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Five practical areas to discuss with your designer or to keep in mind when plan shopping for your new home project. Here they are and not in any particular order.

Roofline-The steeper the roof the more the cost in most cases. If you have noticed lately, there are allot of new home developments where the roof of the home is quite high and large. This is usually because the home itself is a smaller square footage and the roof makes it look bigger. Always remember that the roof area equates to more sheets of plywood, more shingles and more labor. Gable roofs are less expensive than hip or cottage roofs. I suggest a 6/12 roof slope or less to keep the roof cost on budget. You might want to discuss this with your designer.

Windows/doors-This is a crucial part of design. Let’s look at a few things that effect overall cost. Obviously the amount of windows, size of the windows, whether they open or not, as well as rounded top glass will effect your budget. The average home usually has 12-15 windows. Opening or venting windows cost more than a fixed or picture window. Rounded glass can cost as much as double the cost of an average window so use them sparingly. Wood windows usually cost more than conventional vinyl (PVC) windows. A door example is a double French exterior door is more expensive than a standard patio door.

Wall heights-The trend in the new home building industry today is to design and build with 9 foot walls and ceilings. This gives a home larger feel vs. a traditional 8′ wall height. This will affect the cost of the finished home as there is more wall area for drywall, siding, etc. In a 1500 square foot home or less, I would recommend 9′ ceilings to take advantage of the space. Two story walls, referred to as balloon framing, really adds to the cost of framing.

Vaulted ceilings-This is a raised ceiling in the home, usually going to a peak. It is a great idea to integrate into the design if you want the cost of standard 8 foot high walls with the higher vaulted ceilings giving the perception of a lager space. There are typically two types of vaulted trusses used in a new home design. The first on is the Scissor truss vault which gives a gentler raised ceiling and is less expensive, and the second is a cathedral vault which typically is a full height vault with a ridge beam. You see these allot in a Chalet style cabin. (steeper vault)

Foundation-A full concrete foundation (8 foot basement) in most cases will cost more than a crawlspace or slab foundation. If you don’t have allot of storage designed into the home, a full foundation may be required and is also a great re-sale feature. A sloped lot may accommodate a day-lite or walkout basement option as well. Basement development, as well as extra space over a garage, are the least expensive ways to add square feet to a home.

So if you are about to get plans designed for your new home or just looking for a plan online, keep this five points in mind. Your wallet will thank you.

When a potential owner/builder has decided to move toward the process of building a new home, I regularly see a bit of confusion where the “cart before the horse” comes into play. What I mean by that is owner/builders try and concentrate on the design or plan idea before they have secured land or a lot.

I understand the excitement of the plan design process and putting on paper their ideas for their dream home, and let me share some insight on why it is important to have your land purchased first. Here are some considerations before sitting down with a plan designer:

1. Does the land/lot have any covenants you are not aware of? What I mean by this is you should check with the previous owner, Realtor and County or City planning Department and see if there are any restrictions or covenants on what you can actually build there.

2. What are the setbacks for the land/lot and how will that affect the size and footprint of your proposed home? A setback is designated space, pre-determined by the local planning Department, which is not available for your home to sit on. This is usually for right-of-ways for utilities, widening the roads, etc. So for example, if the lot you are considering is 50 feet wide and you have a 5 foot side yard setback, that means you have to take off 5 feet from each side leaving you 40 actual feet for the width of the home foundation. This is an issue also for a City lot where you may want a side garage.

3. Are there height restrictions in the area? What is the maximum height of the roof from grade (level of the land) that you can build? May be a problem for a larger 2 story plan with a steep roof line.

4. Where are the views? Once you have the land and walk around it, you will get a pretty solid idea where you would like the kitchen, living areas and bedrooms to face on the lot. If you have a plan already, you may find that the existing drawing does not account for the right positioning or amount of windows that would take advantage of the view.

5. Sewer and septic. If this is an acreage lot, then you need to see if the land has “perked” and what size of septic field and system you can build and how many bathrooms you would be allowed per how many bedrooms. Your Realtor and local Heath authority should be able to answer that question. A perk test is used to see how the actual soil absorbs or retains water. A failed perk test means alternative septic systems which can be very expensive. A city lot will usually have a sewer system to tie into, but check with the Realtor or local planning department.

6. Privacy. If you find a piece of property that has steady traffic on the front street, you may change your mind on where you want your master bedroom or living area to be. If you have plans already done, this may be a re-draw.

7. Engineering. More and more States and Provinces are requesting engineering reviews on plans before they will issue building permits. If you find land that may be of interest to you, research the local Building Department and find out if structural or civil engineering is required. Better to find out now before you already have plans done that can’t be engineered for that zone.

There are many variables in the owner/builder process, especially if things are not thought out correctly or done in a specific order. I have seen too many clients spend thousands of dollars on “dream plans” only to have them restrict where they can find land, are too big for the lot they found, or just don’t take advantage of the views, slope of the land, area etc. and end up either getting new plans or giving up altogether.

I am not saying that if you have a set of drawings done that you cannot find the perfect lot for them or that you have done something wrong. What I am suggesting, is that it would be easier and more prudent in the early planning stages to have finding land as the priority before plans and increase your success for a great new home building experience.

Where do you start to design a custom design home? The Design Brief.

Do you know what you want? Do you know what you need? These are two very different questions with very different answers. No matter what your budget is, you will have to get clear on this. You will have to come up with a list! We in the design profession refer to it by the more fancy term of “Design Brief” and it can consist of a scratched out list on the back of an envelope to a 30 page document with magazine inserts, sample plans and paint swatches.

The more complete your Design Brief is, the easier it is to come up with suitable custom home design solutions. Some people like to keep their brief very open, leaving it to the designer to miraculously come up with the perfect design. Whilst those with finely honed psychic powers can achieve this task, it really is akin to trying to shoot a moving target in the dark. It is a process that leads to high expectations from a client - especially if the designer has been foolish enough to promise such a miracle - and usually ends in disappointment.

Having a good Design Brief does not mean that you have to come up with a plan as such, that is the designers job! But feel free to express your own creative talents if you want to start working up a preliminary plan. Thumbnail sketches are good! No-one expects you to be an architect. A plan doesn’t have to be to scale, it is important to just get a concept of the sort of spaces you will need. A bubble diagram with labeled circles for rooms is a good starting point.

I describe the design process to my clients as being like doing a jigsaw - they provide the individual pieces and I put it all together for them to create the overall picture. Custom home design does not necessarily translate as “over the top” and expensive. I’ve designed many modest homes that have been a perfect blend of bringing the functions you need with some special features to make a home unique, individual and a reflection of the client’s personality.

Your brief really needs to consist of some basics: Types of room, Room sizes, Vehicle accommodation, How you want spaces to interconnect, Overall house size, Budget, Outdoor areas, Other structures, pools etc., Special needs or hobbies to be catered for, Furniture sizes, …….the list can get as detailed as you like. Include your “wish list” items but realise that budget will dictate how much you can include in the final home design. Remember designers are usually very visual people, so the more pictures you have to communicate your ideas, the better.

Austin, Texas is becoming one of the nation’s most popular places to build a custom home. There’s the culture, the lifestyle, the weather, and of course … the affordability.

When building a custom home in Austin — or anywhere else, for that matter — there are no hard and fast rules that apply across the board. The very nature of a custom home means it is different from others, so the building process often varies from home to home.

With that being said, there are certain steps you can follow to ensure your home building process is a smooth one:

1. Determine Your Budget
Having a custom home built may be the biggest financial decision you ever make. So before you start talking to builders or looking at lots, you need to determine your budget.

Start by adding up your monthly expenditures. Leave housing out of the equation for now — just focus on food, shopping, lifestyle, car payments, insurance, investments, etc. Compare these figures to your monthly income to see how much of a house you might realistically afford.

If you currently own a home, this calculation will be much easier. You simply have to ask yourself, “How much more could I comfortably pay each month for a larger mortgage?”

2. Determine Your Location
When choosing a location for your new home, start with the obvious questions. Is it close to work, school and shopping? Are there major roadways, railroads or other noise-producers nearby? What are the taxes like? How are the school systems? (Quality of schools is important whether or not you have children, because it affects your property values.)

Once you’ve answered the obvious questions, move on to the less-obvious ones: What kind of development is planned for the foreseeable future? Will that beautiful meadow across the street be a parking lot in two years? As of this writing, there’s a lot of development and expansion happening in Austin, Texas, so be sure you get a long-range picture of your preferred location.

3. Make a List of Builders
Once you’ve decided what part of town you want to live in, you can begin making a list of builders who work in the area. You might start by using the search engines, or by visiting some of the online directories of home builders, such as Reals.com, AmericanBuilders.com or BuildingOnline.com.

Once you have a list of some of the top builders in your chosen area, start your fact-finding mission. Request brochures, visit model homes, surf their websites. Do whatever you can to gather information on each builder’s reputation, expertise, price range, floor plans and other important criteria.

4. Decide On a Builder
Choosing your custom home builder is a major step. But if you’ve completed the previous step and conducted some thorough research, you’ll have a much easier decision to make.

Once you’ve established that a builder has a good reputation and a genuine commitment to your happiness, you need to ask the big question: “Does this builder create the kind of home I can see myself in? Does it feel right to me?” Take your time answering these questions and making your ultimate decision.

5. Choose Your Lot
Before you can start looking at floor plans for your new dream home, you need to choose a lot. Floor plans are often dependent on the lot you choose, so the lot usually has to be decided on first.

The reasons for this are sometimes obvious and other times not. Obviously, a longer home will require a longer lot. But there may be other considerations at work. For example, maybe the developer wants to stagger one-story homes and two-story homes throughout the community for overall appeal.

These considerations will vary from builder to builder. For now, just realize that the floor plan will usually depend on the lot you choose. So remember to ask plenty of questions about this along the way.

6. Pick a Floor Plan
One of the great things about a custom home is that it’s, well … custom. Sometimes a custom home builder will offer basic floor plans that you can modify as you wish. Other times, the floor plans are created “from scratch” in coordination with an architect. Either way, you have an opportunity to build a home around your present and future needs.

I’ve built three homes from scratch. One was four bedrooms, three baths at around 3000 square feet. Another was five bedrooms, four baths at 3600 square feet. Finally, I bought a lot in the mountains and built a cabin with two bedrooms and two baths. In each case, I chose the lot, exposure, and home. They were builder’s lots and I chose the design from existing models with custom features. The process was both exciting and frustrating.

The exciting aspect is the ability to control your outcome. By picking the lot, exterior, and interior elements, it’s truly a custom experience. We got to work with interior decorators and made all the hard decisions. The inside would include all the wall colors and wallpapers, flooring along with carpet and tile, cabinetry throughout, kitchen design, appliances, window treatment, lighting fixtures, and placements. Also, we chose the countertop materials for the kitchen and bathrooms, surround sound built-ins, and numerous other conveniences. Outside, we installed pools, spas and decking, in the case of the cabin. Rockwork, grass, bushes, trees, and even a putting green were just some of our creations. We got to watch all of it come together over many months of supervision and anticipation. Finally, each one emerged and we got to live in our respective dream homes.

With all that we did, you might be envious of our good fortune that allowed us this amazing opportunity three times over. You would be right, but there were many problems we failed to account for. To start with, we had to choose a lot in subdivisions that weren’t built yet. By choosing a lot, we committed to the location. Unfortunately, without the other home built yet, we were at the mercy of whatever came after us. If the homes around us ended up blocking the view we envisioned, there was nothing we could do about it. If they decided to plant huge trees, erect tall play sets, or other obstructions, that was their choice, but one we had to live with.

This occurred in every case to varying degrees and, had we known, we might have planned differently. For example, we might have picked a lot among homes already built and established. We also had to put up with years of construction noise, debris, and inconvenience dealing with workers and their vehicles. In retrospect, we probably would have done things a lot differently.

You see, we were misled. We thought the only way to customize a home is to buy one from scratch. What we failed to comprehend is that anyone can buy an existing home, gut it if needed, and make whatever changes are required. New flooring, cabinets, wall and window treatment, lighting, and so forth, can be changed for a price. The advantage of this approach is: (a) you still choose your lot, (b) you know everything around you and what to expect, (c) you are spared the aggravation of the construction process, (d) you still can remake the interior or exterior, and (e) you can bargain on the price.

Don’t get me wrong: we loved the three homes we built. But if we had waited, we could have gotten the same homes in the same subdivisions after they were completed, at a later date, and might not have chosen the same locations. So learn from our experience and consider all these options. I know we are, as we decide where our next home will be. I can honestly say, it won’t be built from scratch, but it will still end up being exactly what we want. So, do you need to build a custom home to get one? Myth busted!

Get Your New Home Inspected! Why do thousands of Arizonans have puddles under their bathroom sinks, windows that will not open and shake with terror when they consider putting their property on the Phoenix MLS? Moreover, what is that smell?

It is the smell of buyers being burned because they failed to secure a real estate inspection. Just refer to the New York Times article of August 15, 2006, “When Elevators Fail, City Falters” for a perfect example of this serious problem.¹ Real estate inspections became a burning topic in Arizona when a red-hot Phoenix MLS combined with the strong seller’s markets of 2004 and 2005 caused many buyers to not secure adequate or any real estate inspections.

Real estate inspections and new construction, what happened? Not all construction companies are alike. Many are reputable, paying great attention to detail, while standing behind their work. Others sprung up overnight due to the recent Phoenix MLS boom and employ unknown and unskilled day laborers off the street, while expecting one supervisor to oversee ten to twenty job sites! Forget about attention to detail! Of course, city inspections are required, but they only look for code violations, not shoddy work or outright mistakes. The frightening part is most mistakes can and are sealed into the walls and floors. This leaves buyers to discover major problems later, after the builder is long gone. Your home represents your single largest investment and honest mistakes can happen no matter whom you choose to build with. Protect your investment. Have it inspected.

What is the cost of a real estate inspection? Typically, between $300 and $600, but the final price depends on size and location. Nevertheless, this initial outlay is worthwhile considering the expense of rewiring or re-plumbing an entire house! Think about this. You may decide to sell your property. Once on the Phoenix MLS, your perspective buyer will certainly order a real estate inspection. A small fee up front, at the time of construction, can prevent the anxiety of awaiting your buyer’s report and let you negotiate through the sale with the upper hand. Seriously consider it. A relatively small up front expense can let you enter the Phoenix MLS with confidence instead of sleepless nights.

How can you arrange a real estate inspection? It is easy and most of the work can be done for you! I and agents like me know reputable licensed professionals, who can help you. In my own business, I always provide clients with a choice of at least three honest and dependable inspectors, who have excellent credentials. In addition, I always arrange at least three new construction real estate inspections, a good agent will. The first is of the plumbing before the foundation is poured. The second takes place after the house has been roughed up, but prior to the installation of the walls and flooring. This real estate inspection allows for a check of the studding, plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems. The third real estate inspection is performed right before the buyer’s final walk through. After the third inspection, a list of necessary repairs is given to the buyer, who can discuss them with the builder.

If you happened across a home built from an underground house floor plan you could be forgiven for thinking the owners might be Hobbits because the only things visible might be a door or window set into a foliage covered hill. This type of home is actually a series of small, interconnecting domes made from cement and partially or completely submerged into the earth.

Such unconventional house floor plans are actually a step in the right direction for those persons thinking outside the box in terms of energy conservation and environmental benefits. Living underground in such earth-sheltered housing has its merits and takes a very conservative view in energy usage.

When considering an underground house floor plan, look for the following applications:

1. The house floor plan should blur the distinction between indoors and outdoors. The purpose is to exist in close harmony with nature.

2. The windows should be honeycomb style to harness solar energy.

3. Since the windows for this type of floor plan don’t open, an intake vent system with filters should be installed to draw fresh air from outside. The filters help keep out unwanted pests.

4. Air should be fanned from a solar collector through the home duct work into a rock store beneath the main living space. The store system maintains an efficient heat-exchange which works with the insulating soil to maintain a comfortable temperature year round. A good system would require no additional heating or cooling.

The dome shaped rooms give rise to maximum floor space and minimum wall area. Floor areas do not to conform to traditional housing expectations and and the living spaces are defined with curved walls with no sharp corners. Natural sunlight can be channeled into the house via the use of a skylight lined with natural reflective materials

Underground house floor plans got their start in the 1970s from an Austrian architect named Eisenhofer. Sadly, most dismissed his energy efficient and unconventional house plans as nothing more than a hippie experiment. It has only been within the past few years that interest in earth-sheltered housing is attracting some interest. As people become more environmentally conscious, the popularity of underground house floor plans as an energy efficient alternative can only increase.

ENERGY STAR! You see this label on most every appliance and electronic item you buy, from refrigerators to computer monitors. Items with this label meet standards for energy efficiency set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

In 1995 the EPA turned their attention to buildings and defined ENERGY STAR stan­dards for homes. An ENERGY STAR-certified home is 30 percent or more efficient than a conventional home. As energy prices climb, homeowners will save more on heating and cooling bills, decrease the amount of pollution released into the environment and place less of a strain on the energy infrastructure.

Calling a home “Energy Efficient” conjures images of homes with contemporary designs with no windows. Not so with the ENERGY STAR concept. The idea behind this program is to take conventional house designs and use software to evaluate the home’s energy efficiency. The builder and energy analyst then make changes to components of the home to make it more energy efficient. Changes include improving the insulation in certain areas of the home, using the right type of insulation for the application, routing the heating and cooling ducts to be more efficient, and so on. These improvements do not change the look of the home but can have huge effects on how efficient the home is to heat and cool. ENERGY STAR certification is a collaboration between the builder, energy analyst, tradesmen, and the homeowner.

Not many builders have adopted the concepts of ENERGY STAR in southern New Hampshire. Over the last four years, demand for new housing has increased dramatically causing the price of land in New Hampshire to increase. During this same period, building costs have increased an average of 10 percent per year. This has forced new home prices to rise. Builders have struggled to keep costs low and build homes faster to keep up with the demand. Taking the time and effort to make the home more energy-efficient has not been high on the list of priorities. According to Horizon Energy, in July 2005 about 200 homes were being built to ENERGY STAR standards out of the over 4,400 new residential homes being built through July.

Not all houses being built are the same. So to meet the energy efficiency standards set by the EPA, each house is evaluated and built a little differently. This takes time and attention to detail. Furthermore, there are few subcon­tractors, such as heating contractors, insulators, and electricians, who are willing to take the time to learn the techniques required to con­tribute to the efficiency of the home. Without, a supply of knowledgeable subcontractors the job of the builder is more difficult.

Making a home energy efficient takes more than adding insulation and installing some EN­ERGY STAR-labeled windows. “You have to evaluate the living space enve­lope as a whole and make construction choices based on proven techniques to control air infil­tration and heat loss. Then it takes attention to the construction details to make it work,” says Wes Riley of Horizon Energy, a Concord firm of­ten hired by Public Service of NH to evaluate and monitor ENERGY STAR construction. “There are builders who are using EN­ERGY STAR labeled windows and calling their home ‘energy efficient,’ but this is misleading. They are not doing the hard work to make the home really perform to high standards of efficiency.” Even minor construction details, like the way electrical wires are run in the walls, can have an impact on the way a home performs. “Caulking holes where the wires enter electri­cal boxes and where wires pass between living spaces affects the performance of the home.” Riley says. “These are details that can not be seen but they contribute to the performance. We try to work with the builder and the home-owner to achieve the efficiency rating required without running up the cost of the home

So you’ve decided to take a really big step in do-it-yourself projects. Building a prefrabicated cabin is one project you REALLY need to prepare for. Like building a traditional home you have alot of steps to take in completing this project.

Most of these cabins come panelized as kits, with the doors and windows pre-hung and already installed in the wall panels. The siding, if you choose that option, is pre-stained and pre-installed. These units also come with detailed plans that take you step-by-step down to where to put the last nail.

I’ll assume you own the land parcel where the cabin will stand. Now understand there are a laundry list of things you have to do prior to starting:

Talk to your local planning office about planning permission, and check whether you’ll need building regulations approval.

Find a local surveyor and ask their advice on whether the site you’ve chosen is suitable for a log cabin, what kind of foundations you will require, and the likely cost.

The cost of transporting your log cabin to your intended site.

Put together a project plan to include the physical aspects of your log cabin project, such as delivery, installing services such as electricity, plumbing and gas, and moving in, financial aspects such as any additional costs (delivery, services, foundations and land survey, planning permission and building services, removal services, kitchen, bathroom, furnishings) and when everyone wants to be paid, and people aspects - who you need, what do they need to do and when, and do they agree

Sometimes the house of your dreams just can’t be found on the market. No problem, luckily you can build your own home. If your plans are well thought out and you carefully go through each step of the process, you could be living in an outstanding home you never thought was possible!

The most important aspect of building your own home is deciding on a budget. This will dictate each step of the process all the way through completion and beyond. Don’t forget to add land cost to the budget of the entire project. It is also important to not forget Murphy’s Law when doing a project this big, building estimates are just that, an estimate. There are numerous reasons that construction costs can increase slightly; be sure to leave a little extra room in your budget for changes to the plan.

The next step is deciding what kind of home you would like to build. Browsing through home and real estate magazines is a good start. The internet is also a great resource to get great ideas about your homes style and function. Once you have a general idea of the type of home you like, you should try to see some similar ones in your area. They don’t need to be identical, but you can go down to a model home and see if you like or dislike certain features. Taking pictures of things you like is also a good idea; it can only help your designer draw up a plan exactly like you imagine it.

Purchasing the land is the next big step. You should, of course, have a general idea of what kind of land you want, but don’t automatically filter out properties that don’t exactly fit your search criteria. Keep in mind how much backyard space you would like, how big the house is you are planning on building, and what you are going to use the land for. For example, do you plan on putting in a swimming pool? How about having animals on your property? Would you like a little privacy from the neighbors, or just a good view?

As soon as you have purchased the land that fits your dream home, the next step is hiring a general contractor to oversee and manage the building of your house. It is a very good idea to call at least a handful of contractors and to have each of them give you an estimate. Make sure you ask their price per square foot, inquire about specifics that you would like on your house that may cost extra, and definitely ask for some references from each builder. Most contractors will be more than happy to show you homes they have built before and the homeowners will often answer any questions or concerns you have about the contractor. This is also a good time to check your budget. Is the home you have imagined going to fit into your budget?

The biggest determining factor of your budget is going to be securing financing. Contacting lenders is the next step towards building your home. Make sure to shop around for the best rates and situation that fits your finances best. By securing a loan you will get the money to go forward and will also have a better idea about how big your budget for the rest of the project will be.

The hard part is now over and the exhilarating part begins. Choosing paint colors, carpeting, and cabinets are just a few of the many exciting options you have when building your own home. You also get to observe the building process in action and see your new home being erected each and everyday. For many people this is fun, because they have put a lot of work into their project and are excited to see it come into fruition.

Building your own home is certainly a lot of work, but the benefits can not be overlooked. Careful planning and patience will go a long way into making sure everything works out just as expected. Believe me, once you move in to your new home you will be thrilled!