Is it a good idea to build when there is a home building decline. With a decline in home building thanks to the financial crisis, the answer is yes. This is because without anything to build, these people will go out of business.
But is that the only reason? The answer is no. Thanks to the decline in home building and the law of supply and demand, the price of lumber is at its lowest in 5 years. This means you can buy more right now together with other construction materials you will need so you can achieve a lot with your budget.
With that, the first step is to plan your budget. You have to find out how much it will cost to build your home. There are ways to make it cheaper like choosing a home that does not have many corners. The more corners that you have the more cost in building it.
Next, select a house plan that fits within your budget. You can look at magazines, books, the web or even have them drawn up for you with the things that you want in it as you want them. If you choose a plan from a magazine, book or the web and you want to change somethings with that plan will have to go to an architect so that blue prints can be drawn up and this can be shown to the contractor, that you can get some bids of what you want built.
Another factor is where the lot is located. If you have had this for a long time, chances are the area is already well developed. If it is secluded like somewhere in the mountains, be ready to shoulder a little more because it is going to take awhile to clear the trees and remove the dirt from the ground. Finding a way to get power and heat, that is extra costs. Solar is an option or wind power but you will need backup systems as well.
Because of the slump, you can find a reputable and trusted contractor right away so the construction time could be faster then you expected.
The nest thing you have to do is pick the right contractor for the job. As mentioned earlier, the building decline will make it easy for you to find these professionals because they do this for a living. You just have to see which one is offering the best deal.
Make sure to check the contractor out. Are they licensed for the area that you live in? Are they insured-if someone gets hurt on your property you are liable, they could come after you for the injury costs and maybe more. Do they have complaints about them at the Better Business Bureau? Do they have references about the kind of work that they do, can you check them out? Did you look at more than just one contractor? What do they say they will charge you for the construction-compare all the contractor bids for doing the construction. Now that you have chosen a good contractor you can move forward.
Plan on paying the sub-contractors yourself then you know for sure that they get paid. If you pay the contractor and he does not pay the sub-contractors than you can have leans placed on your place and you have to pay that again. That is why it is best to pay them yourself. You make sure that it get done and no one comes back after you when you think it got paid by the contractor. Save yourself that trouble.
The next thing that you need to do is sign a written contract with the contractor and anyone else involved in the project. If everyone agrees to it, then there should not be any problems. You should just be ready to amend it in the event that some problems happen along the way because it always does due to many different factors.
Your dream home will be built in a few months even if there is a decline in the home building industry. After all, you have the money, the plan and the people so you have everything that you need to turn that into a reality. What is even better is that because the market is slowing down, this means cheaper building materials, cheaper labor, and faster construction times.
For those who don't want to build a home but have money to spare, why don't you consider buying an already built one instead. You just have to see the place first to find out if it is worth buying because you may have to do a lot of repairs and restoration first which could be equivalent to what you may be paying for when you build your home. If that is the case, just take advantage of the decline in home building and work from the ground up.
We would love to hear your comments.
copyright Dan and Deanna Finlinson "Marketing Unscrambled"
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