Why Build a Custom Home or Semi Custom Home?

By Mark J. Donovan

So why build a custom home? The answer is simple – to have the home that best fulfills you personal requirements and desires. Most homes today are built using standard grade products that minimize costs and maximize profits for home builders and real estate agents.

Frequently the new homeowner gets inferior quality products installed in the home, such as appliances and cabinets. Even if you sign a purchase and sales agreement on a to-be-built new home in a new development you frequently are limited in house styles and features.

Choosing to build a fully custom home, on the other hand, allows you the total freedom to decide on features such as the building lot, style of home, the floor plan, types of flooring and cabinets, lighting and a myriad of other options. Virtually every aspect of the home design is for you to decide on.

There is a price however for building a fully custom home. Unique features and products are not sold at bulk rate prices at box home improvement stores. Consequently you could expect to spend 2 to 3 times more per square foot on construction costs when building a fully custom home.

A semi custom home, alternatively, is a compromise between purchasing a spec home and building a fully custom home. As a result, building a semi custom home provides you with the ability to select some of your home’s features, while not breaking your banking account.

When building a semi custom home, the builder usually presents you with several house styles and floor plans to choose from. In addition, you are usually allowed to select flooring, cabinets, appliances, lighting fixtures and lighting locations. Frequently the flexibility is offered via “budget allowances”. For example a builder may offer you a $2000 kitchen appliance allowance where you choose what kitchen appliances you want installed in the home. If you decide to purchase appliances in excess of the allowance then you pay the additional costs out of your pocket.

In addition, when building a semi custom home you will frequently have the opportunity to select various building options such as attached garages, family rooms, unfinished rooms and even deck sizes.

Deciding to build a custom home is not for the faint of heart. Even if you have selected a great architect and builder you will be required to do a lot of work and make a lot of choices. Expect to spend many a day at kitchen and bath centers, flooring stores, lighting stores, etc. You will need to make decisions on many aspects of you custom home that you would not otherwise have a chance to do if purchasing a spec home. However, for most homeowners choosing the path of building a custom home is a positive experience. Everyday they live in the custom home they get to appreciate the choices that they made during the building of their home.

For more help on building a new custom home, see HomeAdditionPlus.com’s New Home Construction Bid Sheet. The New Home Construction bid Sheet provides you with the knowledge on how to plan a custom home building project, and what to look for when hiring contractors for your new home construction. It also includes a detailed cost breakdown table and spreadsheet for estimating your own new home construction building costs.