10 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Your Dream Home

The great thing about building your dream home is that you can choose every little detail and get every feature you ever wanted. However, you can make mistakes along the way if you aren’t careful. Here are the top 10 you want to avoid.

Choosing the Wrong New Home Builder

The biggest mistake you can make is choosing the wrong new home builder. Your new home builder will be in charge of everything, so make sure they’re communicative, available, and excited about your project. Check references, read reviews, and look at their portfolio. You should also compare builders and ask questions.

Picking the Wrong Homesite

Whether your dream is to build on your land or somewhere new, you should consider your homesite carefully. Walk the site, take pictures, and visit it at different times to get a better idea of the light, the noise, the neighbors, and the traffic. How much light you need depends on how the house will lay out on the lot. Do you want a full basement, lookout basement, walk-out basement, or no basement/slab on grade? The lot you choose will determine if or what type of lower level can be built. This also impacts future resale.

Not Doing Your Research

Many people don’t do their research before building a home. You should visit the Parade of Homes, look at magazines (online or hard copy), browse home improvement stores, or even check out some open houses to get a solid idea of what you want. Create a Pinterest board full of pictures, samples, and ideas you’d like to incorporate into your new home. While it’s nice to get input from your new home builder, having no idea what you want going into the journey can make you feel overwhelmed with decisions.

Not Being Realistic

Unfortunately, it can be easy for people to leave the rationale behind when it comes to custom homes. Remember to be realistic about the budget because costs can change. Be realistic about the timeline because homes aren’t built overnight—it all depends on the schedules of a lot of different players. And, be realistic about what you can and can’t do in a home—there are building code requirements and restrictions, as well as structural issues to consider.

Moving Too Fast

While it can be hard to wait for your dream home, many people make the mistake of moving too fast. Even if you have already found the best custom home builder, you shouldn’t move too fast when it comes to layouts, materials, or seemingly minor details. Do you want the sun in your bedroom every morning, or would you prefer to see the sunset in that room? Do you think you might want the laundry room in a more accessible space later in life? How long you plan to live in the home should play a part in the layout, features, and materials you choose. Consider these types of questions so that you don’t have to make costly changes to the home later.

Choosing the Wrong Materials

New home builders know how to get the finest materials at the best prices. However, materials, such as marble countertops, wood floors, and stone fireplaces can be expensive. You don’t want to be stuck with something you won’t love five years from now. Consider how much use a certain material will get, how easily it could stain or break, or how difficult it is to keep clean. If the material is costly, make sure you love it and is timeless so the next homeowner will too.

Skimping on Details

You don’t want to have the most expensive home on the block, but don’t skimp on details either. A custom home is meant to give you a little luxury, so go with dimmer switches, vaulted ceilings, wider walkways, a walk-in butler pantry, unique lighting and smart home technology.

Not Staying Organized

There’s a lot of information to keep track of when you build a home. It’s important to keep it all organized. Start a file for your paperwork, a folder to save electronic communication, a calendar with reminders, and a space set aside for samples.

Not Communicating

Building a home requires inspectors, electricians, painters, installers, designers etc. Stay connected and communicate clearly, particularly with your builder, who will most likely be managing all of the details.

Not Hiring Representation

When shopping for a new builder, it’s extremely helpful to hire your own real estate agent. New construction homes seem straightforward: The house is being built, and you can buy it. You may wonder what the purpose of an agent or Realtor is in this scenario, or even think about using the real estate agent who works for the home builder when you need help — but you shouldn't. As it turns out, there is a lot that a real estate agent can do for you when you build a new home.