If you love all things real estate, homes, and interior design as much as we do, then there’s a good chance you’ve also fantasized about buying a plot of land and building your very own custom home.
Perhaps that’s always been your plan, or maybe you’re only really starting to explore the idea now. Either way, knowing exactly what it takes to build a custom home from scratch before you set your sights on tackling the often long and expensive journey is always well worth the research.
To help you out along the way and give you an idea of what you can expect from the custom-home adventure, here’s a quick guide:
Assessing Your Budget
Whether you want to buy a home or build a home, the first step to any real estate purchase is to figure out your financials. Much like the traditional resale real estate purchasing process, you’ll probably need to take out a mortgage to fund your custom home-building project.
While there are a few major differences between regular mortgages and construction mortgages, the general idea is the same. The loan sum you’ll be permitted to take out from a bank or private lender depends on your current assets, job status, monthly income, down payment, and credit score, among other things.
The biggest differentiator between a regular mortgage and a construction mortgage is how the funds are released to you. Construction mortgages have a system where funds are released to their loanees depending on the current status of the construction process. Once certain checkpoints along the home building process and completed and approved by an impartial inspector, further funds are released to cover the expenses of the next stage of construction.
Once you’ve gone through the process of applying and being approved for a construction mortgage, you can then start to plan out your custom home project with a better understanding of what you can realistically build with your available funds.
If you’re still a few years away from starting a full-on custom home building project but want to wet your feet in the process, you can explore building a smaller secondary suite on your current property. Find out Everything You Need To Know About Building A Secondary Suite here for more information.
Finding An Architect
Of course, if you want to build a custom home, you most likely will need to find a qualified architect to help you design it first. Even if you have a comprehensive knowledge of home systems, domestic engineering, and home construction, it’s always advisable you seek the help of a certified architect at this stage to help you put the blueprints together.
The tricky thing is, finding the right architect can be a challenge. The best place to start if you’re located in Ontario, however, is the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA). Use their OAA Directory page to learn more about potential candidates, their architecture specialties, their present status, and their discipline record according to the provincial database.
While you might not know exactly where your home is going to be or what it’s going to look like just yet, you probably have a good idea of the general size, style, and finishings you’ll want. It’s a good idea to contact several architects at this early stage of the process in order to establish relationships with them early on and eventually make your decision-making process easier later on.
Is building a custom home the retirement project you’ve always dreamed of? Before you start your build, read up on the Best Places To Retire In Ontario: Our Top Picks here!
In place of traditional architects, pre-fabricated homes are also becoming a very popular option, though take out a lot of the ‘custom’ part of designing a home. While you can select from certain models, sizes, layouts, and finishes, most pre-fab home companies don’t offer the same amount of customizable features as architecture firms that design homes from scratch do. However, many pre-fab homes will end up being far less expensive in total than going with an architect.
Buying The Right Vacant Land
Now that you’ve got your financing plan in place and have a rough idea about what your architects can do with the budget, it’s time to find that perfect plot of vacant land for you to build your new home on.
For this stage of the process, we strongly recommend you retain the services of a knowledgeable local real estate agent for help and advice. Not only will they know where to find the best plots of available land for your money (and how to help you buy them for the best price) but they’ll also be able to give you their local insight into the area as a whole.
Choosing the right real estate agent to help you embark on your upcoming custom home build can be as crucial to your project’s success as any other component. Find out more about who we are, the many advantages of working with our team, and how to contact us below.
When it comes to building a custom home, where you build can be just as important as what you build. An experienced local real estate agent will know all about the municipality’s zoning and by-laws, as well as what the process to apply for a construction permit in the area will be like.
For further information about specific plots of land and their eligibility to have a new-build custom home built on them, you can also bring along your chosen architect should you have one. They’ll be able to give you a more specific site analysis of the land and talk you through how its orientation, topography, sun exposure, and natural features will affect and enhance the upcoming build.
Once you’ve settled on a vacant piece of land that feels like home, leave things up to your professional real estate representative to help you purchase the property with the first part of your construction mortgage.
Are you currently on the hunt for the perfect piece of land for your upcoming custom home project? Use our Search Listings page to filter through plots of vacant land that are currently available for sale. Or, sign up to have the latest listings that fit your specific criteria sent directly to you!
Starting Construction On Your Custom Home
Now that you own your very own vacant plot of land and everything is in place for you to start construction on your custom home, it’s time to shore up your blueprints with your chosen architect and accompanying build team, and set out a plan of action.
At this stage, adhering to specific deadlines and checkpoints throughout the build is not only important for the timely release of funds from your construction mortgage but also to hold your contractor and build team accountable for their progress.
Staying on top of your custom home project and ensuring the timeline and the cost of your build don’t exceed your initial quotes (by too much, at least) is key to the success of your project. If progress is held up or requires extra funds to move forward, then you could find yourself stuck between stages of your build for far longer than you’d like.
The key here is striking a balance between staying involved with the build and giving your contractor and build team enough time and space to work. A certain degree of trust is required between the homeowner and builder on custom home projects, and that can only be achieved if both parties respect each other.
We advise you regularly visit the building site to track progress and touch base with your builders, but be careful not to become a burden on them or they’ll be far less motivated to work hard and complete the project for you.
Once the construction of your custom home is complete, there’s nothing left to do than pay all of your home service professionals their well-deserved compensation and move in!
If you’re ready to set out on your custom home building project, let us help you purchase the perfect plot of land. Or, if you’ve read our guide and decided that a custom home is just too much work and cost, we can always help you find a fantastic home from existing and off-market listings. Learn more about our buying processes here:
