~Building and Construction of My First House~

The American dream is installed in just about every person in America,building your own home. Something that you can call your own, in America we are lucky we can live this dream. The problem arises when we finally get to that point in our life when we think we are ready to build. Then all of a sudden things come to a complete halt, that`s right we don`t know what to do. A hundred questions run through our head, where will we build? Who will we get to build? What type of house and how big? These are just a few of the questions we ask ourselves. The American dream is not suppose to be this complicated, people have been building for thousands of years. Why is it so difficult for me?

The thing that people fail to realize is every house is a unique building, just like the home owner. Each house, even if they look just like the house next door, is unique in it`s own right and each home owner is unique in there own way. Two people can stand side by side and look identical, however that is only on the outside, the same applies to your home, each is different although they appear the same. This is one of the most important things to remember about having your house built. Once you understand that this is your unique house and you can have it built anyway you want, you are on your way to succeeding. Now reality facing that thirty year mortgage sets in, while dreaming of everything you want in your new home, you have got to face that monthly mortgage, what to do?Planning is the one thing that will keep you from over pricing your pocket book. The first thing 95% of all new home builders do is spend time driving around to all the newly constructed homes in their area. This is good for ideas, however books and magazines are more profitable, you can mix and match until you find all the different looks you would like to have.

The truth is most if not all first time builders or buyers will pay too much, simply because they don't know any better. When the house is built they have gone over budget and their mortgage payment is way more than expected, why? Mostly because they started with one design and changed it as construction was in progress adding to their cost. Secondly somewhere along the way they lost control of the situation, allowing the contractor to sell them on allot of extra`s that they did not need. Third they did not stick to their game plan for their house. Last but not least there eyes where bigger than their wallet, remember; a GENERAL CONTRACTOR is nothing more than a salesperson and that is all they are.

The steps every first time home builder or buyer should follow and I know, I am a general contractor, first; realize that 99% of all first time home builders and buyers sell their house between 5 and 10 years after acquiring it. Next realize that your first house is just a start, a means to an end. Last is planning, get on the Internet and find the area that you wish to live in, check schools, jobs, surroundings, etc... Remember your first house is your investment to your dream home, never lose site of that fact. Once you have your land picked out start going to all of your lending institutions, remembering they work for you, you are their boss, do not forget that. They want you to borrow from them, that is how they make there money. Try not to purchase the land along with your house through a contractor, 9 out of every 10 contractors has bought that land from another contractor and has the land marked up, so he will make a profit from the jump.

Now that we know where we will build and the lending institutions are fighting over who will loan us the money, we have to find a general contractor or do we?You have several options at this point. One; you can be your very own general contractor and if you have any construction knowledge I recommend you do this. Two; you can hire a general contractor and pay his price and thats a heavy price in some instances. Third; you can hire a construction facilitation service, this is another good avenue usually you can save about 15% on overall cost. The important thing to remember here is that contractors are better than any used car salesman ever thought about being. Remember you are the boss take your blueprints for your house to at least 12 contractors and get estimates. You will be amazed at the difference in the prices.

What type of house and how big? Now you can decide, now that you have all of your quotes in from all the banks and contracting services you can budget. This is the most important stage of the game, why? Well let me tell you, once you finalize how big your house is going to be and you start construction, there is no turning back. When reviewing all your cost first take a two day break from even looking at or talking about the new house. Then sit down and go through your house plans with a reality check, do you really want all those features or was that an instantaneous decision in the beginning? What is practical and what is necessary? Make sure you look long term, at least 10 years down the road, especially in the maintenance and up keep. After you have completed your changes, resubmit to your selected contractor then after he has given you an updated estimate, get one last price from a contractor you have not talked with. Now you are ready to build your house. What ever you do, DO NOT MAKE ANY ADDITIONS ONCE CONSTRUCTION HAS STARTED!!!