We have this ideal of what it is like to build a home. It’s easy right? You walk into a model make a few changes for your style, select a few things write a check and your home is being built. Then a few months to a year later you move into a beautiful brand new home, no headaches, no issues, simple. That’s a great dream now let’s talk reality. First there is selecting the type of home builder you want to work with. Do you want a completely custom builder, a semi custom builder or a track builder. What’s the difference right? Well many things and not just the price.

So here are a few questions you should ask yourself first before deciding what kind of home to build.

Do you want your home to be similar to your neighbors? If yes then a track or semi custom builder is your style.

Do you want to be super involved in the process? A custom builder is more your style.

Do you want unlimited options for the homes features? A custom builder feature.

Do you have specific needs for your home? Such as a special needs child, a home based business, an elderly parent, lots of guests, cultural or religious needs. Most will require a semi custom or custom builder.

Do you want to be in a planned community? Most likely a track or semi custom builder.

How much time do you have to devote to the building process? Not a lot of time then a track or semi custom builder is the way to go, unless you hire an interior designer.

All of these are important questions and depending on those answers you will have a direction as to what type of builder is best for you. So now that you know what type of builder to select let’s talk about designing the home.

Here are a few of the questions I ask my clients when we are working to design their homes.

How many bedrooms do you think you need? Do you have kids? Lots of guests?

Do you need a home office?

Do you cook a lot?

Do you have pets?

Do you want separate TV and living areas?

How do you plan to use certain spaces? Game room? Bar? Outdoor kitchen?

How many bathrooms? Does each bedroom need its own bathroom? Do you want bathtubs in all bathrooms?

These are just some of the questions that we ask to get the basic floor plan determined. This doesn’t include all the questions that go into the design elements of the home. Sound overwhelming? It can be and without the right kind of help it can seem impossible.

But here is the good news you can get the right kind of help and set yourself in the right direction to make the building process much easier. First I always recommend hiring an interior designer. This gives you the peace of mind that you are not making mistakes on the big decisions.

Always check out magazines before starting the building process. Create two folders. One folder of things that you love and one folder of things that you hate.

Start paying attention to how you use your current home. Are your drawers in the best positions in your kitchen? Do you need more storage spaces? Do your kids have places to put their backpacks and shoes? Is there a line every morning to get into the bathroom?

Know your builders standard features. Research the different product lines.

Have a budget for upgrades and changes.

Get a timeline from you builder.

Be prepared for delays.

These tips will make the building process go much faster and smoother and having you enjoying your new home in no time.