Building, Buying or Upgrading, What’s right for me?
When searching for the perfect home for you and your family, there are many decisions to make. Should I build a home? Should I buy a move-in ready home? What if I can’t find what I want? How do I get started?
Start first with your architect.
Building or Buying a New Home
Let’s look at purchasing a new home, which is designed specifically for your family’s wants and needs. Hiring an architect first can make the rest of the processes such as finding a lot, designing a home, and choosing a builder much easier for your busy family.
Choosing a lot can be challenging. The role of your Realtor is important. The Realtor assists in finding the right neighborhood or area of town for you. Teaming the architect with the Realtor at this phase will allow both to work together in helping you decide which lot is best for the style of home you want and your budget. For example, a family who desires a sprawling one-story home may choose a level lot with less trees where the new home might be situated. Of course, the locations of trees and the slope of the lot are important considerations for the architect, but there many more. Some other considerations are views, orientation of house on the lot, driveway locations, solar orientations, and prevailing wind information. Considering the style of the home you want is very important in the early stages too. Your architect can help you blend the style of home into an existing neighborhood or advise on what styles are prevalent in newly developed areas. Your architect will also be knowledgeable about subdivision restrictions and requirements of county or city restrictions, which will ultimately effect the budget.
Your architect can evaluate all of this information with you during the home design process thus helping you maximize the potential of your lot and avoid expensive mistakes. If you are green design savvy, or even if you just want to be green design savvy, your architect can help you incorporate green building techniques, building materials, and methods into your budget. Building an environmentally conscious home does not have to be a budget buster, especially if considered and evaluated early in the process. Planning green building features early allows the architect to consult with mechanical designers during the design phase for input on the most cost effective and environmentally friendly way to heat and cool your home.
Buying an Existing Home
Another option for buying a new home is buying a home that is new to you! Finding the perfect home on the perfect lot is not always easy. When you find the perfect lot with the perfect view or acreage with a pre-built home, your architect helps you make decisions easily about upgrading or updating the existing home. Sometimes, the best choice may be to remove an existing structure and rebuild. Having the expertise of a professional architect to offer guidance before closing can help ease the stress of the decisions that you will face.
Upgrade Your Home
Lastly, what about simply staying put? What if you really enjoy everything about where you live, but the kitchen is too small, or you need an extra bedroom? Your architect can help. Sometimes, it’s not the space, but how the space is used that needs updating. Your architect has space planning skills to help you envision changes: opening a wall, redirecting a stairway, or even adding space to create a second floor. These changes to your existing home can re-purpose your home so that you can stay in the home you love!
Consider everything. Moving or upgrading is a big decision. Start the process with an experienced architect — a professional knowledgeable about all of the aspects of designing your new home or remodeling an existing one. Hire your architect early in the process. The more knowledge your architect has about you, your wants, needs, and budget, the easier the process will be overall. You can have your dream home whether it’s a new home or changing your existing home – home is where your heart is.
