The answer is YES, absolutely.
You can build a new construction home. We can help you, and we will. Let's begin with a few key principles. These will help you avoid some common pitfalls.
Number one, and most important, is your attitude.
That might sound trite or simple, but in my decades of experience I have seen time and time again that the most predictive aspect of a new home construction project is the homeowner’s attitude. Your positive attitude will guide and control your experience.
Sage words of an old business broker I knew have proven right 100% of the time: “How they start is how they finish.” This applies to you and anyone you deal with for any project. Start positive, stay positive, finish positive.
Can you do it?
Positively. Will there be obstacles? Probably. Just about anything worth doing has obstacles. But with a positive attitude, obstacles become challenges, and meeting challenges can be fun. That is precisely the attitude you want to have: This is going to be fun.
Expect material or labor shortages. Expect weather delays. Expect to hear you're over budget. Expect your roofer to tell you she's taking maternity leave. The point is, if you expect the worst, you'll likely fall short of it. If you can anticipate your obstacles, you can deal with them before they become deal-breakers.
In case you're wondering . . . no, expecting and planning for a worst-case scenario does not mean you have a negative attitude. You are not pessimistic. You're optimistic that you can confront the worst and get your house anyway.
Life happens, and building happens, too.
The best advice to get your attitude on track and advance your new home construction project in a positive direction is to get educated about the process. The more you understand about your new home construction process and what your home builder is doing for you, the better you can cope with the obstacles and challenges ahead.
Know that your home builder is motivated to work with and for you, not against you. Your builder might be overseeing multiple projects and must work with the schedules of vendors and subcontractors as well as targeting your projected and desired closing date. Your home builder is working against the clock on your behalf and is stubborn about overcoming all obstacles. Your builder has a reputation at stake. And in the building profession, reputation is everything.
The truth is, your home builder wants this new home to happen as much as you do. Well, almost.
Very early on, you will get together with your home builder and get clear on everything about your new home construction. The entire process. You need to know exactly what is expected of you and when. Bring along a notebook in which you have written down every question that has crossed your mind. Permit process? What's that? Geothermal heating? Tell me about it. No matter how simple or complicated you think a question might be, address it with your home builder. You are making a major investment in this new home, so there are no stupid questions. Ask everything.
Once you understand the process of building a new construction home, you'll have new confidence that everything will come together. Enjoy the process. Via your home builder, friends, or even your lender, find and talk to people who have had recent new home construction experiences. Chat online. Ask people what you can learn from their experiences—especially the things that went wrong. Usually things go wrong for a reason. Ask the reason, and learn from it. I have personally had disastrous situations turn into the best part of a new construction project and paved the way for creative solutions that the homeowner loved. I will tell you some of the ways my team turned sow ears into silk purses in new construction home projects.
The process involved to build a new construction home is not complicated and is consistent for all home-building projects. In future blogs, I will break down the process step by step including how to find a builder.
Share Post
