How to Begin Planning for a Custom Home Build

April 12, 2021

The prospect of taking on a brand-new custom home build from scratch can be a bit daunting, but also extremely exciting. The success of your project hinges on how you handle the early planning phases—you need to enter the job fully prepared and with all of the details figured out.

With this in mind, here are a few tips on how to plan a new house build in Poulsbo, WA so you can end up with a fantastic finished product you will cherish for years to come.

Know your priorities with your home design

There are a lot of people who decide they want to build their own home, but never actually spend time carefully thinking through what is most important to them in a new home design. When you consider the massive investment you’re putting into this project and the amount of time you will likely own the home, it’s important that this be one of the very first steps you take.

Sit down and list out everyone who will be living in the home and every room you want to have in the home, and get everyone who will be living there involved in determining all the things they want in each room. Then arrange those wish lists by priority. This will make it so much easier to visualize what you all want and prioritize those items so you can best determine how to spend your money and allocate the space in the home.

Determine a budget

It’s a very bad idea to go into a home build without a detailed budget—costs can quickly get out of control, as it becomes so easy to say “yes” to certain features and items. You’ll need three separate budgets: a build budget, a budget for furnishings and a budget for features and finishes. The build budget is for the actual construction, the furnishing budget is for the items you’ll place in your home and the features and finishes include landscaping, fencing, decking, etc.

Gather professionals to help you out

Again, it’s important to spend some time on this phase. The contractors you hire for the job will be a significant factor in the ultimate quality of the home. You’ll need to hire an architect who will be able to prepare home plans based on your wishes and specifications, a designer or decorator who can help you plan out the interior space and a builder who will be able to handle all of the construction aspects of the project (and bring in any subcontractors that may be necessary). Do your due diligence in researching these professionals and their capabilities, and stay in constant communication with them.

Prepare for the build

Once you’ve gone through all of the early planning phases, make sure you communicate with your builders about expectations for the building process itself and any responsibilities you have. Communication is key in this process to make sure you’re getting exactly what you want within the time frame you need it.

For more information about building a new home in Poulsbo, WA, contact the experienced home builders at Coyote Hollow Construction today.

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