Building a new home isn’t something you do on a whim. It’s an undertaking with significant financial and personal implications. How do you know if the time is right for you to wade into the homebuilding process? Let’s take a look at 4 signs you’re ready to build a new Poconos home.
1. You’ve Got the Time
Let’s be frank: Building a new home can be pretty time-intensive. It’s not so much that you’ll be on the building site every day, but the process will require your attention and your time. A lot of the time you’ll spend in the homebuilding process actually takes place up front—before construction even begins. You’ll want to take time to decide what features in your new home are most important to you. You'll review floor plans; evaluate finishes; consider building sites; and work with your builder to refine changes to the plan. Each of those activities (and there are more!) takes time. If you take the time to carefully consider all of the decisions that need to be made, you'll be much happier with the outcome. If you don't have the time to devote to these considerations, you may be less satisfied with the final result.
Of course, the actual building process takes time, too. Taking a bit of time to understand the process can reduce the frustration that can come if you think your builder is moving too slowly.
2. You’ve Got the Money
Obviously, building a new home requires adequate funding. But there are different aspects to the financial side of the equation. You’ll want to make sure you have a realistic budget; that you have your financing in place; and that you allow yourself some “wiggle room” to handle changes or upgrades you want to make. Here’s an article that looks at each of those areas in a bit more detail. Having a good grip on your financial status with regard to the building process is something else that makes everything proceed much more smoothly.
3. You’ve Got the Information
You don't have to be a professional homebuilder to have a new home built. Understanding some of the basics, however, will make the experience a lot more enjoyable for you—and will deliver better results. We offer a number of helpful free resources that can provide you with the information you need to make good decisions about your new home. Our Creating Your Ideal Kitchen eBook, for instance, will help you ask the right questions to determine your ideal kitchen style. Our New Home Design Guide gives you room-by-room design tips; a guide to evaluating floor plans; and samples of our most popular plans. We also have lots of helpful articles on topics ranging from energy efficiency to aging in place; the best places to live in Pennsylvania; and more.
4. You’ve Got the Professional Partners
Time and time again you’ll hear building experts say that the builder you choose for your new home is every bit as important as the location, floor plan, and features you choose. In general, it comes down to a matter of trust. You want to select a building partner whose reputation you trust (in other words, you want someone with the experience in building the kind of home you want). But you also want to deal with a builder you trust to listen to your input and who will inspire confidence during the planning and building. References are a great thing if you want to see examples of what a prospective builder can do. But here’s an article that helps you go beyond the finished house to find out what it was actually like to work with a particular builder. It’s important that the builder you choose not only has the physical building skills—but also has the people skills to work with you on your home.
If you have the time, the money, the information, and the right building partner—chances are you’re ready to build a great new Poconos home!
