Purchasing a home is a significant milestone in life, and sometimes it can be a stressful process. It’s no wonder that so many customers assume that building a custom home is even more chaotic. In actuality, we have the process down to a science and make it easy by breaking it down into manageable stages.
As we explored in our last blog, Stages 1 and 2 involve getting your financial information in order, determining your budget, completing your pre qualification paperwork, and working with the construction superintendent to evaluate your land. Now, you’re ready to move on to the actual design of your home—which, for many homebuyers, is the best part of the custom home building process.
Here we break down the next steps of building a house so you know what to expect:
Making a House a Home
This stage is all about choosing the custom home design that will suit you and your family the best. To get started, you can select a customizable floor plan from our more than 40 distinctive designs. Or if you have something specific in mind, you can have our team create a fully custom home. Whichever direction you take, we will work closely with you to ensure you end up with a floor plan that meets your needs.
Once you have decided on a floor plan, it’s time to visit one of our design centers to choose your home’s finishes. These include all of the features that help your home reflect your unique style and suit your day-to-day life. Examples include cabinets and hardware, countertops, flooring, plumbing fixtures, paint colors, and tile color and style.
During your design center visit, one of our interior design professionals will walk you through each option and answer any questions you may have. Their goal is to help you find the finishes that will reflect your personal style, while also fitting your budget. Once you have made your selections, your home order will be finalized and submitted to our design team—which brings us to finalizing the layout.
Finalizing Your Layout
Finalizing the layout gives you the chance to customize your floor plan based on your family’s lifestyle and future plans. For example, if you love to cook, you might upgrade to a gourmet kitchen. Or if you frequently host overnight guests, you might add an additional bedroom. Other options include expanding your garage, changing room types (for example, converting the den to another bedroom), upgrading bathrooms, bumping out walls for extra space, incorporating a covered patio, creating dual master suites, adding a mother-in-law studio and much more.
During this stage, it’s particularly helpful when homeowners have already taken the time to consider and discuss what types of customizations they want in their home. Then, the design team will create a concept floor plan, which details your selected floor plan, the exterior elevation, and cabinet layout, including all of the options and customizations you’ve selected. It’s like a detailed snapshot of what your home will look like and include.
Once the concept floor plan is complete, you’ll have a chance to review it and provide your approval. This is an important step, because next comes your final contract and the drafting of your full construction drawings.
Next Steps
These steps are important because they help determine the overall look and layout of your home. But there are other vital steps on the horizon. Be sure to join us for our next site development blog, which will walk you through the next stages, as we complete your contract and begin drafting the drawings for your custom home. From there, it’s only a few more steps before you see your dream home become a reality.
