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| Lisa Albrecht shares lessons she's learned while building her dream home. | | |
Making the decision to build a new home is a thrilling
prospect. For many, it is the realization of a dream. But many
potential new home owners don’t realize that some of the
decisions made after signing a contract would be less
expensive and better negotiated if they researched their
needs before inking the deal.
Her Home spoke to one woman who, in the process of
considering her building project, took extra steps to research
what she wanted. She ultimately saved thousands of dollars in
“up charges” – changes or additions made by the builder once
a contract is signed. Here are the ten items she considered
before signing, and what she learned in the process.
1. Pre-qualify for a mortgage.
• Get credit information in order.
• Check out several lenders.
• Review needs for a construction loan
or a bridge loan.
• Understand mortgage products;
energy efficient, (see Her Home,
Fall ‘04) woman-centric aspects
(page 20, this issue), etc.
“Pre-qualifying for a mortgage put my mind at
ease. I knew how much home I could buy. I wanted
to look for homes only within my price range.”
2. Review your
present home and situation.
• Are room sizes adequate?
• What special needs do you have, such as
a blended family or the need for a workshop?
• What furniture will you keep?
“My existing townhouse is great for entertaining. And the master
bedroom is separate from the other bedrooms, which works well
for my blended family. I wanted to keep most of my furniture, so
the rooms in my new house will need to be large.”
3. Find a lot.
• Is it close to schools, church, shopping,
health care, pizza delivery?
• What direction does the lot face?
Do you want morning sun?
A special view?
• Do you want a sloping lot for
a walkout basement?
• Study covenant and community restrictions.
• What is the tax levy?
• Look around the neighborhood.
What do you like? What bothers you?
“Trees are very important to me, and also a
private backyard – so that I am not looking at my
neighbor’s house. My location was also determined
by good pizza delivery service!“
4. Find a home plan by
asking the following questions:
• How do I want to entertain?
• How much storage will I need? What kind?
• Does the plan have flexibility for special rooms
or situations (exercise room, craft area, etc.)?
• How does the home help me de-stress? A quiet
area for me? Built-in organization like drop
zones? Whirpool bath? Sunroom? Porches?
• Where do I want the master bedroom?
• Is a healthy home important to me?
(See Her Home, Fall ‘03)
“Once I identified that I needed an open floor plan with a
lot of space in the kitchen and great room, as well as divided
bedrooms and storage space, finding a plan was a piece of
cake. I walked through a number of model homes to get a
sense of room-size proportions and went on
www.HerHome.com.”
5. Select a builder.
• Is there a builder attached
to the lot you want? If so,
interview him/her extensively.
• If not, interview several
builders. Try to find someone
with whom you’ll have
good chemistry.
• Check references of the
builder’s former homebuyers,
subcontractors and vendors.
“My builder was attached to my lot,
which was a big consideration, since I
had to work with this person. I drove
him crazy asking so many questions.
But since this is a huge decision, I
wanted to do it right.”
6. Consult with an interior designer
for a couple of hours.(See Her Home, Summer ‘04)
• Make sure everything flows; coordinate colors,
flooring and countertops; and plan placement
of outlets.
“The time I had with an interior design consultant was the best
money I spent. I wanted a contemporary look, and she helped me
coordinate flooring, countertops and colors. While I have a sense of
my style, I am now more confident with my choices.”
7. Talk to as many people
as you can who have
been through the building
process. Be sure to ask
what they would
do differently.
“I learned a great deal from the mistakes of others
– which saved me tons of headaches.”
8. Customize your home plan.
• Make sure the working drawings are clear
and exactly how you want them.
“I did not want any ambiguity on my working
drawings. I made sure everything was how I
wanted it. I revised my plans many times; it’s
worth the hard work to get what I want.“
9. Pack Your Survival Kit.
• A sense of humor
• A 12-pack of patience
• Drawers of chocolate
• Bottles of aspirin
• A jump rope for de-stressing
“I’m ready to sign
the contract and get
started!”
