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Building A Custom Home In Austin Texas 7 Steps To Success
ustin, Texas is becoming
one of the nation's most Start by adding up your monthly
popular places to build a expenditures. Leave housing out
custom home. There's the culture, of the equation for now -- just
the lifestyle, the weather, and focus on food, shopping,
of course ... the affordability. lifestyle, car payments,
insurance, investments, etc.
When building a custom home in Compare these figures to your
Austin -- or anywhere else, for monthly income to see how much of
that matter -- there are no hard a house you might realistically
and fast rules that apply across afford.
the board. The very nature of a
custom home means it is different If you currently own a home, this
from others, so the building calculation will be much easier.
process often varies from home to You simply have to ask yourself,
home. "How much more could I
comfortably pay each month for a
With that being said, there are larger mortgage?"
certain steps you can follow to
ensure your home building process 2. Determine Your Location
is a smooth one:
When choosing a location for your
1. Determine Your Budget new home, start with the obvious
questions. Is it close to work,
Having a custom home built may be school and shopping? Are there
the biggest financial decision major roadways, railroads or
you ever make. So before you other noise-producers nearby?
start talking to builders or What are the taxes like? How are
looking at lots, you need to the school systems? (Quality of
determine your budget. schools is important whether or
not you have children, because it Once you have a list of some of
affects your property values.) the top builders in your chosen
area, start your fact-finding
Once you've answered the obvious mission. Request brochures, visit
questions, move on to the model homes, surf their websites.
less-obvious ones: What kind of Do whatever you can to gather
development is planned for the information on each builder's
foreseeable future? Will that reputation, expertise, price
beautiful meadow across the range, floor plans and other
street be a parking lot in two important criteria.
years? As of this writing,
there's a lot of development and 4. Decide On a Builder
expansion happening in Austin,
Texas, so be sure you get a Choosing your custom home builder
long-range picture of your is a major step. But if you've
preferred location. completed the previous step and
conducted some thorough research,
3. Make a List of Builders you'll have a much easier
decision to make.
Once you've decided what part of
town you want to live in, you can Once you've established that a
begin making a list of builders builder has a good reputation and
who work in the area. You might a genuine commitment to your
start by using the search happiness, you need to ask the
engines, or by visiting some of big question: "Does this builder
the online directories of home create the kind of home I can see
builders, such as Reals.com, myself in? Does it feel right to
AmericanBuilders.com or me?" Take your time answering
BuildingOnline.com. these questions and making your
ultimate decision.
6. Pick a Floor Plan
5. Choose Your Lot
One of the great things about a
Before you can start looking at custom home is that it's, well …
floor plans for your new dream custom. Sometimes a custom home
home, you need to choose a lot. builder will offer basic floor
Floor plans are often dependent plans that you can modify as you
on the lot you choose, so the lot wish. Other times, the floor
usually has to be decided on plans are created "from scratch"
first. in coordination with an
architect. Either way, you have
The reasons for this are an opportunity to build a home
sometimes obvious and other times around your present and future
not. Obviously, a longer home needs.
will require a longer lot. But
there may be other considerations This step of the process will
at work. For example, maybe the involve many questions. How much
developer wants to stagger space do you need? How many
one-story homes and two-story rooms? One story or two? Any
homes throughout the community special features, like a
for overall appeal. wraparound deck? This can often
be the most exciting part of the
These considerations will vary home building process, because it
from builder to builder. For now, involves turning your vision into
just realize that the floor plan a reality.
will usually depend on the lot
you choose. So remember to ask 7. Negotiate the Contract
plenty of questions about this
along the way. Be sure to get a written contract
signed by the builder and the
architect / designer (if there's home. Ask for a contract
an architect involved). A amendment if the project changes
contract for new home later on, and make sure you get
construction should describe the all of your questions answered
project in detail, and it should before signing.
include a listing of all the
features to be included in the
About the Author:
If you're thinking of buying a custom home in Austin, Texas, take a look at Harrington Custom Homes. They've been building homes in Austin for over 15 years. Visit them online at http://www.harringtoncustomhomes.com
Read more articles by: BR Cornett
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