The Cost of Custom: 5 Risks You Face When Building a Custom Home
With the current housing market threatening to price you out of house and home, it’s easy to imagine why so many are turning to custom builds. Though there’s an added expense, it sure beats fighting with other home-seekers and settling for less than your dream home. As the saying goes, if you want something done, you might just have to do it yourself.
So, you want to build a custom home. There must be some catch, right? If it were that easy, everyone would do it. Like anything, building a custom home comes with a host of risks. When dealing with something as high-ticket as homeownership, it’s best to look before you leap. Here are five risks you face when building your custom home.
1. Exorbitant costs
Just because you aren’t offering fifteen over asking on a pre-built house doesn’t mean that building your own won’t cost you a pretty penny. You’re paying for materials, labor, land, and time, which leaves many areas for additional fees to creep up on you.
Do your research and request quotes from local suppliers and contractors. You must have a realistic idea of what going custom will cost. You don’t want to end up in the nightmare scenario of running out of money halfway through the project.
2. Safety risks
When it comes to commissioning a custom home, it is both your circus and your monkeys.
There are numerous safety risks inherent to any construction project, including homes. Workers could fall off of ladders, be hit by falling objects, struck by construction vehicles, or injured by machinery.
Though you may not be directly liable, as the person whose future home is being built, you may assume some responsibility for the wellbeing of the workers making that happen. If a worker is injured while your house is being constructed, construction accident attorneys like these can help ensure the injured party is compensated and all of your legal ducks are in a row.
3. Delays
Your unique home build may be everything you ever wanted, but it won’t be a same-day turn-key. Unfortunately, delays and additional costs are standard features of any development project. Be sure to build lots of extra time into your project timeline, and don’t be too hasty when it comes to leaving your current accommodations.
4. Design execution
Though working with a pre-loved home does limit you in some significant ways, it at least gives you an idea of the constraints you’re working with if you decide to remodel. When building a custom home, the possibilities are wide open, but they aren’t limitless. Some things that looked feasible during the design process may turn out to be impractical once it comes to brick-and-mortar.
If this happens, you’ll have to be prepared to make modifications to your design, which can be painful if you were really in love with those asymmetric cabinets or that shelved reading nook. Even solvable design problems may come at the cost of delays and additional fees. Be prepared both emotionally and financially for any kinks in your design’s execution, and make sure that the designer you consult with is reputable.
5. Finding a lot
When you’re DIYing home ownership, finding the right lot to put your house on is up to you. Be diligent in your research and have an inspector come out to any property you’re considering. The last thing you want is to end up with a twenty thousand dollar piece of land with sinkholes or flooding issues.
Wrap up
Building your own house can be a dream come true, as long as you make sure you aren’t building a house of cards. Doing your research in advance and knowing the risks will have you marching across your unique-to-you threshold in no time.
