Building Brokers: Custom Built Homes for Less

[jack452]

Custom build log homes are homes that are designed and constructed based on what the homeowner wants. When custom building a log home, the homeowner works with an architect, residential designer, log home company or home builder who will create custom build log homes plans that are individualized for that log home. The major advantage to the homeowner when custom building a log home is that their home will be designed and built according to their needs, desires and specifications.

Here are three major ways to consider going about custom building a log home:

o Create Your Custom Build Log Homes Plans with an Architect - if you want to create your log home from scratch, you may wish to use the expertise of a qualified architect. You'll want to be sure that yours is not the first custom build log home the architect has designed. Ask to see their past designs, check their references and determine if they really do have the education and experience to design your log home.

Not only can the architect design custom build log homes plans, he or she can oversee the construction process to help ensure that your log home is built as intended. This option will likely cost the most, and their fees will usually be a percentage of the project cost or related to the square footage. Ideally, you'll find and investigate several architects, then choose the best one for you when building a log home.

If you are fed up with expensive gym fees and ready to take your daily workout home, then you have a very important first decision to make. Do you buy an all inclusive home gym machine or do you build your own gym from scratch? Although there is no real right or wrong answer, there are some important implications that you need to consider.

When designing a new home for a potential home buyer the first step for any good home designer is to visit the building site. This is where the site is assessed for views, obstructions, northern aspect, access, building services (such as power supply, water, gas and sewerage), prevailing winds which will be used for cross ventilation cooling and landscaping options, just to name a few. It's in this stage of house design that ideas are formed in the designers mind that will later be translated by pen onto sketch pad and subsequently finalised in an CAD design.

Taking this approach will give you a much better result with home building than purchasing through a display home as the custom design will be perfectly suited to the individual block it is located on. It's common to be in an established home only to hear the home owner complain about the house design and how it lacks effectiveness in one or in a lot of cases, many areas. Complaints about the lack of breeze at night, because there weren't enough windows or in some cases, just poorly placed windows. Complaints about rooms being dark, even in the middle of the day.

In previous years custom designs were primarily for the wealthy, where the only options were to pay large fees to an architect to have a design completed to a buyers individual expectations. However, with the popularity of building brokers and various custom home builders this option no longer needs to be exclusive to that small niche. In fact, a custom design can quite often be cheaper to build than a standard project home as many of the smaller volume builders don't have large marketing overheads - something building brokers take full advantage of when negotiating building prices full house remodel.

People have a tendency to spend too much money on the lot or building site. They don't analyze the real cost of one building site verses another. Costs like excavation, back-fill, trenching, how far are utilities, do I need a septic or is there sewer available (how much will a septic system cost...$10,000 or $50,000), are there any protected main fees to hook up to utilities, what municipality is it in (some areas of Tucson require additional engineering that add costs), and is the land flat and easy to build on or is it steep and rocky? Some things are obvious, but some are not. A great lot, from the standpoint of spectacular views, may be difficult to build on...and difficult just means more costly.

People also tend do things one step at a time instead of taking a team approach. What I mean is they buy a lot, get with an architect and design a house, and then get the plans out to a builder or a couple builders, and then can't believe how much it's going to cost. The builder is expected (or perhaps it's just a hope) to be able to perform some type of magic and find subcontractors or suppliers that can build, say, a $1.3 million dollar home for $800 thousand. Using all the lowest numbers and building a custom luxury home for the lowest possible price is fraught with problems (the topic of another blog or article entirely!) Suffice it to say the client will not get what they're expecting which can lead to years of problems.