Spec homes can be great. The issue is that you most likely won’t be able to find one that checks off all of your boxes. This is because move-in-ready houses aren’t truly yours down to their core. But, with custom homes, you get the opportunity to stand by a Georgetown builder every step of the way. Then, you receive a one-of-a-kind residence that you helped put your heart and soul into. Let’s think about what you will experience before, during, and after a design-build custom home in Georgetown.
Core Phases of Building
There is a lot that goes into building a custom home, and it can’t all happen overnight. You have to budget several months of time to see everything come to fruition. It’s a journey, one with so much excitement, but also a considerable amount of stress if you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. These are the three phases that you will experience during a custom home build.
Planning
There is a lot of time and energy that needs to go into creating your dream home. In the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Survey of Construction, the average custom home was reported to take nearly 12 months from start to finish. Over this period, you are going to be developing a relationship with your design-build team. It needs to be based on strong communication. This kicks off with your plan, which should include a home site selection. A big advantage of going the custom home route is that you get your pick of the community you want to live in. Although the lot must be surveyed to make sure that it’s buildable, you get to think about your ideal lifestyle every step of the way.
Construction
Once your preferred designs are determined, your Georgetown builder can set off to do what they need to do. The first step is prepping the home site. Properly clearing and safely digging are critical parts of the operation. Your builder will then pour the foundation and, once a city inspector has evaluated the quality of it, they can put down the wooden framing. This is when you will see your house actually becoming a house. The construction process proceeds with everything involving plumbing, electrical wiring, insulation, flooring, lighting, and more. Because custom homes are often more complex than spec homes, they require both more skillful craftsmanship and extensive materials.
Post-Construction
By the post-construction stage, your new home has officially come to life. You just have to determine whether it accurately fits your vision. Before you get a full walk-through, all of the specified items from your contractor should be confirmed to have been completed. The team also must prove to authorities that the house complies with all local regulations and permits. When the property is handed off to you for your walk-through, be clear with your Georgetown builder about anything that you believe needs to be changed. Because there is a period of time before the official turnover, they will work with you to ensure that every element is functioning well.
Completely Personalized Design
When you call a place “home,” it should feel like that. This means it should be representative of your style and needs. A personalized floor plan and features will create more usable spaces across your property. The blend of function and beautification will provide you with a happiness that permeates into the rest of your life. Ask yourself what it is that you value.
Energy-Efficiency
Building your own home can get costly, depending on everything that you are wanting to put into it. But you are definitely able to save in the long term. Georgetown builders recommend eco-friendly products because they are longer-lasting. For this reason, new construction homes actually already supply you with the most modernized materials. When combined with your new appliances, your utility bills will thank you. You will end up spending less on plumbing and electrical, and considering the durability of the materials, less on materials themselves over time. There are plenty of appliances and features that are sustainable that can fit in with your designs, meaning there is no real reason not to go green.
Trendiness vs. Timelessness
Do you really like that design feature or is it just trendy? This is something that you have to think about as you set yourself up for the future. Following the current trends is perfectly okay, but you should focus on getting the most out of your house. Combine aesthetics with function. You want to incorporate styles that speak to you so that you can feel comfortable for the years ahead without having to constantly redo things. This should particularly be the case if you have a budget that restricts you from purchasing decor whenever you feel. Understand that not everything has to perfectly match, but it should feel like each room belongs under the same roof.
Living Arrangements
Every family is different. Sometimes there are large households with several young children. Other times there are two-family homes with just adults. Then, there is anything else you can imagine in between. With a custom home, there will be no need for sharing bedrooms and walking over others as you navigate between spaces. Your Georgetown builder will give you the opportunity to create all of the features you wish to see. An example is that you may need more of an emphasis on accessibility because there are older residents or frequent visitors. This could include making it easier to move around in the bathroom. You should go into the planning phase with a clear picture of who will be spending time in your home.
Maintaining Your Property
Your home must provide you with comfort as long as you live there. Unfortunately, unless you are actively upkeeping it, things could fall through the cracks. It may come time for you to fix potential safety issues or update the look of a room. Regardless of what it is that you need, here are a few ways that a Georgetown builder could improve your house.
Renovations
When you renovate your home you are bringing it back to the state it once was in. Renovations differ from remodelings because they are much smaller in scale and less expensive. Oftentimes, these projects direct their focus on appearance, rather than function. It could involve replacing windows, refacing cabinets, or even repainting your walls. Doing any of these things could raise the value of your property because they are extremely cost-effective. This is especially true if you execute any upgrades or cosmetic improvements yourself. You don’t need to go through the hassle of making any massive changes if you don’t have to.
Additions
After some time has passed, you may be requiring more space out of your custom home. You can either build upward or outward, depending on what your property looks like. Note that the bigger a home addition is, the more it is going to cost. While they are certainly an investment, they do have the potential to give you a solid return on investment. That is, of course, if your addition is one that homebuyers think they need. Extra bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as decks, are great options for reeling in bigger families. If you aren’t to the point of wanting to sell yet, these features could help you out with your own growing family. Just keep in mind that you have to get permits to build an addition.
Conversions
Have your kids moved out and you’re ready to flip some spaces around to suit your new empty-nester lifestyle? It may be that you no longer need their childhood bedrooms to be bedrooms. You can take them over if you have hobbies that could benefit from a larger space than you currently allow them to have. Or you might be in need of a home office because your job has switched over to a remote or hybrid work model. But conversions aren’t limited to just bedrooms, nor are they solely to transform bedrooms. Your Georgetown builder can transform your garage or attic, too.
For those who are going to be brand new to Georgetown, TX, welcome! And for those who are returning homeowners, we’re glad you’re sticking around in this great city. Whichever case you may be, you want to have a design-build team by your side that accomplishes everything you need them to. Bat City Builders can do exactly that. Give us a call if you need a Georgetown builder to construct your forever home.
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