Building Your Home
The first home is a major event in people’s lives. The first instinct is to watch the housing market, look at mortgage lenders, and start looking at the real estate homes for sale. But is buying a home the way to go?
Pros and Cons of Building Your First Home
Building a new home as your first house is becoming more popular. This allows you to escape limited housing and the problems of buying previously lived-in homes. As with any major decision or purchase, it’s always a good idea to weigh the pros and cons before pulling the trigger. To buy or to build?
So, before you start looking at built homes in different areas or looking at plots of land, let’s take a look at the advantages and challenges of building your first home:
Advantages
- Next to No Competition: Even if just starting to buy a home, you've likely already noticed how competitive it is. Many homes sell just days after being listed, and bidding wars brew quickly. By building your first house, you make the competition entirely irrelevant.
- It's Newer: Everything is brand-spanking-new! Every inch is current when you build a home, from the foundation to the roof, windows to beams, and appliances to furnaces.
- Little Maintenance: A new house means meeting current building codes, and having up-to-date technology translates to no big repairs or maintenance issues for quite a while. Another perk is not discovering bad repairs hidden by the previous owner. An older home can potentially cause you to inherit problems alongside its mortgage.
- Customized Home: When you build a house, you can have the home designed just for you, top to bottom. No projects down the road to transform a purchased house into your home, you walk in with it just the way you dreamed of.
- Cheaper insurance: Because the construction is new, the insurance costs are cheaper because it would take longer before something is damaged.
Challenges
- Construction Time: Patience is a virtue that can be hard to maintain. The excitement of walking into your first house can drag time out for homebuyers getting turn-key houses, but the wait is much longer for building new homes. On average, it takes seven months to build a new house versus thirty to forty-five days to close on an existing house.
- Nonnegotiable Price: Buying an existing house involves negotiating and both parties trying to get the best price. When you build your house, the cost is pretty much set due to labor and materials. A construction loan is the type of loan upon building a new home, different from a mortgage. Construction loans tend to be higher than mortgages as it is riskier for lenders.
- A Lot of Decisions: While most people change the interior of a house to make it their own, you need to choose every element, which can be very stressful. From the fixtures to the flooring, the home design and land to build on, exterior and interior trim, all while staying within budget.
Why Choose to Build a House Instead of Buying?
It’s easy to sit on the fence when it’s your first time looking for a house, whether it’s an existing home or not; it is a big decision. Maybe you’re wondering why more people are choosing to build their first house rather than becoming a homebuyer, considering the challenges that come with it.
Essentially, it’s the freedom and up-to-date home aspects from the get-go. When building a new house, you’re free to construct it as wanted with every feature you wish and in any area you want. Whole new neighborhoods are springing up where existing homes aren’t around, which means new communities to explore.
As mentioned in one of the advantages, everything is modern, and while that saves you money on repairs or big maintenance projects, it can also save you money on energy costs. Having better windows to insulate and prevent heat or cold air from leaking new energy-efficient features, and appliances, all these modern technologies translate into lower energy bills going forward.
Factors to Consider Before Building a House
All the newness and long-term cost-savings sound great, but unlike an existing home, planning ahead is crucial to a successful build. Before digging into the home-building process, here are some factors to consider:
- Budget Planning: This isn't too different from planning for your future mortgage, but the scope is much bigger. It starts with the construction loans, which consist of construction costs, permits, property taxes on the land, and other details. You'll also need to determine which grant and finance assistance programs are best for you. Once construction is complete, construction loans are converted into traditional mortgages. See our mortgage payment calculator to see what your mortgage could be later on.
- Location: Speaking of the land, choosing the right property to build on means considering factors you normally wouldn't, outside of the resale value. Consider the amenities nearby, the school district, zoning laws, and how the land impacts the building.
- Who Builds: Unless you construct the entire home yourself, it's crucial to research and select a reputable and licensed builder. You'll want to look at their customer reviews and their experience building a house. Never be afraid to call or contact different builders to see whose expertise best fits your needs. Note that they are now competing for your business. Compare rates and services, including whether they accept credit cards.
- Timeline Expectations: Knowing the timeline for building a home can save you a lot of frustration and help set expectations. Familiarize yourself with the process and understand that construction takes time, so plan accordingly.
Build a House Made For You with HiLine Homes
Our Efficient Home Building Process
HiLine Homes is committed to building affordable housing, and with our streamlined process, it’s never been easier to have a custom home as your first house that builds instant home equity. We provide “on your lot” home builders, constructing a complete home on your prepared property from the floor plan and features you choose with our Home Consultant, who guides you through the process and explains the value of the rates. Once your house is ready to be built, your Project Manager will handle the construction alongside other tasks management needed.
Financing Options To Build a New Home
Part of the reason working with HiLine Homes is so easy and our process so efficient is that we have helpful resources and guidance lined up for you, including loan financing for the cost of new construction. Our Approved Lenders are familiar with our home builder program and offer up to 100% financing, making the financial steps toward your first home all the easier. Their financial advisors will guide you in choosing suitable mortgage loans. They can also give you insights on what to do to refinance.
Start Your Journey to Homeownership Today!
Rather than get caught up in a bidding war or deal with the leftovers from a previous owner and handle pricey repairs, start your homeowners’ journey with one fresh and tailored for you.
