From the Rooter to the Tooter; 7 Tips for Building a Custom Home from the Ground Up.

The day my husband and I met our home builders, we didn’t know that they would be the people who would change our lives.  It was February 22, 2016, we had just met with a realtor to discuss home buying options. When we headed back to the car, I received a return phone call from Suzanne, who was part owner of a custom home building company, in Georgia, run by her and her husband Michael.  Suzanne was cordial on the phone but upon asking our budget for the home, she told me that that wouldn’t be adequate for the type of homes they built. This, of course, peeked my interest and left me wanting to know what exactly were the types of homes they built. I had given Suzanne our “safe” budget. There was more to it but we hadn’t really come across any homes that would make us pull out that high joker just yet.

Since we were in the area, we met with Michael and Suzanne that day, in a subdivision where they had built several homes. Suzanne was seemingly the business end of this Chip and Joanna Gaines style, husband and wife partnership. While she is wonderful and friendly, she’s a professional first.  Michael, on the other hand, was all charm. To this day, I say that Michael was the reason we closed that deal. He had a magnetic personality, one that immediately puts you at ease. A guy with a 1000 watt smile, that could probably sell sand to a beach. However, it wasn’t in a sleazy door to door salesman kind of way. It was authentic and genuine like this guy would not steer you wrong.

We parked our car and hopped in their pick up truck.  They drove us all around that subdivision, showing us various homes they had built. Each one more impressive than the last. My husband and I sat in the backseat with googly-eyed admiration and holy shit vibes.  Finally, they drove us to the new phase that had just opened and had lots for sale. Basically, there’s a bidding/ selection process for various builders to buy lots in that section and use them to either build spec homes (homes built by a builder to their specifications, without an actual buyer) or custom homes. They pulled up to lot 13, a 1.68 acre lot and we all got out.

Michael gushed about this lot. He raved about how flat it was, how perfect it would be for building, how it was the best of all the lots they’d purchased in that particular section. All the things a girl wants to hear from a man or errr builder. Michael spanned his hand across that lot and gave us visions of grandeur. The way in which a house could sit, the backyard, the potential. Meanwhile, all I could see at that point was dirt and trees but I truly believe that God crossed his arms and sent the Abernathy’s to us to give us the vision and ultimately an amazing home that surpassed our wildest dreams. 

We weren’t looking to live in that neighborhood, area or to even start building as soon as we did, especially at the tippity top of our budget. However, everything about building our home, even at the most difficult times was truly a blessing and unexpected favor. Here are the things that I would recommend for those looking to build a custom home.

Before you start to find builders or build…

• Pray or meditate before even starting to think about building a home. You will be tested throughout the entire process. You will be frustrated and at times feel defeated. Summon the strength of your God or the universe to mentally prepare yourself.                                                         
• Save. Save. SAVE and get your credit toooo-gether. There will be additional costs. You will want upgrades and added amenities. Your first water bill might be $700 because you’re New Yorkers who have never had a yard irrigation system and didn’t realize it was running all times of the night but I digress. The bottom line is, if you have money saved, you’ll need more. We had a good amount of money saved when we met our builders. It’s what allowed us to actually move forward. That, in conjunction with them working with us. We still felt it necessary to maintain a 3 month rainy day savings, so we made up the difference by working extremely hard for those amenities and upgrades that were important to us and that superseded the budget. Do everything you can to save your money, the moment you know you want a house. We also lived with my parents during the building process and that was great* and allowed us to save tremendously. (*Great is the blanket word you use when you know your Mom will read this post)                                                                  

Once you are ready to start the building process…

1. Consider how long you’ll want to live in this home. Will it be a starter home or forever home? Then narrow down areas where you want to live. Consider the school system, work commute and neighborhood amenities that cater to you. We knew that we would not be moving for a very long time, so we needed an area where the school system was consistent from elementary to high school for our son.                                                                                                                                                                 
2. Have an idea of the type of home you’re interested in and find builders who build that way and who have examples of it. Custom homes differ from tract homes (also known a cookie cutter, these are houses within a subdivision that typically look alike or share the same style.) When building a custom home, the choices are endless based on the type of home your lot can accommodate. It’s best to at least narrow down your style so that the initial process isn’t as overwhelming.                          
3. Get pre-approved to see how much of a loan you’ll qualify for. Also, do some financial research. Look for current interest rates and familiarize yourself with loan jargon. Custom homes typically require a construction loan which differs from a traditional loan that you receive when the home is complete and you’re ready to close. Construction loans, allow the builder to draw off the amount of the loan while building to cover any and all costs.                                                                                                                           
4. Find a lot to build on, a builder and architect, if necessary. Luckily we got a two for one special, finding a builder that owned the lot. I went to Suzanne’s office and looked through several books of home plans, before choosing my home. Had I not found anything I liked, I could have also sought out an architect. Also, research anyone that lays hands on your home. Before we started building, I saw two homeowners that my builders built for while doing my semi-weekly stalking of the neighborhood to ensure it was the right fit for our family. They both had nothing but positive things to say about the way in which their homes were built. That, in addition to reading online reviews and of course Michael,  put me at ease when we signed the contract for our build.                                                                                                
5. Choose your floor plan and discuss your wishlist with the builder so they can give you a realistic view of how far your money can take you. Also, ask them what are some of their standard amenities. Many of the things that were standard with my builder, like exterior materials, trim size, ceiling and door heights are not the way in which other builders build within the same neighborhood. Come up with a game plan of what extras or upgrades are essential, a possibility and those that can wait. Usually, those things that are structural upgrades, should be done upfront. For example, we wanted real natural stone on the front of our house, not faux stone. We also wanted to finish an upstairs bonus space because who really wants workers traipsing through your living area, after you move in, trying to complete a space? We didn’t. These were two expensive upgrades but we thought it necessary since it would be difficult to change them later. We also completed things on our “possibility” list such as adding barn doors and nickel gap and scaled back on some things that are easily changeable like faucets and lighting.                                                                             
6. Take the time to understand and ask questions about, your builder contract and estimated cost break down. The estimated cost break down is a detailed list of what the various parts of your build will cost as well as the amount of money allotted to certain details, such as plumbing, landscaping, lighting, etc. I walked into the dreamy lighting showroom and picked out $8000 worth of lighting and my budget per the cost breakdown was $4000. I certainly could’ve had the $8000 assortment but we would have been paying the difference.                                                                                                 
7. Enjoy the process, ask additional questions and visit the site often. Suzanne would talk to me in straight builder talk sometimes, leaving me baffled. I finally had to have her start watering this thing down! It was too sugary and I couldn’t swallow the info. Don’t be afraid to ask for layman’s terms. I think of my home building experience, much like I did my pregnancy, I didn’t take enough time to smell the roses. There were times when I was very overwhelmed with choices, all of which were made by me. My husband was basically the money man and went along with whatever decision I spent days agonizing over. You will doubt your choices and second guess yourself. Paint colors and granite selections kept me up at night but just like the selection of your lot, your house plan, your builder, revert back to the very first tip, pray and/or meditate about it, make a decision and move on.

Happy Home Building!