How to Start Building a Custom Home in California
Building a custom home is one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll have in your life. When you’re beginning the process, it’s crucial that you start off on the right foot to ensure the projects’ eventual success and that you get the custom home you’ve been dreaming about. The best thing you can do early on is connect with the right team of people who will guide and support you. At Buildable, we have assembled a team of experts for you and put together a simple three-step process that anyone can use to start their custom home project off right.
Step 1: Determine Your Build Strategy
When you’re starting to research custom homes, the first step is to determine exactly what you want and where you want it. Everything is possible when you’re building a custom home, so it’s important to look inward and determine your build strategy. Your build strategy is a clearly articulated approach that outlines exactly what you want in your custom home, along with where you want it. This means defining things like your desired location, home size, the budget for your custom home, and any other requirements that would be helpful for your build team to know. This will ultimately allow your build team to move forward with your individual goals at the center of everyone’s mind. When you’re establishing your build strategy, here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself:
What area of San Diego do you want to live in?
In San Diego, great lots are dispersed across the county. We recommend creating a list of the top 3-5 areas you would want to live. Casting a wide net can help create opportunities to find good deals.
Which is more important: location or house amenities?
Understanding your flexibility between the location of the land and the amenities you desire in your custom home is critical to setting you up for success. Do you need to live in a particular neighborhood, or are you open to more flexible land options? Sometimes properties with the most potential to unlock equity are outside of the more competitive areas. Are there features of the home that are necessary for you and your family? Everything is 30-mins away in San Diego, so maybe you have more flexibility to look a little further out and can strategically invest in your home’s amenities. The primary drivers of cost to build a home in San Diego are land location and home size/features, so finding the right mix that is uniquely important to you is key.
What size do you want your home?
In the absence of details about your custom home, builders will normally use a cost per square foot range to help you create an estimate, leveraging a number of assumptions at the start. For the home buyer, it’s critical to know that the size of your custom home is one of the primary drivers of cost. The more square footage, the more materials are needed for the project. The selected materials, design specifications, and other factors can also have a huge impact on your budget, regardless of the square footage. It’s important to find the right balance and know that it’s easy to upgrade a home but hard to add square footage.
What is your budget?
Determining your budget is critical before moving forward with a custom home builder. It starts by understanding what you can afford given your finances. Then, you should consult with a lender to ensure your construction loans will be approved in the case that your build would require financing. In terms of affordability, money expert David Bach offers a rule of thumb, which he outlines in his book, The Automatic Millionaire. Bach says, “According to the Federal Housing Association, a good rule of thumb is that most people can afford to spend 29 percent of their gross income on housing expenses — as much as 41 percent if they have no debt.” Consider this when determining your budget.
If you’d like to learn more about the cost range for a custom new home build, use our cost calculator below.
Step 2: Talk to Potential Partners
Talk to potential partners and get smarter about the home building process with the help of industry professionals. Custom-built homes require teams of people with different skillsets to ensure everything gets done right from the start. Buildable simplifies this process by bringing a strategist, real estate agent, and general engineering contractor together to guide you through the process, so you don’t have to shoulder the responsibility alone.
If you plan to assemble your team on your own, you would need to take the following steps:
Research different builders in your area and have conversations with them about your requirements and what you want. Be specific here — there are a number of variables when building a custom home and you can have estimates that are wildly off if you don’t have a defined scope and apples-to-apples comparisons.
Research architects and designers who have delivered homes aligned with the aesthetic that you seek. Everyone has their own style, and you’ll want to make sure that your vision — no matter how narrow or broad — can be executed with the help of the right partner.
Research real estate professionals who are familiar with purchasing land. The truth is, in San Diego, there aren’t very many agents who specialize in land or who know what to look for or the process. Find someone experienced in land development.
Research someone to help you with land feasibility to ensure that the land can support your custom home project. Zoning demands and land improvements will likely need to be met, and this needs to be considered with your all-in budget. An A-licenced general engineering contractor or a civil engineer will be able to inform you about the land.
Step 3: Enter an Agreement With Partners and Find Your Lot
Once you have found your team, enter into an agreement that allows them to help you through the process — which begins with finding potential land options. The real estate agent on your team should be searching for land that fits your needs and desires for your custom home. If they find something great, you will most likely need to move quickly and you’ll want your general engineering contractor to be on-call to support you when the time comes Typically, you can enter into some agreement with an upfront fee or create a time and materials contract. It’s important to have your team set before moving forward with land, or you risk delays and problems in the future.
At Buildable, we take away the stress of coordinating all these partners by bringing everyone under one roof. Talk to us and we’ll provide you with answers to the questions you may have.
