Have you ever wondered what insider tips an expert home builder would give you on how to approach the home building process? Now you have just that opportunity. We’ve compiled a list of 5 items we think are important for you to know when embarking on your journey to building a new home. For much more information on building and the new home process, download our free eBook.            

Know Your Finances

As you look into buying a new home, one of the first things you’ll want to do is get your finances in order. You will want to find a good morgage lender. If you don't know a reputable lender, new home builders can often recommend one or more. A good lender can help you find the right loan, with the best rates, terms and costs to meet your individual needs. In addition, a lender can also help you determine how much house you can afford. In other words, they can help you figure out how much of a loan you can carry and down payment can you afford to make.  

Know What Are Wise Investments

Now that you've thought about how much money you have to invest in your new home, it’s time to consider what exactly to invest your money in. When building a new home, it can be very tempting to want to add everything you see in the builder's model. Keep in mind that many of those things are upgrades and not included in the base price of the home. So before you focus on the fancy upgrades, prioritize the less sexy, but more important feautres of your home like location, square footage and floor plan. Even the most beautiful home in a bad location or with an undesirable floor plan will never make you happy. You also will not get as good a return on your investment when it comes time to sell.

Remember, there are always limits when building a new home. So when it comes time to prioritize any upgrades, keep in mind that kitchens and bathrooms are always the wisest investments.

Know Your Warranty

Although the hope is that you wll never need to rely upon your new home warranty, it is still important to know what your warranty covers and what the process is for making a claim under it. An experienced, quality home builder should be willing to stand behind its product. Every warranty is different, but the Federal Trade Commission provides some helpful general information on warranties for new homes.

Know the Neighborhood

Before choosing to build a home it is important to know the new neighborhood, and not just on a virtual or cursory level. Visit any new neigborhood multiple times and at several different times during the day especially during morning and evening commute times. It is important to know not only your neighborhood, but also what surrounds your neighborhood. 

Is there a fire station or train station around the block? If so, do you consider this a positive or a negative? Is there a school nearby? Do you like the traffic patterns, drive time, and availability? If there isn’t a school nearby, what is the drive time for taking your children to the nearest bus stop? What is your commute time to work? Can you handle it?

Know What to Expect

Finally, remember that no matter how carefully you plan, there will always be surprises. Unexpected adjustments to budget or timeline, and other issues are unfortunately par for the course when building a new home. So just try to roll with the punches. In the end, it will all be worth it. By choosing a reputable, experienced new home builder, you can rest assured that surprises will be kept to a minimum and handled promptly and with expertise should they arise.