Building a custom home is like watching the best version of the American dream come true before your very eyes. For many, the process of building your own home is about more than the dream of homeownership; it is the ability to design the home you’ve always wanted, customized to your household’s tastes, needs, and interests. That sounds ideal.

Just remember, a “dream come true” version of custom home building requires that several things are in place beforehand. Without setting yourself up wisely from the outset, the rosy picture painted above can look more like an arduous journey or – dare we say it – a nightmare.

3 Steps to Make Your Home Building Process a Real Dream Come True

After years in the home building niche, all of our advice about preparing to build a custom home can be distilled into three simple steps.

These are the three steps you can take beforehand to pave a smooth, collaborative road to project success.

1. Meet With 3 to 5 Licensed Contractors

In our post, How to Find a General Contractor in DeLand You Can Trust, we discuss the importance of meeting with multiple contractors before selecting the best one for your project. There are several reasons for this, one of the most important being you have the ability to connect with prospective contractors on a personal level.

This is important because, while we’re the first to advocate for the importance of homebuilding expertise, artistry, and craftsmanship, we also believe custom construction projects are the most successful when the client and contractor have a positive, trust-centered relationship.

No ground-up homebuilding endeavor goes 100% perfectly, without any hiccups, from start to finish. There will be moments of frustration, unpredictable hurdles, products/finishes that go on backorder or are canceled, change orders that extend deadlines, weather-related delays, etc. If you don’t respect or really like your contractor, the experience of those situations is excruciating. Or, even worse, if you don’t like or trust the contractor, you can never be sure they are being 100% honest with you about price changes in their favor or material delays you fear were the result of their negligence.

Meeting with a handful of contractors, getting to know them, and allowing them to get to know you, witnessing examples of the work they do is the best chance you have of forming a mutually copasetic relationship with the one you hire. And, as we’ll get to in #3, an experienced custom home builder is well-versed in complying with the stipulations set forth by a new construction loan, which comes in handy and makes the client/lender’s life way easier.

2. Purchase the Right Lot for the Home

We can’t tell you how often clients buy a piece of property, design their home, and then come to us all excited to get started. After a walk of the property, we have to break the hard news that the house they’ve designed isn’t well-suited to the lot – and a redesign is a must. That scenario means having to re-envision the dream or do the work to sell the lot and start hunting again. While the lot looked like it had plenty of space or a gorgeous view, it was only when they brought a contractor on board that they learn that the property’s setbacks (how far from the property boundary the house can be built), topography, soil quality, storm easements, lack of public water and/or sewer hookups, or title issues mean plan changes are necessary.

It’s much better to select a contractor first and then design the home accordingly. New construction home builders are willing to walk prospective lots with you and explain the lot’s strengths, and weaknesses are. While your real estate agent may have sound insights into certain pros and cons of any given property, only a construction expert can evaluate it from an industry standpoint and give you honest feedback with respect to the home you desire, the lot’s features, and the local building department’s opinion on the matter.

If you haven’t hired a contractor yet, scouting prospective lots may be a great way to get a better feel for the three to five prospects you’ve selected. We’re happy to consult with you on a fee-per-hour consult basis to ensure the lot you purchase meets the expectations set by your dream home design.

3. Find a Knowledgeable New Construction Lender

Construction loans are a different breed of home loans. Since construction loans are not secured by a completed house, lenders are usually more cautious about who they lend to and have a say in the contractor hired to build the home (see #1). Lenders are also strict about the requirements around releasing funds to pay for things like permit fees, soil amendments, pulling utilities, pouring the foundation, and the ensuing steps of the custom home building process.

Conventional residential home loans can be a whirlwind, but that whirlwind has a fairly short trajectory because it immediately settles once the underwriters finally sign off and you close escrow. In comparison, the construction loan process is different. It commences when you sign the dotted line, but the loan funds slowly but surely throughout the entire duration of your home build. The journey isn’t over until the building department signs the new home’s occupancy and the title company hands over the keys.

The combination of a knowledgeable construction lender and a custom home builder who is well-versed in working with construction lenders is a match made in heaven for you as the client. In many cases, new home builders have recommendations or special relationships with local, new construction lenders. Using one of the contractor’s preferred lenders makes for a more straightforward and streamlined lending and funding process, and you might even save some money in reduced mortgage points.

Have you always dreamed of designing and building the custom home of your dreams? Then, schedule a meeting with us here at Fogle Constructors. We have built our reputation by being honest and unfailingly trustworthy with our clients. Our contractors tell cients the truth – and we’re happy to help you select the best lot and the ideal lender to keep your dream home’s plans and construction schedule on track.