Is building your own home on your radar? The thought of having a place of your own designed exactly how you want it is amazing. From the perfectly placed bathrooms to the open concept living area, building your own home is the dream of many people. Before you start putting pencil to paper to make your design, check out our pros and cons of building a home.
First of all, being in charge of your layout is the number one pro to building your own home. You’ve given yourself a blank slate that you and your contractor can work together to fill with exactly what you and your family want and need.
If the idea of having a home laid out as you want, imagine the opportunity to choose where your home is built as well. On a hillside? Waterfront? Middle of nowhere with no neighbours in sight? The choice is yours!
Another amazing advantage of building a new home is maintenance. While you will never have a home with zero maintenance, a new home provides you the benefit of having minimal maintenance, as everything is brand new.
On the cons side, building a home can be expensive, and is usually more costly than buying. Where in a prebuilt home, everything is already in place, with a brand new home, the cost can be pushed up by things like location, size, complexity, and design elements.
Financing is another hurdle when it comes to building a new home. While obviously still possible, the process is more involved than for buying a home. This is due to more risk being taken on by the lender; not only do they have to evaluate you, the borrower, they are also evaluating your plans, as well as your builder.
Another downside to building is it takes time. Where you can buy a house and move in usually within a few weeks, that is not the case with building! At a bare minimum, a small home can be built in 3 months, but even with proper planning, it could take up to 9 months. Consider also, the bigger the home, the longer the time it will take, and remember there will be delays, whether it’s weather, materials, or even decision making, all these factors can extend the time it takes.
