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You can see it in your mind: the perfect bedroom layout, a custom bathroom, or just enough space for your family to grow over time. No matter the motivation, for some homebuyers, the desire to build their own dream home, rather than purchase, is their goal for homeownership.
Like many house hunters, you might not realize that building your home from the ground up is much more possible than you might think. Yes, it’s true that you won’t be able to move in within 30 days. You might have to deal with some construction challenges. But when you do step into that new home, it will be completely customized to your lifestyle and preferences—100 percent unique to you.
Before assuming that a new build is out of reach, let’s consider the pros and cons.
Pros
- You’re the first owner! Nobody else will have a home like yours.
- Your home will automatically be built to meet current building codes.
- Building your own home ensures that all features are up to date, and you can make sustainable choices using energy-efficient materials that save you money over time.
- You can design it to the specifications and layout that work best for you.
Cons
- It can take up to seven months to construct a new build according to the S. Census Bureau. If you have a gap in residence between your sell date and your move-in date, you may need to rent or stay in a hotel (and you’ll need to budget for that in advance).
- With a new build, there’s not much room for negotiating price once you factor in the cost of land and construction, depending on your region.
- There can be hidden costs that pop up depending on the upgrades and finishes you choose. Talking with your architect beforehand will help uncover some of these costs in advance.
Financing new construction
A loan for building a new home has some different financing elements than a traditional home loan. Specifically, it has the initial purchase of the land where you will build and the construction materials and labor to construct the home.
A one-time close construction home loan option is designed to help you borrow just what you need to customize exactly what you want, while only closing once.
Initially, this one-time loan supports the purchase of the lot and helps finance construction labor and building supplies. During construction, payments are interest only. Once the home is complete, there’s only one set of closing costs and documents, saving you time, money, and paperwork. The loan then automatically converts to a permanent loan and serves as your mortgage.
Building your dream home is a major project, but the home loan solutions available are designed so you can make more decisions about your finishes, not your financing.
