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Tips on Buying a Custom Home

Tips on Buying a Custom Home
By the Woodlands Online Editorial Team
You've decided that you want a home with the exact closet and storage space you need. You see that spacious personalized kitchen with a walk-in pantry. You want a separate guest suite built near your home. You know what you want and your wish list is long and detailed. But, where do you start?
Long before the foundation is poured for your dream house, you will have made hundreds of decisions, and, yet, there will still be more to come. By planning ahead, you can take steps to avoid costly mistakes. Here's a checklist for building your custom home.

___ Select the Land / Where You Want to Build Your Custom Home.
Sometimes you fall in love with a particular area or piece of land and that inspires you to build your own home. You almost always have to choose the land you want to build on before you decide on a floor plan or any of the other details for your new home.

Within The Woodlands community, land purchase is possible through the The Woodlands Custom Home Sales Center, which maintains an approved builder list for The Woodlands. Click here to learn more about Dream Works Properties. Outside The Woodlands community boundaries, you can contact a local realtor for land / lot options. Or, you can browse WOL's real estate land / lot listings.
___ Assemble a Good Team of Professionals. By hiring an architect, designer, builder and supplier, you will have confidence from start to finish that your ideas (balanced with their expertise) will result in the home you have in mind. Choosing people you trust, respect and with whom you work well will go a long way to assuring that this happens. Below are ooptions for design your custom home:
  • Architects. Because of their education, experience and rigorous state examinations, they are trained to see the whole picture. Most can provide a range of services. An architect who specializes in custom-home design will likely be more knowledgeable about trends in design and new products.
  • Building designer. These professionals are not licensed architects, sometimes self taught, focused on residential design and are usually very aware of construction costs and building products.
  • Design/build firms. They are convenient because they usually offer a one-stop shopping type approach and are good at offering a selection of plans, products and finishes that have proven successful for them in the past. When hiring a design/build firm, thoroughly examine their reputation by talking with as many past clients as possible. Find out if the firm was responsive to their concerns and questions. Take time to visit projects, both under construction and completed.
In addition remodeling Specialists are a reference for quality custom home builder professionals.

Traditional bidding (the process of getting three bids from different builders and then comparing them) is not as popular for custom homes as it once was. Preparing a proper bid is time consuming, and bidding on a one-of-a-kind home is risky for the builder. The bid is also no guarantee of the actual amount that will be spent to get the job done. If you do decide to solicit bids, take time to get to know the builders you approach. Gain a broad perspective about them and their work by touring recent projects, checking out references and asking them for a presentation of their business and practices.

___ Research the Civic Guidelines and Environmental Considerations before Making Your Land Purchase
  • Civic Guidelines in The Woodlands. The Woodlands is an unincorporated area that operates independently of city government. The Woodlands Township Service Center oversees municipal-type services like police and fire protection and emergency services; park, pathway and street-scape maintenance; coordination of one of the most successful Neighborhood Watch programs in the nation; and enforcement of the community's covenants and architectural controls. The funds necessary to provide these services come from assessments charged to residents according to the area in which they live and the value of their home. There are also Village Associations and Residential Design Review Committees for each village that promote village events, maintain the integrity of homes and neighborhoods, and assist in the coordination of community governance.
  • Environmental Considerations in The Woodlands. The preservation of the forest environment within The Woodlands has been the strongest, most cohesive precept in the ongoing planning of The Woodlands community. This preservation effort is continuously monitored and maintained by the 2 main community associations mentioned above.
  • Environment services are specifically addressed and handled by the The Covenant Administration Department of the Community Associations of The Woodlands organization, which provides the office support for The Woodlands' Residential Design Review Committees. These are committees of community-elected representatives that serve as architectural control groups to protect the aesthetic character of the residential areas in The Woodlands. Property owners planning to make any alterations to their properties are required to make applications to their village's committee. The applications are then acted upon by the committee to ensure compliance with the covenant restrictions and design standards. To learn more about deed restrictions in place to keep The Woodlands environment in place, click here.

    ___ When Construction Begins. Given that you've never done this before, you might wonder what role you should play in the next phase of the process. Your builder or lead person on the job site will be your primary contact. The following ideas will help make your custom home building project go smoothly.
    • Do your part. You will be given a timetable for selecting products. Stick to it to avoid delays of products that need to be delivered by a certain stage of construction.
    • Stick to your budget. Sometimes the idea that you're only going to do this once sets in and you start upgrading when it wasn't in the original budget. Instead of breaking the bank, write down the model information and buy it later when you have enough money.
    • Visiting hours. You can't help but visit the job site, but don't bother the workers. Write down your questions and discuss them with the builder.
    • Be real about expectations. There are many things beyond the builder's control that may delay completion. The weather, delayed approvals or late deliveries are just a few of the things that can influence the timeline. Your builder is just as eager as you are to get the job done.
    • Locking in your loan. Try and wait until your builder can estimate a true delivery date before you lock in your loan. Your builder can usually estimate it within 45 days.
    • The Learning Curve. Take the time to learn about the new products and systems installed in your new home. Maintenance of them will be important.
    Ready to get started building? Click here to view custom builders in the Woodlands area.