The decision to buy or build a home is one of the biggest and most expensive ones you’ll make. It’s also a big decision for your bank account, so it’s important to weigh all the pros and cons before making this ultimate commitment.

Before you start the process you really need to ask yourself, what do you want in a home? How does the home you want fit on the land on which you have to build? And how long do you want to be in this home? Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to build or buy comes down to what you’re most comfortable with. Sometimes choosing to build and getting exactly what you want is the way to go. Sometimes, it isn’t!

If you have the resources, time, money and your ability to handle the unknown then building is probably your best bet. This will provide you with an end product of which ultimately you control. Each finish, layout and decision will be your own. However, if you’re not one to handle a process that can potentially be full of surprises, building might not be for you. In my experience, even without any major issues surrounding building a property things still happen and the unknown arises. Building truly requires an investment of both mental energy and patience.

So should I build? Here’s what I’d ask yourself:

1) Do I have the time? Building can take a lot longer than expected. We’re living in an era where materials are harder to get, they take longer to become available and with that – timelines will get pushed and so can budgets.

2) Do I need to have full control? Sometimes too much control can be a bad thing, when you’re building that means you have a lot of decisions to make. Keep that in mind. Your general contractor is there to guide through the process but ultimately you’re the one calling the shots.

3) Do I know exactly what I want? Having a list of wants in a pre-existing home is one thing but when you’re building keep in mind that the list is going to need to be much bigger. Instead of just thinking about how many bedrooms and bathrooms you need, you’ll need to think about the layout of those rooms as well.

4) How will the home sit on the piece of property? How does the sun play a role in the positioning of the home or the layout of the floor plan? It’s so important to consider the sunlight and how it affects the use of the home? If you spend most of your time in your kitchen and living room, then you want it to be bright and welcoming, be sure to take the position of the sun into account when considering a floor plan.

5) Is this your forever home or just a step in your home ownership path? This is a very important question because this will mean the difference between truly custom items for yourself and your personal tastes and building a home that can be resold to meet other buyers’ needs.

The Takeaway

No matter what you do, buying or building real estate will be one of the biggest investments in your life. Ensure that you have the facts, a competent general contractor and make sure that your Realtor, who has built homes is involved along the process to ensure you understand everything involved. Have a question? I’d love to hear from you.

xoxo Charlotte