Common Fears When Building a New Home
You’re considering building a new home… but you’re worried. It feels like you are plunging deep into unknown territory. The thought of a new home is exciting. On the flip side, your mind is racing. You are trying to navigate the most common fears when building a new home.
You have every right to feel this way. Whether you are building or buying, homeownership is one of the biggest investments of your life. The fears you feel are completely valid.
Let’s face it – from the moment you start considering building right up until the moment you step foot in your new home, the process can be full of fear, anxiety and doubt. It is easy for these feelings to build up over the course of the process. Having built over 100 custom homes, we’ve seen first-hand the impact fear can have on the entire process.
Whether you are building a home with our team at Lexis Homes, or one of the many skilled Saskatoon home builders, it is the job of any homebuilder to guide you through the process. It is a builders job to help you overcome fears. This allows you to take pride and feel the joy of stepping into your own home.
Let’s discuss the most common fears of building a new home:
1. COST
“What will this cost me?” This is the first question asked, and rightfully so. It is the #1 most common fear of building a new home. The mere thought of investing hundreds of thousands of dollars is scary.
When first setting out in your homebuilding journey, it is important to explore your options to compare pricing. You may find that some homebuilders will give you different price points. This is due to several factors including materials used, level of finishing, style of home, specific trades utilized, design services included, post possession warranty, etc.
As of the date of this article, the homes we build are priced at $300 per square foot and up. Our pricing is set by the cost of high-quality materials, finishing levels and high-quality trades.
The best way to overcome the anxiety of cost is to choose a builder that will work with you to plan before you commit. Our Price Confidence process allows you to make all your design selections before signing the dotted line – this eliminates the potential for cost overruns.
2. TIME COMMITMENT
Among the many fears of homebuilding – is time. Building a home is going to take up a lot of it. Again, you have every right to be worried. Building a home is a giant undertaking and it will take time. Between juggling work, kids, extra curricular activities – the thought of finding time in an already full schedule can be stressful.
It is important to carefully consider your schedule prior to signing up for a new home build. Not setting aside enough time can lead to missing deadlines and having your project delayed. This can result in unexpected cost increases as suppliers are limited to how long they can hold prices on quotes. For some, buying an existing home might be a better option. But, if you want a home that is designed completely for you – be prepared to make some adjustments to your schedule.
The amount of time you want to spend in the process is entirely up to you. Depending on the type of home you are building, there are varying levels of time commitments.
- Fully custom homes will require you to be involved in every aspect of the process. The home is entirely based on your choices. You will need to set aside time to make decisions from the first draft of the floorplan all the way to the final finishing touches.
- Semi custom homes use an existing floorplan as a starting point. This will free up a large portion of time in the floor planning stages. You will be able to add your own personal touches in the finishing of the home.
- If you want to spend the least amount of time as possible, you can choose a home builder that has in-house designers. At Lexis, we have two in-house designers that will get to know your lifestyle, needs and wants. You can put your trust in the designer’s expert knowledge to make the bulk of the design decisions for you – leaving your primary responsibility to review and sign off on quotes.
If you are committed to having your perfect home, you’ll quickly realize the time sacrifice was worth it when you step foot in your new home for the first time.
3. TOO MANY DECISIONS
Another fear about building a new home is about the number of decisions you will have to make. This is understandable. Sometimes it’s hard enough deciding on what to have for dinner, let alone all of the items going into your new home. There is no shortage of decisions that come with a deadline. It is critical to reflect on your decision-making process before considering building a home. If you are building a home with a spouse, ensuring you are both on the same page can help the process.
You will be deciding on big ticket items like appliances, flooring, cabinetry and exterior materials as well as making decisions on interior and exterior accents, paint colours, and even the types of bath accessories you want. A skilled homebuilder will use their expertise to guide you through these decisions, and let you know how much time you have to make them. Be prepared to make some decisions quickly to avoid running into any delays.
It’s perfectly normal to have hesitancy on some items. It is important to communicate your hesitancy to your homebuilder. If you’re willing to jeopardize your project because you can’t decide on a mirror size, building a home may not be the best option for you. Outside of providing an enjoyable homebuilding journey – keeping things on schedule is one of the biggest priorities of a homebuilder. Failure to make decisions on time can affect your price and incur costs for the builder. It’s not a good situation for either party!
The fear of ‘not making the right decision’ is real. However, we know that many of those fears melt away on possession day.
4. VISUALIZATION CONCERNS
One comment we hear from people often, is that can’t visualize how the home will look based on 2D floor plans and designs. That’s understandable! It takes training (and some natural skills) to be great at visualizing the final product.
You have a few options if you have some concerns about visualization.
- Buy an existing home: What you see is what you get for sure with this option. There will be no wondering what things will look like.
- Rebuild an existing plan: With this option, you can either walk through the plan in another location (show home, spec built home) or view photos and videos of the previously built home.
- 3D designs: Choose a builder that offers 3D visualization for you to interpret the final look and feel of the home. This may include 3D renderings, 3D walkthroughs, or 3D videos.
Having fears of building a home is not uncommon. However, they aren’t unsurmountable. You just need to know what you are getting into, plan ahead, and work with a builder that will make the process as easy as possible.