Building your own home is extremely exciting. Researching house plans can be so fun but it can also be so exhausting. There are thousands upon thousands of house plans. Finding one that fits exactly what you want can be very daunting. But the cool thing? House plans can be altered – for a price of course. Picking out light fixtures and swatches of paint colors are all part of the fun. Unless you’re an indecisive person, then you may find yourself frustrated at not knowing what to choose. In this article you’ll read the pros and cons to building your own home. So, let’s get started!
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Pro: Saving Money
I’m going to start with the obvious pro and the number one reason why people want to build their own homes and ultimately why we did. Building your own home and being your own contractor is going to save you money and lots of it. I’m not talking about a few hundred dollars. I’m talking thousands. We saved just over $100,000 by building our own home. That is a huge save! Just think, you are doing the majority of the work yourself. My husband, with the help of his mom and my dad, painted our entire home – vaulted ceilings and all. We laid all of hardwood flooring. Some things we did hire out like most of the framing and the tile work. Labor is not cheap. The bulk of your money is going to go to paying other people to do things for you. If you can do some things yourself, go for it.
Con: Time
Building a home is not a quick process – especially if you are building it yourself. Now, if building homes is your normal job and you are able to dedicate yourself to just your home during that time, then you’ll be able to build it in the normal time frame, which can vary anyway. My husband built our home on top of his normal job. This meant him moving to third shift at the hospital so he could work on our home during the day. Talk about exhausting. This also means less time spent together. I said if our marriage could make it through those home building years, we can make It through anything! It was a long process but two years later we moved into our home and it was all worth it.
Pro: Equity
Building your own home is automatic equity, unless you’re just going way over budget. When the appraiser comes to do the appraisal on your home, he’s going to go by what your home is worth, regardless if you built it or the contractor you paid. For example – we spent $250,000 to build our home but it was appraised for $350,000. Meaning we went into our home with it being worth more than what we put into it and what we owe. This also means when selling it, that’s money in your pocket. Cha ching! Hello down payment on your next home, if you decide to sell your home.
Pro: More For Your Money
I’ll be honest about this, building a home is not cheap. You will save money but you’re also going to spend it. You’re also going to see up front just how costly things are and you’ll be left thinking, “wow, that piece of tile really cost that”? Or “that light fixture is how much”? Many times you’ll be left stunned. You’ll be sad not being able to get what you thought you could. But, with this being said, you’re ultimately saving money so you’ll be able to put money where you want it most. I was able to have the quartz countertops I wanted throughout our whole home. Tile flooring in every bathroom with hardwood flooring throughout the rest. We were able to add more square footage to the original plan to give us more room where we wanted. Something I really wanted that I did not get? Stone on the exterior. Stone was at the top of my list in the beginning but as we started the building process and I went around pricing and picking out things, I decided there were other things I just wanted more. This will be tough for most people. Although I got a lot of what I wanted, I still had to sacrifice things I did want for the things I wanted more.
Con: It’s Hard Work
Kind of reiterating the “time” con here but not only is it time consuming, but building your own home is hard work. Mentally, physically and emotionally. Many times I was overwhelmed at not being able to make a decision or choose an item. Staying on budget can be tough too and this goes for even if you’re home is contracted out by a contractor other than yourself. Building your own home is going to take the majority of your energy – especially if you are doing a lot of the labor, which my husband did. Just take deep breaths and focus on the end result because all of this hard work will be so worth it when finished.
Pro: You Will Appreciate Your Home More
You will love your new home no matter who built it. But, you will appreciate it so much more if you’ve built it yourself. To know how much work was actually put into the walls of your home will have you loving it that much more. There’s just something about knowing what’s actually in the bones of your home. It’ll be fun to remember exactly what your home looked like before it was finished. Each piece will have it’s own story and you’ll enjoy telling people about it when they come to visit.
When it comes to deciding whether or not to build your own home, for me, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. It is hard work and there will be lots of sweat and definitely some tears. Picking out every little detail will be so fun but it will also be exhausting. If saving money is your ultimate goal, this is definitely the way to go – you will save money! I hope this article the pros and cons to building your own home helps with your decision making.
I’d love to hear in the comments if you’ve built your own home or are in the process. If you loved this article, be sure to share and pin for future reference. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for all things home!
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