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What I Learned Building My First House

Many people dream of building a great home. With the strong housing market, now is a great time to invest in a new home. However, building a home is more complicated than many people realize. There are many variables to consider when building a home. Working with an experienced builder is one of the most important things that anyone can concentrate on. There are many people who are excited about the possibilities in their new home. Here are some things to remember when building a home.   Building a Home is Hard Work Building a home takes a lot of careful planning. Some people wrongly assume that building a home is an easy process. However, homeowners must be willing to work hard in order to finish on time. One of the biggest reasons that homes do not finish on time or on a budget is because the owners are not organized. Before starting the building process, you need to have plans for each part of your home. Your home builder should be able to walk you through the expected cost of the home. It is up to you to get your part done in order to complete the home within the allotted time schedule.   Get a Home Warranty A home warranty is one of the best investments that anyone can make. A home warranty will protect the homeowner in the event of something going wrong. Some people do not want to pay money for a home warranty. However, with just one issue coming up in your home, the home warranty will pay for itself. There are many people who think that the home warranty cost is too high. There are cheaper options available in the market if you spend enough time looking around. However, compared to the cost of repairing a home, a home warranty is a great deal. It is risky to build a new home and not have some sort of home warranty. In fact, many areas of the country require a warranty for people who build a new home. Before you move in, getting a home warranty that covers your needs is vital.   There Will be Delays Building a home is a long and difficult process. During this process, there are going to be times when the project gets delayed. These delays can result from things like weather or simply poor planning. This is one of the reasons that homeowners should put some buffer into their time and financial budget for a new home. Working with a great builder is one way to minimize delays. Experienced builders know how to plan for things that they cannot control. Looking at online reviews is one of the best ways to make sure that you are choosing the right builder for your needs.   Staying on Budget is Difficult Staying on a budget during the building process can be difficult. When building a home, every area of the home can be customized to fit the needs of the homeowner. There are many people who end up spending thousands of dollars upgrading their new home. This is a major financial issue because getting a new loan is a difficult process. In order to prevent these issues from occurring, you need to make sure to stay on budget with each part of the home. When you get approval for a home loan, getting a little extra financing is always a good idea. This will give you some room to splurge on various areas of your home. Some people end up taking a second loan to finish their home. This can result in financial disaster if the housing market crashes.

Idea’s to Increase the Value of Your Home

People take pride in their homes. It can be wonderful to live in a residence that makes you feel good about yourself. If you have a well-maintained home, inviting guests over can be a comfortable and easy experience. There are many homeowners out there who are constantly searching for things they can do to improve their properties. Home improvements can increase your comfort and quality of life. They can do a lot more than just those things, too, however. They can give your property value a major spike. Strengthening the curb appeal of your property can be beneficial to people who are contemplating possibly selling later on. If you want to improve your home and potentially strengthen its value in the real estate world, there are many great changes you can make to it.

Paint Your Residence

Painting a property can do wonders for its value. No one wants to buy a residence that has chipping and cracking interior paint. No one wants to put their money into a home that has unattractive faded paint on its outsides, either. If you want to give your home value a big spike, painting can make an easy and budget-friendly solution. Your goal should be to paint all of your interior walls meticulously and neatly. A tidy and well-maintained home gives the impression of better value. It’s important to make smart choices in paint color selection as well. If your objective is to better the value of your home, focus on neutral paint color choices. Neutral colors tend to be the most attractive to people. Refrain from the use of paint colors that are excessively loud or bright. These can be off-putting.

Plant a Beautiful Tree

If you want to improve the value of your home, don’t concentrate exclusively on the interior. Make a point to focus on your outdoor property, too. Your outdoor space will actually be the first thing potential purchasers see, after all. That’s precisely why it’s so important to make sure that it appears as enticing and aesthetically pleasing as possible. Landscaping can do so much for home value. Think about planting a lovely shade tree on your lawn. Mature trees can beautify landscapes in a significant way. They can also offer practical advantages. If you grow a tree in a strategic spot, it can reduce your monthly cooling bills dramatically. It may be able to reduce these bills by upward of 40 percent. The presence of mature trees, lastly, can also help the environment. They can give animals in your neighborhood a nice place to live.

Add a Pool

It may seem like a big investment to add a pool, but as you invest more into your home the more it will be worth in the long run. Pools are seen as a luxury that not everyone has, so adding a pool to your home will give it a distinction in the neighborhood, and your home will be seen as a home of value compared to the houses around you.

Invest in a Room Addition

Room additions can be amazing for people who want to improve residential value. It doesn’t matter if you get a room addition that serves as an entertainment center, extra storage space, a guest bedroom or anything else. Customized room additions can up the value of your home considerably. They can make your home significantly larger. Who in the world doesn’t want or crave extra space? You can get creative with your room addition, too. You can turn it into an entertainment haven by adding a home theater to it. You can turn it into a designated kiddie play zone by filling it with toys, a jungle gym and beyond. You can do whatever you want. The sky’s the limit.

Renovate Your Bathroom

Bathrooms are big business in the home remodeling universe. If you want to better your home value, it can be wise to zero in on your bathroom. Bathroom renovations can go a long way. They don’t have to cost a lot of money, either. If you want to give your bathroom a quick overhaul, take out old lights and switch them with new ones. Take out old-fashioned wallpaper and switch it with something a lot more contemporary and fresh. Seemingly small tweaks and adjustments can actually do a lot for the value of your property.

Finding a Home that Matches Your Personality

A house isn’t just a place where you can walk around in your undies or for eating ice cream right out of the tub. A home aligns with your personality and your preferences. Every corner, crevice, and arrangement of rooms and beams all embody the homeowner and define how he/she lives. Finding the right property that offers adequate space and comfort, a good price point, and real value can be tricky, however, thanks to the dozens of property listings you’ll find in the market. Here are five tricks to knowing when you’ve found the perfect abode.

Define Who You Are

This doesn’t mean you should go on a self-discovery phase before finding a house. On a profound level, determine who you are as a person and as a professional. What career changes do you expect to encounter in a 5- or 10-year period? Are you planning to have children or pets in the house? Are you a gardener or a woodworker? Do you like throwing parties for friends and family or just enjoying weekends in peace and quiet? Knowing the answers to these questions will put you at a much better position to find a home that supports your lifestyle choices.

Know What Types of Housing Exist

Luckily, there are fewer housing types than there are personalities. Still, it makes sense to understand and embrace the different types of housing accessible today. Single-family homes, townhouses, and condominium units are three of the most popular types of housing. Townhouses are basically a hybrid between the more expensive single-family house and the least-spacious condominium unit. While condos are definitely a good investment, especially if you buy around business centers and well-developed locations, the idea of having neighbors around you doesn’t really appeal to some aspiring homeowners.

Consider Buying an Existing Home

Buying an existing house instead of having one built from the ground up is usually the more affordable and faster option on the table. Although it may not precisely match what house you envision for you and your family, being able to pick from a wide selection of houses that’s ready for you to move into is a decent trade-off. You can choose houses based on the included amenities, such as a garden, patio, or swimming pool, or even based on style. Some fleece covered furniture, for instance, might be preferred by buyers over wool or other materials.

Filter Choices Based on Pricing

Houses that align with your personality but cost too much are never a smart investment. Buy or finance housing that you are comfortable paying for over a stretched period of time. Narrow down your choices based on houses that meet your budget. Establish a ceiling and floor price range. When negotiating with sellers, try to keep the numbers from crossing the established ceiling and floor prices. If they cannot meet you halfway, then walk away. There’s always somebody else somewhere that could meet your budget requirements.

Ask Trusted Family or Friends to Help You

Who else to advise you on what would be the right home for you than trusted family members and close friends? These people have spent a considerable amount of time with you so they have a good idea of who you are and what you really want. In some cases, their suggestions might make even better sense since they’re able to make objective decisions. You, on the other hand, might be stepping too close to the project that you overlook some important details or refuse to consider some mitigating factors out of bias.

Finding the perfect home that matches your personality will take some degree of effort that few aspiring homeowners are genuinely willing to take. With the five simple tips above, you’ll be able to find a suitable home for you and your family without breaking the bank or compromising design and comfort.

Home Ownership

This year California housing market conditions makes a strong and compelling case for homeownership. With prices still well below the historic highs of just a few years ago and attractive mortgage rates, qualified buyers have a unique opportunity to own their own home. As seen below, a rigorous analysis of renting versus buying hears this conclusion out. As shown in the following chart, the monthly housing costs (principle, interest, taxes, and insurance or PITI) associated with buying a median-priced home of $301,430 is $1,590 (Fourth Quarter 2010 median priced home in California). This assumes the buyer is making a 20 percent down-payment and financing with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.62 percent. In comparison, the median rent on a three-bedroom two-bath apartment with renter’s insurance in California is $1,810. That means buying a home would save the homeowner $220 per month when compared to renting and the homeowner would save over $2,600 a year. Reported by the National Association of Realtors

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