Building a Custom Home is a complex process. During the initial search for a homebuilder, and home design phase, it’s easy to overlook critical details or fall into common pitfalls that can lead to delays, unexpected costs, and future regrets.

Knowing what items to avoid and plan for will help ensure your vision comes to life smoothly and within budget. In this post, we’ll explore some of the most frequent missteps homeowners make during the building process, and how you can avoid them.

Top 9 Items to Avoid: From an Evansville Area Custom Home Builder 

In our 20+ years of experience in the construction and custom home building industry, we’ve helped homeowners navigate the many potential pitfalls of the process. Here, we’re sharing the top 9 items to avoid when designing and building a new home. 

1. Trying to Get Estimates Without Plans

We understand that starting the process of building your dream home is exciting, and you want to get started immediately. Often, we get calls from potential homeowners asking for price estimates, but they don’t have house plans. Without plans, we can’t provide an accurate estimate because there are thousands of things that factor into the price of a home. 

Instead, give us a call to set up a free building consultation. At this consultation, we discuss your needs and wants, your budget, and your lifestyle. Then, we can start drawing up house plans and develop a detailed estimate based on your unique needs. 

2. Not Understanding How to Compare Estimates

If you do have house plans, and you’re collecting more than one estimate, be sure you compare them properly. Instead of simply going after the lowest price, compare the quality of materials each builder has included in their estimate.  

And, do your research. An experienced building company will likely charge more for their higher quality work. Don’t be quick to go for a lower estimate coming from a less experienced builder using lower quality labor and subcontractors.  

Also do you really know what you are being priced in your custom home? Have you picked items out such as cabinets, flooring, lighting, plumbing fixtures, windows and doors? Have you defined how your custom home will be built? These items really can sway the price. In our process, we walk you through everything before you actually break ground!

3. Not Letting the Contractor Do Their Job

We completely understand that you want to be involved in your home building process. That’s why we are dedicated to keeping you involved and informed the entire time. However, we see some homeowners get too involved, and try to take over. Avoid this common mistake by first selecting a trustworthy contractor, and trusting them to do their job. 

The team at Custom Homes by Modern Structure is dedicated to the latest building codes and is trained on how to properly install all  products. However, we do respect the “see something, say something” motto. We prefer to make changes if you notice something you don’t “like” right away, instead of later down the road when it’s much harder and more expensive to make that change.

4. Not Knowing the Difference Between a Handyman and a Turn-Key Contractor

A handyman and a contractor are different. A handyman is licensed to do jobs of a smaller scope, but are not permitted to do larger scale jobs like building homes. Be sure the homebuilder you hire is a licensed contractor permitted to do more substantial work including land prep, digging, utility installation, and more. 

5. Misunderstanding “Licensed and Insured”

Again, make sure you do your homework when it comes to choosing a homebuilder. If a company’s website says they are “licensed and insured”, make sure they are “licensed & insured” in the county and or state you plan to build in. Companies that are not licensed within the county and or state may not have the qualifications to build a new home, and most likely lead to additional issues for you! 

6. Not Understanding Fixed Price vs. Cost Plus Contracts

Most often, a cost-plus contract is going to be lower than a fixed price and much more comfortable to understand the pricing breakdown. 

A cost-plus contract is a contract in which the homeowner pays the contractor the actual costs of the materials and labor plus an additional management fee percentage over that amount. Cost-plus contracts are much more transparent and allow you to see exactly where your money is going.

We strive to use the “cost-plus structure” with all of our home builds.  

7. Focused on Finding the Cheapest Materials

When selecting materials and finishes like lighting, flooring, tile, doors, windows, plumbing fixtures and appliances; it may be tempting to seek out the cheapest option. Although this will cut costs in the short-term, it’s going to cost you more in the long run. 

Cheaper materials simply don’t last, and you’ll find yourself replacing them sooner than you expect or living with damaged finishes. During your selection phase, we are here to help you find the best materials at the best rates that will work within your budget. 

8. Not Making Decisions in a Timely Manner

Although there are a lot of decisions to be made, they have to be made in a timely manner. If you have trouble deciding on flooring, paint colors, lighting, etc. we’d be happy to match you with a design professional to help guide you through this process more smoothly.  

Delays in decision making can lead to delays in getting the project started and pushing out original thoughts on moving in. We still need our time to properly plan and build your custom home to the quality that we focus on and that you are expecting.

9. Not Planning for Your Project

Building a new home can be a little inconvenient. You may have to live in an apartment for a few months, or move in with a family member until your home is complete. Don’t forget to plan ahead and plan around the construction time frame. Know where you will live and how you will work around the construction phase ahead of time. We will set a detailed schedule at the beginning of construction and strive to meet that finish date unless there are extensive delays such as weather or significant changes on your custom house build.

Build Your Dream Home in The Greater Evansville Area

Custom Homes by Modern Structure is an Evansville, Indiana based home builder. 

If you’re ready to start your home building journey, give us a call to schedule a building consultation. During this initial meeting, we will walk you through the entire building process. 

With our guidance, you avoid unnecessary  headaches, and expenses, by making sure you don’t make common mistakes during your build.

To schedule a free consultation, fill out this form, or call us at 812-306-8438.