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We recently built a new home and let me tell you it’s quite a process. There’s just so many things to choose but that’s most of the fun. While it’s certainly not as nice as new home communities in some areas, it’s ours.
When I say we built a house I don’t mean the hire an architect route. That would be super fun but we don’t have that kind of money at this point in our lives. There’s a local builder that builds a lot of neighborhoods in our city and we just went with that.
You Get to Choose the Location
One of the reasons we decided to build a house was because we need to be in a certain location. We live in a different city than my husband works in. Due to this and schools, we have to live in a specific area of our town. Of course, there are houses we could have just bought over here but none of them had what we were looking for. Also, with building a house you get to choose from several lots to put your house on. Want a big backyard? That’s no problem if it’s available.
Less Chance of Something Breaking or Needing to be Fixed
When you build a house everything is new and more importantly under warranty. We don’t have to worry about things suddenly breaking and us not having the money to fix them. With houses that have had previous owners you just never really know what they have done to it and what’s really hiding under the surface. A new house gives us some peace of mind.
You Get to Pick Everything
The best part of building a new house is that you get to choose everything in it. You get to choose the exterior and interior colors, all the fixtures, flooring-everything! Originally we were going to just buy another house but none of the houses we saw had what we were looking for. We would like something in it but then others would not work. Eventually, we just decided to build since they were building new in the neighborhood we were looking at anyway. Of course, if you are not going the architect route you have to choose from an assortment of what the builder offers. Also, remember builders make a lot of money from their upgrades so make sure to do your research and save money. Somethings may be cheaper after the fact than through the builder. Just weigh the pros and cons versus what you have to have now and what you can wait on.
Can Cost the Same as a House You Buy
When building a house you know from the beginning exactly what you will be paying in the end. You often have a price point you are comfortable with when shopping for a house and with building a house it’s no different. You would just look at the plans and locations that fit your budget and will give you the payment you want in the end.
Having a house built through a local builder is very fun and exciting. We use to visit our lot before they started building on it and checked on it every step of the way since then. Now that we are in the house we still have tons to do (our choice and mostly painting). It’s fun but lots of work. Have you ever built a house? What did you like most about doing that?
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
Cogratulations on your home. I can imagine how wonderful it would be to pick everything to your specifications. 🙂
Thanks! Not everything but a lot. Well, I guess it could be everything if you’re willing to spend to get it. We went with what we could afford and then chose other things to do ourselves later down the road.
Another advantage is that you learn a lot more by building a house then you do by buying it. Honestly I don’t know a whole lot about my house because I bought it, so if something breaks I’m either going to have to learn how to fix it or get someone else to fix it. If you built your house you already have the knowledge on how it is put together. So if something breaks you can fix it a lot easier.
That is another great reason to build a house although I still wouldn’t know how to fix something. Although I would be able to tell the repairman a little more information about the problem depending on what it is.
I like the idea of making it yours before it was anyone elses. Granted, our house was built in the 70s but it matched almost perfectly what we were looking for when we were looking for our home.
Just goes to show you that you never know what something is like till you go inside it 🙂
My husband and I did something similar with building our first house. It was great to be able to customize everything. What I liked the most was the “brand-new” factor and being able to maintain that feel while we lived there. Now, we’ve been renting our house to a tenant for two years, but are about to move back after having to re-locate for work for the past two years. Real estate prices have risen, but not enough so we can sell it at a profit. Someday, I will have my forever home, but I’m not sure I would go through the building process again. It will just depend on so many factors.
I know how you feel. We own another house in another state that we haven’t sold because of the market. We have tentants there for now so it’s working for us. As for a forever home I don’t think this is it but you never know.