Build Your Custom Home: Start to Finish

Building a custom home can feel overwhelming if it’s your first time, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With the help of experienced home builders in Cincinnati, such as Chris Gorman Homes, the journey to build your custom home can be surprisingly smooth and enjoyable.

One of the most rewarding experiences is stepping into your newly built home for the first time, knowing it was designed just for you! Here’s what you can expect during the custom home-building journey when you choose Chris Gorman Homes.

Steps to Building a Custom Home

1. Establish Your Vision

Before diving in, think about your goals for your custom home. It’s helpful to make a list of “must-haves” versus “nice-to-haves,” so you know what to discuss with your builder when planning begins.

2. Find the Right Builder

 After deciding to build a custom home, your next step is finding the right builder. Research builders by checking portfolios, scheduling consultations, reading reviews and verifying references. Make sure your builder has extensive experience in custom home building and consider asking potential builders these 10 questions. Most importantly, ensure their style and quality align with your vision. Discover the capabilities of Chris Gorman Homes in our portfolio of recent designs.

3. Set a Budget

Setting a comfortable budget range is one of the most important steps in building a custom home. Your budget should cover more than just construction costs; it should also include permits, design fees, landscaping and furnishings. It’s smart to set aside around 10 percent as a contingency fund for any unexpected changes or ideas.

During our consultations, we review costs with clients to ensure clarity and manage expectations. While discussing your budget with a builder might seem daunting, aligning early on saves time and energy down the road. With our open book process, you’ll feel confident knowing everything is clear and transparent from start to finish.

4. Choose a Site

Selecting the perfect site for your custom home is a major decision. Consider features like lot size, proximity to neighbors, your daily commute and the property’s topography, as these factors can influence the design and layout of your home. 

If you need assistance at this stage, reach out to the team at Chris Gorman Homes. Whether you’re browsing for land online, working with a real estate agent or already own property in Cincinnati, we can help evaluate its potential to ensure it aligns with your vision and budget.

5. Finalize a Design

Work with your builder to finalize a design based on your needs, lifestyle and style preferences. Make sure you’re completely satisfied with the design before construction starts. Any changes once building begins can delay the project and increase costs, so communication during the design phase is crucial. When working with Chris Gorman Homes, we can start your custom home design with your ideas and a blank slate or reference one of our previous projects for inspiration. 

The team at Chris Gorman Homes offers homebuyers a design-build process, which can save our clients considerable time, resources and costs compared to hiring an architect. In the design-build process, design and construction are managed by the team at Chris Gorman Homes under a single contract, streamlining the process and offering greater efficiency. This approach ensures that design and construction teams work closely together, which can reduce both the timeline and costs, while ensuring a seamless experience.

6. Begin Construction

Once the design is approved, your builder will order materials, set up schedules and start construction. Expect to visit the site occasionally and provide input on key decisions during the build. Staying in regular communication with your builder helps keep the process on track.

Advantages of Building a Custom Home

Choosing to build a new custom home offers a plethora of benefits over buying a used home. Those advantages include:

• Personalization: A custom home is tailored to your lifestyle and needs, offering you complete control over every detail, from design to materials.
• Lower maintenance: New homes require less upkeep compared to older homes, which may come with hidden maintenance issues.
• Creating your forever home: Building to your specifications allows you to create a home that fits your long-term needs.

Is New Construction More Expensive?

While building a new home can appear more costly at first, it often saves you money in the long run by eliminating the need for renovations or costly upgrades that are common with pre-owned homes. Plus, a new custom home is designed to fit your style and needs right from the start, avoiding the hassle of trying to adapt a used home to your unique lifestyle.

Timelines and Team Selection

The timeline for building a custom home depends on the scope of work, but it’s essential to set realistic expectations from the beginning. When choosing your design-build team, look for experience, a strong portfolio and positive client testimonials. Efficient communication between the design and construction teams is key to a successful project.

The design-build method simplifies your experience by offering a single point of contact, ensuring better coordination and fewer complications. With this approach, the satisfaction of living in a home built just for you is well worth the effort.

Excited to Build Your Custom Home? 

If you have decided that now is the time to make your dream home a reality, then reach out to the team at Chris Gorman Homes by booking a discovery call. Your one-of-a-kind new luxury home awaits.