Build Your Dream Home from the Ground Up

The process of building a home — although it may be a tantalising prospect, is, in reality, a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of thinking, planning, persuading, finances and overall effort. Before you begin a self-build journey, you have to be prepared and capable of all of these things, and you should most certainly know the ins and outs of each stage of the process. Below, you can find a timeline on the process and what you should be doing at each stage in order to make sure that you are not only doing everything correctly in the eyes of law, but you are also optimising your chances of building the best home possible.

Your first port of call is to, obviously, find a perfect plot of land on which to build your dream home from the ground up. You need to find a space that is big enough to meet your demands, one that is in an area that you believe will offer you the best standard of living possible and one that is lawfully available. Online resources like LandWatch have made this task, in this day and age, and incredibly easy one to do. You can find premier stretches of land for sale so that you can get a gage on the areas available and at prices they are available at. However, the Internet and the resources it has produced have meant that there is a growing trend in the world of today with people basing their life decisions on something they have seen on a computer screen — you should never let choosing a plot of land be one of these instances! You should always seek to visit a piece of land before you commit to it just to make sure that it is everything you thought it was when you saw it on your computer screen. In doing so, you can lay the platform for a relationship with those that you are buying the land from as well as any neighbours that may already be in the area.

And once you do commit to a piece of land that you feel is right for you, it’s time to move on to the next stage of the timeline; simply put, this is a far more boring stage than choosing the land was, and must be prepared for this. At this point, you have to get the ball rolling with all the legal and financial requirements of a new-build venture. Despite how tedious it may seem, you have to start thinking about, and then implementing, a mortgage strategy for your new-build. In regards to this, you should always be aware that standard home mortgages just don’t suffice when it comes to new-builds because, simply, a lender is not going to want to part with any money for something that doesn’t exist physically and merely exists as an image in your head; because of this, constructional loans should instead be sought. But it’s not just all about the financial requirements needed for the build, it’s the legal requirements needed when dealing with the outside authorities of the local area; you will need planning permission and building control approval. However, if you have proof that you, one, have an idea of how you are going to make the new-build a success, and two, are doing everything in your power to ensure that everything is as it should be, then you should have no problem in getting either.

Once everything is financially and legally in order, then it’s time to move onto the next stage: the fun part. Now it’s time to begin the build itself; but before you can throw up the walls, the doors, the windows and the roof, you need to make sure that there is a suitable floor plan in place. Again, there are technology based resources, in the form of floor plan software, that have made this task as easy as it ever has been in the history of new-builds. However, like with actually finding the plot, you should still take to visiting the site you have bought in order to double check that the area is suitable for the plans you have drawn up and all the dimensions are as you thought they were and as they should be. And when the floor plan is designed (for all the stories you plan on building), then you can take to erecting the shell of the building. If you are seeking to go it relatively alone at this stage, then you must seek to become as trained as possible by attending some sort of course on design and construction and earning the qualifications that they distribute. Even if you have experience in bricklaying or any other trade of the like, building a whole home is a completely different matter; for instance, if you begin to attempt the new-build yourself, then you may inadvertently forget to leave any space for aspects such as doors or windows. If this is the case, then you will need to spend extra funds and time in rectifying the mistake later on in the process; funds and time which could have been spent on turning the shell of your new-build into a vibrant home that is adorned in your personality. And when it comes this, you should always remember that the your new home is a blank canvas that you can paint in any way you like. Because of this, you be brave and try styles that you’ve never tried before that suit you as a person. It’s a chance for you to make the home a place where you feel comfortable in growing in and living in for the foreseeable future, and you don’t want to have any regrets down the line in regards to the style you choose for its interior.

Also, once the new-build is up and standing in all of its glory, you should seek to have it professionally surveyed. Every time anybody moves into a new house, whether it is a new-build or not, they should seek this kind of inspection in order to ensure that everything is as it should be in regards to the home. Services, such as those offered by Solex Group, can survey and inspect the house so that you can have a peace of mind that the home you have built is in fact somewhere that can be lived in. A professional inspection, rather than a municipal one, will mean that there is a higher chance that ever the smallest of problems will be spotted, giving you a higher chance of being able to move in quicker. This could also result in them finding shabby, unprofessional or cheap work that has been done by any jobs that you outsourced to outside companies or services. Even if you thought that you could trust a certain person or service, they may have been doing a bogus job behind your back but still charging you the full price. These are known as cowboy tradesmen and there are signs that you can look out for to try and avoid them, but sometimes they are just too clever to be caught. This is why a professional inspection should be sought; for instance, if a certain aspect of the home, such as instances involving the fighting of rising damp, haven’t been done properly, then a professional inspection will be able to spot this and get the ball rolling in your receiving some sort of compensation and seeking justice.

Before the process of the new-build has even begin and right the way through it, you should always try to get as much help and guidance with the venture as possible from construction experts, such as information on new homes from the Phyllis Frankel Realty Group. They, and the like, can offer professional and expert Realtor advice on the best deals, lots and what should and should not be upgraded. In seeking their advice, you are more likely to avoid the common mistakes that occur when building a new home, of which include: letting somebody else dictate the design and ending up with a home that you don’t like, opting for cheaper labor which ultimately results in cheap looking work, there not being enough windows and rooms being put in completely the wrong place.

But if you follow all of the advice above then you will definitely  be able to avoid these mistakes and build a home that is not only everything you ever dreamed it would be, but a home that is actually capable of being a place where you can live and maybe even raise a family. Remember: you have to bare in mind the law, your new neighbours and all those that you ask or employ to help you in the venture — if you don’t, you could come unstuck in regards to the quality of your home. For now, happy building!