Building a new home can be one of the most daunting yet exciting tasks anyone could decide to make. Creating a home that fits your exact lifestyle both now and for years to come is every families dream. But where do you start? How do you begin to weigh the many decisions you have to make? Where will your house be? How much will it cost? How long will it take? Who do I trust to build it? What if there are warranty issues? And on and on…… We’ve developed a guide to help you begin your journey, based on our years of experience.
Step #1 - What can you afford?
It is so much fun to begin looking at floorplans on-line or in magazines, or to begin perusing through material samples and kitchen idea books. However the single most important decision you need to make first is budget. Your budget will drive the rest of your decisions. Every choice you make will depend on what your budget is.
There are few things more defeating than finding the perfect floorplan only to realize that it will cost twice what your budget will allow. It’s like test driving that really awesome car on the lot, feeling the awesome handling and even how awesome your favorite song sounds booming through the speakers. This is the perfect car. You have to buy it. When you return to the lot, the salesman informs you that this car costs a lot more than you could possibly afford. You wouldn’t do that, right? You would figure out what you could afford and then try to find the right car that also fits within your budget. The same is true for your new home.
There are several tools to help you determine just how much you can afford. Many lender websites offer online tools where you can input your existing income and bills, and then they will calculate what you might be able to afford. While these are typically quick and easy, they aren’t always accurate. The best practice, as in deciding to purchase an existing house, is to actually talk to your lender and get a pre-approval. That way you have a concrete budget established, and can move forward with making the decisions you need to make.
Step #1 - What can you afford?
It is so much fun to begin looking at floorplans on-line or in magazines, or to begin perusing through material samples and kitchen idea books. However the single most important decision you need to make first is budget. Your budget will drive the rest of your decisions. Every choice you make will depend on what your budget is.
There are few things more defeating than finding the perfect floorplan only to realize that it will cost twice what your budget will allow. It’s like test driving that really awesome car on the lot, feeling the awesome handling and even how awesome your favorite song sounds booming through the speakers. This is the perfect car. You have to buy it. When you return to the lot, the salesman informs you that this car costs a lot more than you could possibly afford. You wouldn’t do that, right? You would figure out what you could afford and then try to find the right car that also fits within your budget. The same is true for your new home.
There are several tools to help you determine just how much you can afford. Many lender websites offer online tools where you can input your existing income and bills, and then they will calculate what you might be able to afford. While these are typically quick and easy, they aren’t always accurate. The best practice, as in deciding to purchase an existing house, is to actually talk to your lender and get a pre-approval. That way you have a concrete budget established, and can move forward with making the decisions you need to make.