Build a new home from the foundations up and you have the golden opportunity to create your dream dwelling. Mistakes can be made if you’re not careful though so follow this guide to avoid problems as you build brick by brick.
- Get the design right: This is the biggest mistake that people make. When you are building a new-build home this is more than likely going to be your home for life so make sure you are totally happy with the plans. Go through them with a fine tooth comb and use an approved architect to get it right. You have one shot to get the design perfect so make sure you are 100% with the look and the feel of the property because you don’t want to be chopping and changing the home once it’s been built.
- Build a good relationship with your contractor: Once you are happy with the design of the home find an approved contractor. A really positive contractor will move the project along and they can manage all aspects of the build and deal with any issues that arise. Make sure you have one builder in overall charge of the build and they can project manage the development and act as the go-between amongst the various other sub-contractors that’ll be working on site.
- Be realistic with the budget: Try to set a healthy budget for the project and always have a contingency in place to cover additional expenditure. Hopefully the project will run like clockwork but there might be unforeseen problems along the way and you might have to dip into reserves of money. If you can pretty much budget for the build and have a little back-up money in reserve that’ll come in useful if something extra needs adding to the final costing.
- Set a suitable timescale: Work out an established timescale with the contractor before you agree to hire their services. If they say they’ll have the house in ‘ready-to-move-into’ condition within 6 months make sure they stick to their word. You could put a penalty clause in the contract if you wanted to which meant they were liable for every day the project went past the completion date.