Part 2: 6 Challenges with Custom Builds - What Shocked Us & Tips if You're Building a Custom Home
- Molly Ishmael
- Feb 12, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 13, 2022
This is Part 2 in the two-part "6 Challenges with Custom Builds" post series. In case you missed PART 1, click here to read!
If you're thinking about building a custom home, I advise reading this post so you know what you're in for! Don't worry, it's not bad news - it's just a maze of unexpected choices and challenges which had we known in advance, we could better have prepared. But we're learning and we will SHARE!
Dust off your boots! Site prep can get a little crazy.
PART 1 RECAP
(To read the full Part 1 post, click here!)
1. Compare Your Land with Your Plans: Make sure it's feasible (and legal) to achieve your dream home on the lot you're considering purchasing. Everything from HOA to zoning can stand in the way.
2. Be Prepared for Multiple Design Appointments: Unlike planned communities, there is no one-stop design shop when you build custom. Every choice is a separate order and be prepared to spend days driving all around to various vendors.
3. Vendors are Your Friends! But They're Not Responsible for Your Design: The vendors you work with are trusted partners with your builder and that's wonderful, but they don't know your floor plan or design plan as well as you do, so double check all your choices before signing on the dotted line.
Of course, I could write a longer list, but if you're prepared for the 6 challenges covered in these posts, I promise you'll already be more ready than we were! Now, let's move on to Part 2, the last 3 challenges to consider when preparing to build a custom home!
Building a custom home on a raw lot is very different than building a new home in a planned development.
6 CHALLENGES WITH CUSTOM BUILDS - How to Prepare & Tips for Success (Part 2)
The process is fun but it's also a lot of work. And of course, since finances are involved, it can be stressful. The more prepared you are, the better!
4. Site Prep is a Lot of Work
When it comes to building a home, believe it or not you can't just do anything you like on your own land. I already mentioned zoning and HOA restrictions in Part 1, but let's say so far so good, and you commence with buying land. Things continue to check out and you finally start building. Then as the overgrown lot is being cleared, that's when you find it: an old well that has to be refurbished or capped - not cheap. Oh wait, that's just what happened to us, haha! Well, perhaps this exact set of circumstances may not happen to you, but the point remains that even after doing due diligence, sometimes surprises present themselves and you have to figure it out, pivot quickly, or pay up.
Unisex work boots; I love mine!
In a planned community this doesn't happen. In those cases, a developer has already prepped each site and planned exactly what options are allowed. All utilities are already available at the sites, and any surprises that arise will fall to the builder to remedy. Not so when building on a vacant lot! Anything could happen and nothing is pre-approved. That said, people still do it all the time. These challenges are simply something to be aware of, especially if your previous experience building new homes has taken place within planned developments where such concerns don't even cross your desk.
Takeaway Tip #4: Be flexible with your plans and have a healthy contingency budget.
Sometimes finding pricing info felt like being in a mystery show!
5. Pricing is Often Uncertain
Now we understand all those HGTV shows where the home owners always go over budget! I always wondered why they didn't plan better - now I know it's not that simple. Had we been able to make our choices before obtaining a construction loan, then we would have known exactly what amount to borrow. But many custom builders don't allow that, perhaps due to the massive time investment it would take for them to source all this info before they even know if you're really going to build. So we had to get a loan before making any finishing choices. And the banks do not allow you to change your amount later - we know because we tried, haha! A construction loan is the equivalent of a mortgage and the final number is what it is. I get it, but this makes things trickier for the home owner. Everyone made educated guesses to figure the loan amount, but in the end, some estimates didn't line up with reality. Then we were faced with the decisions they always show on TV: either cut something major from the design, or shell out cash above and beyond the loan.
Further, there may be delays in finding prices in the first place. Because you can pick just about any product in the world, sometimes there is not immediate pricing available when you're choosing finishes. The builder probably has some pre-priced options they can show you, but if you want anything outside of those samples, they have to source the product, check all measurements against your floor plan, and then figure their up-charge as it may apply. This process can take weeks (or months, in our experience).
Finally, some suppliers may not give the home owner prices directly at all. This is because many vendors give a special price builders who then mark it back up for profit. (They have to, that's how everyone makes money and stays in business.) Plus, there may be installation costs on top of products. So, estimating cost isn't as easy as browsing the Lowe's aisle with a calculator.
While all of this is understandable from the builder and vendor standpoints, as the home owner, it's tricky to navigate the process. To some extent you're picking products in the dark... "I like this, but I wonder what it costs." If the pricing comes back unattractive to you, you have to either visit the vendor again or try to remember back-up options. And from a design perspective, when you change one thing, it may require more changes. The process may seem oddly inefficient at times, but it's the price of building 100% custom, so you may as well mentally prepare.
Takeaway Tip #5: Be specific when drawing up your build contract and don't trust that generic allowances will cut it. Go so far as to request pricing for particular products in advance if possible, and have a plan for what to cut if needed.
My mood board for the overall design.
6. It's Challenging to Keep it all Straight
As an example, we finished our floor plan in May and signed the contract in June. In August, our construction loan closed. In mid-late September, we finally got to meet the builder's designer. The next few weeks were spent meeting other vendors and choosing products. And construction didn't actually start until December. In other words, by the time we sat down with the flooring vendor, so much time had passed I practically forgot what our floor plan looked like! Of course, I knew the basic layout, but the finer points weren't fresh in my mind anymore. Thankfully, the builder sends the floor plan ahead with all applicable measurements, and the vendor usually guides you through it, but they don't know the plan like the back of their hand nor can they possibly be expected to know your specific design vision. So there is a lot of onus on you, the owner, to check your options with the builder and make sure you didn't accidentally pick something that doesn't fit (i.e. a non-standard appliance, for instance) or that may look strange - remember, vendors don't know the other finishes you chose elsewhere.) The builder or their designer will probably catch incongruencies, but I still like to double check.
Be ready for anything with this 25' tape measurer.
Not only can big choices become overwhelming, but also little ones. For example, while waiting on design pricing from the builder, both Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales happened. I LOVE deals, so of course I wanted to take advantage of those sale days to buy a few new decor pieces for the new house! But we hadn't even signed off on final design choices or pricing yet. How would I know if I was choosing things that would actually work in the new place? I experienced paralysis by analysis, but just in time before the Cinderella of deals turned into a pumpkin at midnight, I decided to bite the bullet and clicked to buy. I'm glad I did - my Black Friday steal was 70% off a huge art canvas, and Cyber Monday's steal was a wooden beaded chandelier for the dining room that otherwise is NEVER onsale.
Those purchases were successes but somewhat nerve-wracking, and the experience prompted me to finally "get it together" and create a design board. Now that I have my vision down on paper, I can more easily navigate shopping going forward. I recommend PicMonkey to easily create mood boards. It's only a few dollars a month and easy to use. I don't get paid to say that; I just like the software. (Or of course, you can simply hire me to design a vision board for you! :)
Takeaway Tip #6: Create design boards (also called "mood boards") as you go along your process to keep yourself on track with design choices and decor purchases.
NEW: I'm now offering virtual design services to inspire your space and assist with all the nitty gritty details!
BONUS TIP: I'm now offering virtual design services including creating mood boards and e-shopping lists to help you plan your next home makeover with ease!
Check out my affordable service offerings HERE: Virtual Design Services by Molly Ishmael
Remember, when creating something from scratch that's never been done before, there are bound to be some ups and downs. It's normal to experience decision fatigue, construction challenges, and even regret that you started the process - but don't give up! Refer to your design board, have a written plan, take a deep breath, and remind yourself why you're doing all this. A person's reason for doing something, our "why," is a powerful force. Our reason is our daughter, to give her a life closer to nature. And that's what keeps my chin up, whatever construction challenges may arise. After navigating all the obstacles, there WILL be a completely custom and unique house at the end of the road, literally! And we just can't wait.
With Love,
Molly
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