up to you to ensure you can build what you want on this..find out everything before you buy your land to be sure you can use it as you wish.
First, get a good architect, then a builder.





If you plan to spend $300,000 to build the house, expect to pay $600,000 by the time it is done.





If you plan to have the house built in 6 months, expect it to take 9 months.