This question is one that many of my customers ask me when beginning a new home building project. My answer is typically…. “yes”.
A vague answer? You bet. But much like ordering dinner at a restaurant, the answer to what type of home you should build often comes down to what you like, the size of your appetite and frankly the depth of your pockets.
Personally and as a builder, I prefer the ranch home, but let me give you some pros and cons of each to help you decide which is best for you.
Filed under Uncategorized
Make him your new best friend. A Builder's contract will make sure both of you are in agreement on all the details.
Continuing on in our series on financing your new home, I would like to share with you an additional step you can be working on while you await the result of your loan application. If you haven’t already, be sure to read blog posts 1-3 of the series on how to begin the construction loan process
Now that you have applied for your loan, you need to identify your builder and begin contract negotiations. Having a contract in place is a requirement of most construction loans. It is also an important way to protect yourselves and your future investment. What follows is an excerpt from an article on construction loans that I often refer to clients of Kelly Custom Homes.
So you’ve identified the best type of construction financing for your new home. Great! If not, be sure to read Part 2 before you continue.
One of the things you may find when you start calling around to local banks and institutions about a construction loan is that many institutions do not offer them. Do not be discouraged! Keep calling; make sure to ask for the construction loan officer or whoever handles those types of loans.
Filed under Construction Loans
In this second part of the series, we move on to the Construction Loan.
A construction loan can help make your dream home a reality.
Unlike the typical home purchase of an existing house, there are not as many financing options available to the new home builder. In fact there are only three real options for those looking to build a new home.
Filed under Construction Loans
Q. If I find some land that I want to build a custom home on, what type of loan
can I get?
Jim Kelly:
What you are looking for is called a Land Loan. Not all banks will offer these loans since they are riskier because the loan’s collateral, which is in fact the property itself, isn’t currently being used by the owner for anything tangible – such as a dwelling. The bank’s fear is that since the owner is not tied to the value of a house or a business on the land, they can default and just walk away and leave the lender with the land. As a result, down payments and interest rates are higher for land loans than they are for mortgage loans.
There are different types of land loans that depend on the specific piece of land and what you plan on doing with it. Continue reading
Filed under Custom Home Building Costs, Land
Good question, and frankly one that a lot of people enamored with the idea of a custom home fail to give the proper amount of attention before diving into finding land and surfing online for home plans.
While I have written about the benefits and advantages of building your own home, the area of financing that dream home, requires some careful research and preparation. Therefore, in the coming week, I will be preparing a four-part series on financing your dream home. From finding and financing the land to negotiating a mortgage. The internet is full of lots of useful information on this topic, but my goal will be to keep it simple and straightforward and in manageable sections. Financing a your new custom home should not be something you are afraid of. With the information and advice I give you in the coming posts, you will be armed with the information you need to make the process as smooth as possible. Stay tuned…
Filed under Uncategorized
Below is an article written by Jeanette Fischer about the comeback of the ranch home. I have been focusing on building ranch homes for many of the reasons she outlines below. What has changed is that ranch homes no longer have to be boring boxes. The homes I design for my customers, have architectural style, attached garages, cathedral ceilings, beautiful kitschens and let us not forget, the quintessential porch to relax on. Continue reading
If there is one home feature that I strongly believe should be incorporated into every new home, it is a porch. Call me old-fashioned or sentimental, but to have a porch is to be a part of your neighborhood. That’s right, a neighborhood where *gasp* you might even know your neighbors names.
The porch is one of the best lifestyle components of a home, I like to think it keeps the elements out and the friendships in. To many of us, the porch brings back memories of cool spring days, sitting outside and watching the rainstorm pass by, or swinging on the porch swing with a loved one in the crisp autumn air enjoying the sound of kids playing in the newly fallen autumn leaves. It is a place of reflection, card games, first dates, naps and idle times.
But more importantly, it puts you Out There. It gives you the opportunity to talk to neighbors as they walk by, say hello to the postman, or have people over for… well… no reason at all. In this world where 8 foot hedges, fences and garage doors seal us away from our neighbors, the porch brings us out of our shell and our homes to relax and interact in a casual setting. You see someone sitting on their porch in an Adirondack chair drinking a glass of lemonade (Norman Rockwell eat your heart out), you just KNOW it is okay to say hello without fear that you are interrupting their dinner, chores, phone calls or any of the other many things that keep us inside. Being on a porch is like having a giant welcome mat affixed to one side of your house.
As I build my latest development – Humble Lane Estates, each and every house will have a porch. It may not bring back all the vestiges of Americana that we all remember as children, but if it helps put even a little of the neighbor back in “neighborhood” then I will be happy.
Filed under Popular Home Styles and Features
I want to talk about the different issues and considerations when building or buying a new home in a housing development, town house or condo. First time homebuyers and those looking to downsize need to understand the options.
First and foremost, let’s start with resale value. The simple truth is that the resale value on a single-family home standing alone (not connected together) will be much better, period. It’s much easier to sell a single family home than it is a condo or town house. Condos and townhouses appeal to a limited group of people, whereas a single-family home appeals to a much broader buyer base.
Typical Condominium Building
When deciding between buying a condo/townhouse or a single-family home, you have to ask yourself what’s right for you and your lifestyle. In a condominium community there are usually association fees, (homeowner association) these are monthly fees that cover the cost of mowing your lawn, snow removal and maintenance. The no maintenance aspect of this arrangement appeals to many people, especially retirees and those with very busy schedules. But be aware, fees can typically run up to several hundred dollars every month. Further, the Home Owner Association that typically manages these services, also has control and the final say on many aspects of your condo/townhouse including what color paint you can use, bushes you can plant and even the style of front door you have.
I’d like to talk about a subject that everyone looking for a new home is very interested in: saving money. The government is making saving money easier by offering a host of different tax incentives for new home buyers or even those doing a simple remodel. The incentives come in many shapes and sizes such as windows/door tax incentives, appliance tax incentives, first time home buyer and existing home owner tax incentives.
Identifying the incentives you qualify for, and can take advantage of, is a daunting task. But hey, these tax incentives are dollars that the Feds, and manufactures are willing to give us. Let me repeat that… “dollars that the Fed and manufacturers want to GIVE us. Sounds nice right? It’s weird to hear of program that actually helps the average working man or woman. So its time to get your money back. Buy that new home and with these incentives you could take about ten grand off the top of the asking price.
Nat’l Assoc. of Home Builders Mortgage News From BankRate
