Your home is often your biggest investment. Like any investment, you want it to pay off, not only financially but also in your quality of life.

And sometimes, a standard “cookie cutter” home isn’t enough. You need a home customized to your needs.

These five steps to building a custom home will help you get your project underway with minimal headaches.

1. All About the Budget

Obviously, your house building project depends on money. Part of setting a budget requires working with your bank, and the other part requires working with a design and construction team to calculate costs and estimates. Once you start talking to professional builders, your budget may change, so do this before signing anything at the bank. See point 4. A good idea is to set a budget and then add 10%-15% for contingency. Having a little extra available is good and you can always leave it untouched until you need it.

2. Location, Location, Location

The next most obvious step in building a custom home is having a place to build. Location will affect your budget. Do you want something near water? Near the mountains? A view of the mountains? In the beautiful treed areas of El Paso County, CO?

More often than not, you will find your lot before putting together a floor plan for your dream home. When choosing a lot, there are several variables that professionals will need to consider to make sure it’s suitable, including building codes, zoning rules, condition of the soil, and drainage.

3. The Plans

This is a very big step in building a custom home. This determines what your new home will look like. Save pictures and websites of what you want structurally and how you would like the house layout to be. You will need to get plans drawn up and submitted to the proper offices, but that is a detail for Murphy’s Custom Homes.

4. Your Team

None of these steps to building a custom home will mean a thing if you don’t have a team that can make your plans and ideas come alive. Your team must include architectural skill, design talent and a general contractor. A “one-stop shop” definitely makes things much easier than choosing individuals and attempting to assemble the team yourself. Even if you have a great friend who can do some of these things, it’s best to keep a custom home project at “arm’s length”.

5. Contract Negotiations

Out of all the steps to building a custom home, signing the contract is big. It seals the deal and makes it all suddenly become “real”. You should discuss everything in detail with the contracting team before lifting a pen. If there is even a slight question, talk about it and have it explained to your satisfaction. A good team will be happy to do this for as long as is necessary. There should be no surprises and nothing left to chance.

When building a custom home, it’s easy to become distracted and/or overwhelmed by many details. Therefore, make the process simpler by following these five steps to building a custom home. You will have a greater chance of achieving synergy with your team and your new home plans.

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