Do you want to know how to build a house and save money doing it?
Building your dream home is an exciting time, but it can also become quite expensive if you don’t know the cost ahead of time!
You may have saved up and planned for years to get to this moment.
If this is you, I am so very happy for you, you have made the necessary sacrifices to build your dream home. Making such a huge purchase can be a little intimidating and can cause some stress.
You want to make sure you avoid certain mistakes that maybe your family or friends have encountered. Mistakes can be costly and cause you to go over budget. Remember you want to enjoy your new home but not be house poor.
Here are things to consider when taking the huge plunge to build a house without going over budget:
Pick the right builder
If you are building your new home, please, please, please be sure to carefully pick your builder.
Not picking the right builder can cost you a lot of money and time.
I have friends right now whose builder is not at all who he portrayed to be, which has put the house building process way behind schedule. Their completion date should have been 6 months but it is now almost 1 year.
This has caused them to pay significantly more in interest on their construction loan.
When choosing a builder, be sure to interview several different people. See how long it takes them to respond to you. If you are constantly waiting long for a response, this could be an indicator of what you will deal with.
If you catch them lying about something in the early stages, do not sign a contract with this person. They lack integrity and you will only have grief with them later.
Go with your gut feeling!
A lot of times we ignore that inner voice that is saying no. Ask family and friends for recommendations if they have any. But be sure to still do your due diligence to make sure this is the right builder for YOU.
Know what you want
Make sure you know what YOUR vision is for your house. Researching home decorating styles to determine your favorite is a great start.
You may hear a lot of opinions from family, friends, or maybe even your own builder, but ultimately this is your home and you should do what makes you happy.
You are the one paying for this house not anyone else.
However, I do recommend you listen to other’s advice as it could be very helpful. But make sure you are not so indecisive you are letting other people make all the decisions for you.
This will simply have you regretting not saying your opinion sooner. So before you even start building, get pictures of every room of how you want it to look, decide paint colors, cabinet designs, etc. Map it all out before you even start.
Check pricing on the design choices you love. Knowing what you want helps saves you money because you know exactly what it will cost before you begin.
Expect the unexpected
When building a new house, expect the unexpected.
Things may cost more and the process may take longer than you were told.
That is just the way it is.
Mistakes may be made, hey that is just life. I am not saying this to be negative, I just want to give you the heads up. When we built our home, unexpected things happened that we didn’t predict.
In the end, everything turned out great and we are now living in our beautiful home. With that in mind plan as much as you can before hand to guarantee you don’t go over budget. Also be sure to enjoy the process!
Set your budget and stick to it
One thing for sure that can happen is going over your budget.
Do your best to stick to your budget.
If you are paying cash to build your house, get a quote from your builder to see exactly what it will cost, you don’t want to have any surprises later.
When taking out a loan to build your home, be sure you borrow what you can afford. I have frequently heard Dave Ramsey recommend a mortgage that is no more than 25% of your take home pay.
He has helped millions of people get out of debt so I definitely think his advice is something to consider. You don’t want ALL your hard earned money going to mortgage payments.
Be your own builder
One thing you should truly consider is being your own builder. This can help you save significant money on building your new home.
Just think, you may have a budget to build your home for $250,000 but it might just cost your builder $200,000 with him pocketing $50,000 as his profit. You definitely could use that $50,000 for yourself.
One thing to consider is your builder most likely has vetted his sub-contractors and knows they will do quality work. You on the other hand may not have vetted any subcontractors.
So be sure to do your research beforehand to decide if this will truly save you money or lose you money in the long run by choosing the wrong sub-contractors!
If perhaps you know people who can complete quality work this may be a great option for you. Keep in mind that if you are receiving a loan from the bank they may not allow you to be your own builder.
But if you build a house with cash or if your bank will allow you to be your own builder, you can save alot of money, especially if you can do some of the work yourself!
Take your time
Although, you may be ready to start the house building process, now just might now be the right time.
If you have outstanding debts that need to be payed off, do that first before you even start. This frees up more of your money without all your money being tied up in payments.
I wish someone would have told me this before I built my own home. When you own a home, everything is on you; repairs, lawncare, taxes, etc.
You must consider all the extra expenses that go with owning a home, and know you are the one responsible, not a landlord.
So, if you need to take more time to save money and pay off debts before you start, please do so. Trust me you will thank me for this simple piece of advice later!