Once you decide you want to build a house, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “Okay, let’s go now!” New houses are VERY exciting and who wants to wait several years before they get to take action?
I know I certainly didn’t want to. Good thing I married a responsible and much more mature person than I am, because Farmer helped show me how much happier and better off we would be if we prepared ourselves for a few years. Dang those responsible people who are always right!
But seriously, I am soooo glad we waited and made sure everything was in order before I jumped in and started trying to make things happen. So now that all of that is behind us, and we are (kind of, mostly) finished with our home, I would like to share the things I think were crucial that we did BEFORE we started building our house.
- Make realistic goals/plans for your future
Building a house may be one of the biggest financial, time, and energy commitments you ever make. Depending on the type of house you are building, it may take many many years of income to save up for or pay off. If you owner build, and either act as the general contractor or physically build the whole thing yourself, it will probably require a year or two of serious time and energy commitments. This is not to be taken lightly.
When we first started planning to build a home, Farmer and I were pretty newly married. These were some of the goals and plans we agreed on that effected how, when, and where we would build our home:
- We wanted to stay on the family farm forever
- We only wanted to build once
- We wanted to build large enough that we wouldn’t feel the NEED to add on
- We wanted a large family
- We wanted to stay out of debt if at all possible
- We wanted to build early enough that our kids remembered it as their home
With all of those things decided, we could now make a specific plan for our new home.
We chose a spot on the farm that we wanted to build on and made sure that it would work. We could decide the size and style of house because we knew we would live in it with small children, big children, and grown children who would hopefully come back to visit with our grandchildren. We talked about how many kids we wanted so we could determine how many bedrooms we needed, and what size the other rooms should be. And finally we made a financial plan and timeline of when we thought we could realistically save enough money to start building.
If you don’t make these decisions before you start actively planning and building, you may end up with big regrets or disagreements.
2. Be realistic about WHERE you are financially
Take an honest look at your finances.
- Do you have debt? How much?
- Do you have any savings? How much?
- How much are you currently putting in savings each year? Not how much do you WANT to be putting in savings each year.
- What big expenses do you have in the near future? Need a new car, kid going to college, having a baby, purchasing the family business, etc.
- What assets do you have? How much are they worth?
Questions like these have to be honestly looked at and assessed to be able to decide whether or not you can realistically save hundreds of thousands over the next few years.
If you are currently only putting away $5,000 every year, can you honestly say you are going to buckle down and save $30,000 every year for the next 10 years?
If you have $45,000 in debt, is it a good idea to take out a $400,000 house loan next year?
These are personal decisions, so don’t let me make them for you, but they are things that should be discussed and decided upon when thinking about building a house.
3. Get your life organized
Everyone says “my life is crazy” at one point or another. Now think about your life and what periods of time have been the most crazy and the least. What were you doing? What were your kids doing? What was your spouse doing? What time of year was it?
If you can can control it, you want to be building in a time that is ….. you guessed it … LESS crazy.
What in your life, can be eliminated or put on hold? Here are some of the things that I changed about my life when preparing to start our build:
- I took a few years off from organizing the little kids basketball camp that I usually did every winter
- I passed on my community days responsibilities to someone else
- I tried to go through as much of our stuff as possible and had yard sales or sold it on Craigslist
- I tried a few different money strategies to simplify and save more money (I ended up with the cash in envelopes method working well)
Your life obviously won’t be the same as mine, but if there is anything you can change to make it more organized and less crazy, then do it.
4. Start learning and researching …. yesterday
One thing I tell everyone CONSTANTLY is that you can never start planning and learning too early. If you put it off until you are only 1 year out from breaking ground, you will quickly become overwhelmed and won’t have sufficient time to research all of your options. I have written soooo much about planning out every inch of your house, and learning and researching non stop.
No one ever says they regret learning too much about building their house and all that knowledge was useless. Everyone always says they wish they had known more about ___________. (fill in the blank)
Remember two seconds ago when I told you to get organized? Well, during your learning and researching stage, you need to STAY organized too. That means getting a system down that works for you to keep all of this mind blowing information straight. Otherwise you will end up like me, with a stack of scribbled on papers and torn out magazine pages so tall it won’t stand up anymore. Spend the $3 and get a few file folders to keep it all in order.
No matter when you start planning, I bet you ten bucks you will wish you had more time when ground breaking day sneaks up on you. I spent years learning, researching, and planning, and I definitely wish I had done better. It will save you money, headaches, mistakes, and time in the long run.
5. Commit yourself mentally
Numbers 1-4 were all things that deep down I knew I should be doing before building, but this last one was not something that had crossed my mind precisely. Sometimes I like to float through things with a back up plan ya know? Not that I didn’t have a back up plan, but I wasn’t entirely committed to general contracting this project for a large part of our planning phase.
I was terrified. I didn’t know if I could actually pull it off. And I think I kept hoping for some miracle to happen, so that I wouldn’t have to be the one with all the responsibility.
Well it didn’t. And the closer we got, the more I realized that the fact that I hadn’t fully committed myself was creating problems and slowing us down. So I had to do it. And once I did, it was GLORIOUS. Seriously though, it made the decision making process for every single thing so much more black and white instead of a million shades of grey. It allowed me to move from the idea phase into the active planning phase. Everything started moving and things actually got less stressful than they were before.
If you are going to general contract your own house, you have to commit yourself to it mentally. Trust me, it will make things so much better for you RIGHT NOW. You can do it, and you are going to ROCK at it!
Check off those 5 things and you will be good to move forward on making this happen. Anyone can do this with the right information and some determination. And that is coming from a college drop out, stay at home mom, with no construction experience whatsoever. We have saved well over $100,000 on our house so far, and we aren’t stopping any time soon!
Now that you are on the right path and motivated to save a boat load of money, be sure to sign up for the FREE owner builder virtual summit where you can hear from a bunch of other owner builders instead of just me. Stories, advice, financial planning, and plenty of motivation will be packed into this online video event on April 18, 2018. And if you aren’t around that day, don’t worry because the videos will be available to watch at your convenience, for several days after the summit. CLICK HERE to sign up for the free virtual summit.
~Farmer’s Wife
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Barbara Two-Bars says
I’m 57 and just starting on building my house. Well, my plans are drawn in detail by me. From where the ceiling fans are to where electrical outlets and outdoor hose connections, to where the dog’s food will be stored. I have mentally walked through my house inside and out to get the details down on paper. Actually, I used Excel to draw every detail by using .25 inch squares to represent each square foot. With a computer folder full of everything from local building codes to colors for the exterior, I have prepared. Research is my friend, if I don’t know how exactly something works, I look it up. I wanted my leach field to help sustain and not harm the local vegetation. There are mesquite and paloverde trees, saguaros, ocotillo cactus and native buckbrush (which I think you all call “Jojoba”) to consider that grow wild and if encouraged will block out the view of other homes and junkyards that are visible from my hillside property. The Arizona desert is a delicately balanced ecosystem that can be destroyed by the presence of human waste and trampling 4X4 trucks. I wanted to “improve” the landscape, not destroy it. So, much of my design is meant to live in harmony with that environment. The house itself is designed to self-heat (yes we have cool winters here) and COOL, a major concern when temps get in the 120 range. Also, since my age is up there, I needed a house I could afford to live in. Not just electric bill wise, but also a house that has amenities to sustain me into my old age. Where I could grow food, in highly efficient and sustainable raised beds that also serve to create that microclimate that I will need in the hot summer months. And a few chickens (which I am told will eat any scorpions that wander in) and provide tilling for my gardens. A goat for milk and I will be set for life. I grew up in the area I’m building in, so there really are no surprises. I’m not a “Back Easterner” from New York trying to live in this hostile environment. I’m a native AZ girl who understands the challenges and who is prepared to address them head-on. I am so grateful for your writings and offerings to share the knowledge you have gained. Your resources have been of immense value, not only in content but in ENCOURAGEMENT. If you can do it, so can I.
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Your plan sounds wonderful, and it looks like you are doing a great job preparing! I wish you the best of luck on your project and I am glad I could help out a little bit.
Nancy Bishop says
Great advise!! Sometimes something that seems bad, turns out to be a good thing! It took us a year to sell our home (long story!). During most of that time we have been living on our building site in a RV. Since we plan to downsize when we build, the RV has helped us realize what we value and what we don’t. We have also been able to see the home site in all seasons and all weather. Really helped when planning!!
The one thought I had when reading this article is that you are correct, people don’t “look to the future” when the urge to do something hits. All your ideas about the home are great! I would also suggest they think ahead when planning landscape as well. I’m always sad when I see the power company butchering a tree that someone planted directly under a power line! Did they not expect it to grow? Our local Apple Farm has a great sign up that reads “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.” 😀
Keep the ideas coming!! 👍
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Lol thanks Nancy. I want a sign like that in my yard haha
Lauren says
Hi, I’m new here and just started reading your posts, great info! Have you discussed finding/buying land and where you all are living during the building process? That is our biggest question right now that we’re trying to figure out.
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Hey Lauren, I have not written anything about finding/buying land. I will add it to the list! But I do know that tons of people are living in an RV or some other building on the property while they build. It really depends on where you are building, how much you are doing yourself, how long it will take, the size and age of your family, your financial situation, etc.