Building your own home is a major project to take on. If you’re going to commit to this, you need to have patience, a pretty large budget, and you also need to be able to have the ability to visualize the house of your dreams. If you do pull it off, however, you’ll have a home that you’ve put your heart and soul into, and you’ll be glad that you didn’t take the conventional route of purchasing an existing house.
Here are some pros and cons of a self-built home, for those considering this option.
Pro: you can put your own stamp on it
One of the best things about building your own home is that you can add your own stamp onto it, without having to try to work with existing spaces, that are simply difficult to deal with. Every part of the build will include something that you love, and you’ll have made every single choice, down to the last details such as plug sockets, and lighting. Your home will be your piece of art!
Con: it’s pretty expensive
Let’s be honest, building your own home is not cheap. You need to pay for the architect, a structural engineer, and the builders. You also need to splash out for all of the supplies, and most importantly, you need to put your own time into it, which can be the most difficult thing. Whilst you can get help from somewhere like the Construction Loan Center, evaluate all of your options.
Pro: it will be well-equipped for modern challenges
When it comes to older homes, adding on more energy efficient technology can prove challenging. Some older houses simply aren’t suitable for things like solar panels, and if you build this tech in from the beginning, then you’ll be glad that you did so further down the line. Sure, it may cost you quite a lot now, but in the future, your outgoings will be minimal as a result.
Con: you have to be super patient
Your new build home is probably going to take a year – at the minimum – to build. There are going to be difficult times, and you’re sometimes going to believe that the whole thing isn’t worth it at all. You won’t be able to pick out some things that you like, and then move straight in, and that’s the most important thing to remember. It will be worth it, but you need to be patient!
Pro: you’re the first inhabitants of your home
When you build your own home, you know that you’re the first family to live inside its walls, and there’s something great about that. You know that nobody has stitched you up by telling you that there are no problems with it, when there are actually major ones beneath the surface. And you don’t have to go through that experience, where you feel as though you’re living in somebody else’s house.
Con: there’s a lot of paperwork
If you’re building your own home, there is a lot of paperwork to take on. You need to deal with insurance, taxes, and you need to get permission for your plot. You also need to sort out contracts with builders and architects, and you need to deal with the insurances that they require, too. You’re going to have a desk full of paperwork, and you need to be able to deal with it all sufficiently.
Pro: you can benefit financially
Whilst it may seem as though you are throwing a lot of money at your new build home, the likelihood is that you will get it all back – and more – in the future. This is because you will have a unique building (hopefully) which has all of the modern features that people are looking for. If you’ve built it on a big plot of land, then you’ll also have this upside, which will help you to sell it for a higher price.
Con: you can’t avoid the short-term costs
With an older home, you have some room for negotiation on the price. You can keep putting forward your offers to the seller, and as a result, they may let you have the property for a much lower price. However, whilst you can put offers in on land – and building supplies – for a new build home, you still need to remember that your opportunity to save is a lot lower than it may have been, particularly in the short-term.
So…
If you’re thinking about building your own home, then keep these pros and cons in mind before you take the plunge!