1. Decide on how big you would like your home to be.
You are more familiar with your lifestyle than any builder. So you decide how large you would like your home to be. You do not want when the walls are up, or the rooms get furnished, to say “gosh I did not know the bedrooms, bath or kitchen were going to be so small. Remember this: rooms always look much larger when they are painted white with no furniture in them. So do your homework. Develop a sense of size and dimensions from a home that if fully furnished. To do that, write down the size of the room that you feel most comfortable. You are measuring your personal sense of space for particular rooms. Use that size, as a mental point of reference for what you will like when all you have in front of you is a floor plan on a letter size piece of paper. Make a comparison between the sizes on the paper and the dimensions of your sense of size and go from there. Like the song says “you can’t always get what you want…but if you try some time (do your home work) you get what you need.”

2. Get the land to accommodate the home you like.
Of course this is often done in reverse. The land is chosen, and then the house to accommodate the land. If you already have the land. I recommend you still follow step one, then make the land work for you.

3. Chose a reliable and honest builder.
It seems like this would be the most difficult step. It is the most important, but not the most difficult. In a perfect world you would not have to be concerned about this. But since the world is not perfect, listen to others: If you do not know the contractor by reputation then find out through others that do. Do not rely on just what the builder tells you. . Ask the builder for references or find out in some other way, but do your homework. Check out the people who really know the reputation of the contractor. An honest and reliable builder builds more than homes. They build good customer relationships. Some of the most lasting and wonderful friendships began by building/renovating a home for a customer and ended up presenting it to them complete as friends.

4. Make sure you have the money to complete the Job.
Building a home is perhaps the largest purchase you will ever make in your lifetime. Many homebuyers assume that the monies from the bank take care of the project. Often the bank does not cover the entire amount that you need for a new home. Many times this is overlooked. So, make sure you have all the money it takes. You want an honest, reliable, contractor. Well, then, he deserves to be paid on time when he or she has done what they contracted to do. This is also a vital part of homework.