When we first started looking at houses about two years ago I was shocked at how many houses just weren't very practical for everyday living.
I agree, and I'd add this: Many houses just aren't practical for MY life. For example, to get all the nicey-nices that I want, I know I'd end up getting a house with a formal dining room. I don't want to pay for /maintain a formal dining room. I have one in my current house, and we never use it! Someone else, on the other hand, might see a formal dining room as an absolute necessity.
The process of picking out a house plan took me about 1 1/2 years. I first picked one out and had it altered for my needs. That cost some $$ and then when I got bids on it, it was way over my budget! I had to trash it and choose a new plan. oh the heartbreak and disappointment of it all.
Oh, I'd be so disappointed! Any hints on how to avoid that? I think I'm being reasonable for our budget, but I'd be happy if I could KNOW that I'm on the right track.
A custom house is like buying an already built house in the fact that you can spend in any given range.
I am absolutely sure you're right, and you can't pinpoint "my range" for everything. For example, I want to be sure we have the best windows and roof -- I see those as protection for the house (and avoidance of maintenance/replacement bills in the future). But I'm pretty sure we're going to go with wooden laminate flooring. I have no great love of whirlpool tubs and don't plan to splurge there. But I know just how I want my pantry arranged (for my canning), and I want wooden shelves there -- not ready-made wire shelving. We're going to be under 2000 sf, a rather moderate size. Anyway, it's hard to say, "She wants to build a luxury house" or "She's looking to build on a shoestring." My details vary-- that's why I'll never find exactly what I want already built.
Some things sound great on paper but are not practical money-wise. We ended up with a house close to what we wanted but honestly, the sticks were barely in the air and I was already seeing things I wish I had done differently. I'm not sure there is such a thing as a perfect house.
I'd love to hear details about your expectations vs. reality. As I said in a previous post, I'm in the process of researching, and I'm very interested in other people's experiences.
. . . When we built our house, we took the opportunity to do fun things . . . For example, the master shower had no glass and no doors. You just walked in, showered, and walked out . . . We were also able to save some money by not including stuff that we didn't want . . . That probably didn't help resale, but we had no interest in having formals . . . Finally, my wife was able to design the kitchen around the way that she really worked. She had double ovens, a very large sink, a stainless steel topped island, and tons of cabinet space.
Your ideas do sound fun!
I love the walk-in shower, and it's on our list as a "would like to have".
How big does the shower have to be to do this?
Yeah, I knokw we're going to save by NOT including things that we just don't want: No formal living room, no formal dining room, no jet tub, no double sinks in the master bath --I know that these things are attractive to many people, but they're just not things that I want. Oh, here's another: When I think JUST about countertops, I like the look of granite . . . but I recently realized that when I look at pictures of finished kitchens that I admire, they're ALWAYS white countertops and about 80% of the time they're topped with butcher block. I'm hoping that eliminating these "no thanks, not for me" items will allow me to include some things that I really DO want such as a window seat in the living room, an open-air breezeway /outdoor room
with fireplace that'll form the connection between the detached garage and the house, and storage storage storage.
Resale . . . I'm not quite on board with that. My circumstances are different. I've inherited family land. Lovely land, lots of it, in a wonderful area where I want to live when we retire. This land has been in my family more than 250 years, and if I sell it I'll be kicked out of the family. Okay, not seriously, but I cannot sell this land on a whim. My expectation is that I'll leave this house/land to my daughters. So instead of being concerned about resale, I want to be sure that my house is built solidly so that they won't inherit junk, and I want to choose something that can be added onto -- in case they someday need more bedrooms, a game room, or whatever they might want.
The kitchen matters a great deal to me too, and my ideas are definitely not like most people's. I want a medium-sized kitchen, but I want it connected to a massive pantry, which will form most of my storage. I want to see everything sitting neat and orderly on shelves in my walk-in pantry -- everything from my canned tomatoes to the crock pots and roasting pans -- not buried in bunches of cabinets. I want to be able to bring out just what I want TODAY -- I want my countertops to always be clear except for a few basic-basic items like good knives. I also want a small workspace in the pantry -- a place to drop grocery bags, a place to set a bowl while measuring out flour, etc. Those aren't things that appeal to everyone. Maybe they're things that appeal to no one but me.
One big expense and can be big headache with a new home is the lawn.
We could never have a real lawn -- not a 40-acre lawn -- but we get a VERY BIG tax break for having a forestry management plan with the county. I expect to surround my house with apple trees, peach trees, pear trees, and pecan trees. My brothers and I are working towards getting this management plan started; it's a great deal of work, but the tax benefits are very worthwhile, and once we have it in place -- and inspected and approved -- we'll automatically keep the benefits year after year after year.
And we also built a 3 car garage, detatched, which they could have done but since they were the way they were, we got someone else to do the garage.
