Are you thinking about building a custom home? What about semi-custom? Semi-custom is simply taking a set of plans or another house for inspiration and adapting it to your own style and preference without starting from complete scratch.
I talk to people all the time who aren’t sure if they want to build a home. They imagine the work that it will take and aren’t sure if the payoff is enough to warrant the extra effort.
In this article, I’ll go through some of the major reasons people eventually choose to build a home of their own. While it’s not for everyone, you might relate to one or two of these ideas and decide that it’s the right path for you.
You Can Have the Perfect Floor Plan for Your Lifestyle
Chances are you’ve been around for a while. You’ve lived in many places and you have a long list of things you like and dislike when it comes to your living space. Your lifestyle is pretty stable and predictable and you have a pretty good idea about what characteristics would make a house your dream home.
When you design your own home, you get to start with your list. The first thing to do is to decide what your new home must have to make it ideal. Sure, there are a lot of tiny details to consider, but it’s the big picture details that you should bother yourself with in the beginning. Your home builder will help you manage all the small details later. We have a tried and true process for making sure everything important is considered and nothing gets lost in the shuffle. That means you get to focus on the things that are important to you.
If you haven’t already, start making a list of things your dream home must include. Also, make a list of things you didn’t like about past living situations. Do you want your office to have its own bathroom? Maybe there’s a mini-bar in there as well. Perhaps you have two living rooms so the boys can watch UFC while the girls watch The Bachelor. Whatever it is, write it down so you can make it your top priority when you start planning the home of your dreams.
Future-Proof Your Home
Future-proofing your home can mean a lot of things. For this purpose, I am referring to technology. We all know that technology is changing fast. It wasn’t very long ago that we had phones hanging from the wall in the kitchen. Now we have two years olds walking around with a smartphone in their hand with more computing power than the Orion space ship that Nasa is currently testing to go to Mars.
Because of the quickly changing trends, it’s important to consider where technology is going when we think about how to build a home. A common example in 2019 has to do with the internet and how it interacts with your home and your life.
Fiber Optic Wiring
Besides wiring a home with Coaxial Cables in each room, we are commonly installing fiber optic cables. As time goes on more and more of our appliances and devices will plug into the internet. Fiber optic cables allow for the fastest data-transfer speeds and could become a necessity someday soon.
They call it the Internet of Things. When each room needs to be wired to the internet, you don’t want to be stretching cords all over the place. Plan ahead and make sure you have the built-in infrastructure to support future technology.
Spray-foam Insulation
Another great technological advancement has come in the form of spray-foam insulation. This nifty insulation fills all the gaps so no air, or bugs, can get through. This makes for a much cleaner environment in the long term.
Did you know that wall insulation can get brown spots over time? This is from dust being carried in and out of your home through small drafts slipping through the cracks. Spray-foam insulation makes it so this isn’t possible. It’s also a fire retardant which makes for a much safer environment.
While housing materials technology continues to improve, we are always looking for ways to improve our building process and provide the most top of the line homes available to our customers. If a technologically advanced home is what you’re after, or at least a future-proof one, you’re in the right place.
Pay Less for Electricity with a Green Home
We’ve been building green homes since becoming an NGBS (National Green Building Standards) certified green builder since 2009. In 2016 we became an official Green Builder of Excellence. What does this mean? You can learn more about the NGBS Promise here.
The NGBS provides us with a comprehensive list of standards we start with when building every home. The idea is that by building a better more energy-efficient home, we can be more environmentally conscious. It also results in saving a lot on energy costs.
When you build with Spartan Homes Inc, you can be proud of the fact that you are working towards reducing your carbon footprint and taking another step towards preserving our environment.
Have the Flexibility of Choosing a Space that Works for Your Family
Some folks are expecting their family to grow and need to plan accordingly. Others are looking to downsize or minimize the amount of space they need to maintain. Whatever your situation, building a custom or semi-custom home allows you the freedom to choose what your living space looks like, to a T.
We have gone through this entire process many times with families of all shapes and sizes. The knowledge and experience we have provides us with the right questions to ask in order to make sure you don’t miss any details that might become important in the near, or distant, future.
A New Home Requires Less Maintenance
This may seem obvious, but it’s definitely worth noting. A lot of folks shy away from building their own home because they think it’s more affordable to buy an existing home. While this can certainly be the case, there are a lot of variables to consider.
I’ve known a lot of people who bought an existing home with the intention of changing a couple of things; remodeling the kitchen and maybe knocking out a wall to make the living room more open. What they didn’t expect was to find a ton of rot underneath their kitchen. One couple went to remodel their living room and found out the way the last owner framed the vaulted ceiling and roof was against code and rather dangerous. They were forced to spend over $50,000 just fixing the roof framing before they were able to begin customizing their new home. Talk about a setback.
These examples aren’t meant to scare you out of buying an existing home. I’m just explaining situations you would never have to worry about when building a custom home with a good home builder.
If you do decide to buy an existing home, make sure you have it inspected by a third-party expert. They won’t be able to spot everything but they can certainly help your chances of avoiding the purchase of a lemon.
Express Yourself with Your Dream Home
When you build a custom or semi-custom home, you really get to make it your own. All of the little things you’ve made mental notes on over the years of living in rentals and stepping stone homes can finally be manifested in your new home. This results in a home that is not only comfortable and functional for you but is an expression of your personality and experience.
If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, we can give you some places to start along with some resources for creating image boards and idea lists. Reach out to us if you have any questions and would like to know more about building a home in the Lake Anna area.