Home Building Mistakes, What They Could Cost You & How To Avoid Them

What would you like your dream house to look like? Well, at one point you must have thought of a perfect house plan that meets your needs. It happens to most of us, where we have fantasies of a perfect home. Some of us picture ourselves in insanely huge mansions, others in rustic farmhouses, others in little cottage houses surrounded by trees, etc. Building a new home has got to be one of the most fulfilling endeavors ever. Needless to say, it is not a bed of roses. There are so many things that should be put in place for you to complete this colossal task. For example, you need to have a well-crafted house plan and get professional builders and contractors. In addition to that, you need to make suitable choices when it comes to furniture, paint colors, and interior design just to mention a few. All these decisions need to be made beforehand to avoid dire consequences in the future. So take some advice from us and avoid the mentioned common mistakes that can be made when building a home from scratch.

1. Starting your project without enough professionals

When starting your project, it is important to take time to thoroughly research a list of professionals that will help you bring your dream home to life. Remember you will end up investing both your money and time so do not throw caution to the wind. With this in mind, conduct in-depth research to find out what kind of professionals you will need on your team, make informed selections, vet each person i.e., contractors, architects, interior designers and leave nothing to chance. Having a cohesive dream team will ultimately make the build process move faster and more efficiently.

2. Choosing a bad location for your new home

The location of your new home is everything. Choosing the perfect location requires an immense amount of research. You need to look at;

• Traffic patterns
• Crime statistics
• School choices
• Busy streets

These are just a few of the aspects that you should have in mind while picking the perfect location for your dream home. This is not an expense where you should be trying to save money so do not make any compromises when it comes to choosing a location. Remember that a place you call home should offer comfort and meet your desired needs.

3. Not looking into the future

If you’ve decided to build a home, it most likely means that you are planning to stay in it for quite some time, if not forever. For this reason, you need to consider what your life will look like as time goes by. 

When you eventually retire, do you plan on staying in this house? If so, can you handle the steps outside the house? Can you climb two or three flights of stairs? Will movement around the house be easy or difficult? Also, do you like the neighborhood environment? These are just a few of the questions you should ask yourself before making this commitment. 

If you are planning to eventually sell the house at a later time in the future you should think about how the quality and appeal of the interior design and the decorative finishes will hold up. 

4. Not going to the construction site

You need to visit the construction site as often as you can to look at the progress that has been made during the building process. While you are there, ask questions, take down information, fully express what you want, and look at the progress intently. Overall communication with your team is important, especially in the early stages of the building process. This way, you can identify and rectify mistakes before they can impact your home in any permanent way. 

5. Trying to cut corners in your budget

Trying to cut corners in your budget can put you in jeopardy. For example; a builder can come to you with an offer to build your house in a cheaper and faster way and you may be inclined to consider the offer. This is a perfect example of trying to cut corners in your budget and it is bound to cost you greatly. Chances are that he or she will make compromises to achieve this. 

Additionally, do not opt for lower-quality materials. While you may be saving on cost, you will be sealing the fate of your home. Remember, you get what you pay for and cheap is expensive.

6. Trying to do it yourself

You may decide to go at it alone and decide not to hire any professionals to help you with the build process. Notably, this may look like you are saving a huge sum of money but this is not the case. Since you do not know the industry, you may make decisions that could cost you greatly. For example, you could end up buying low-quality materials, you could fall victim to scammers, and the building process could become such a hefty task, just to mention a few. Trying to do it yourself will make the process extremely risky as compared to getting help from people who have been in the business for years.

7. Not expecting things to go wrong

Regardless of planning over and over again, both you and your dream team are bound to encounter a few errors that are not in your control. Mistakes and delays are normal during the build process and this can in turn be very frustrating. Do not let these errors hold you back. Rather than stress and obsess over things that you can’t control, expect these errors and work with them/around them.

8. Skipping the inspection

A house inspection report pinpoints both significant defects and minor issues in your house. With this in mind, work with a professional house inspector to obtain an overview of the overall condition of your house. Sequentially, you can address possible future problems as well as any safety concerns.

These are just some of the common mistakes made by first-timers. Plausibly, we can say that we are human and we are prone to making mistakes but, some mistakes can be easily avoided. Remember that some mistakes could cost you a fortune, hence be cautious throughout the process.

Before making your commitment, curate a thoroughly researched plan that you will follow to a tee, and also be open to the idea of tweaking it when the need arises. Ultimately, by avoiding the above-mentioned mistakes, your build process will move faster and more efficiently.

Need more do’s and don’ts when building your dream home? Take a look at our 7 Tips To Building Your Dream Home blog post.