You’re finally ready to build your dream house. You’re planned for years, saved your pennies and have just been approved for a building loan that’s bigger than the national debt.
In a few short months, you’ll get to move into a pristine, energy efficient, never before lived in home that was lovingly built just for you. It will fit your life style to a “T”. Soon you’ll be entertaining with panache in perfectly appointed rooms. You’ll run your business empire from the efficiency of your home office. Your gardens and lawn will be magnificent and easy to maintain. The family will enjoy your home cooked, gourmet meals in your gleaming kitchen. There’ll be plenty of space for them to stow their junk, manage their laundry, study and relax. Oh what a joy your dream house will be!
You've done your home work and picked out the best contractor your hard earned (and expensive to borrow) money can buy. You're checked references and made sure your contractor is insured and bonded. You've locked in a firm price and know what everything is going to cost. But wait. There's more. A lot more.
Building a home is like dancing on air. It’s surreal experience that can literally send you to the poor house before your dream house is even a reality.
Once you sign on the dotted line, you are no longer in control of the project – the builder is and there is nothing you can do except open your wallet. When you build a house, you going to pay more than you had planned and contracted for - over and over and over again. And there’s nothing you can do about it!
You’ll swear that you will NEVER build again or at the very least know you know what’s up for the next time.
Building a home is the worst experience you will ever have and you’ll pay a fortune to be so miserable. Building a home is worse than getting a divorce (which you will contemplate more than once during the home building process) because it’s never over.
The Bottomless Money Pit
Building a house is a bottomless pit of spending over which you have no control. The contract doesn’t protect you. A contract is only good when both people agree. When they don't (and there will come a time when you don't) the only way you can get satisfaction is to sue. Yikes! A headache you don't want and an expense you certainly don't need. But more about that later.
Clauses in your contract like "acts of God" and "subject to availability" which seem perfectly reasonable when you sign your name on the dotted line will be interpreted by your builder as a carte blanch to do what ever he thinks best......and what he thinks best is hard on your wallet.
There are hundreds of things your need to know before you build your house. So take heed! These words of wisdom are from people (myself included) who have built homes. This is not the stuff you'll read about in fancy home - building magazines. This is stuff (when you first read it) that you'll say "not my builder" or "this doesn't apply to me." But, be forewarned. In the end, you will learn to hate your once beloved, well referenced builder. I hate mine and so thousands of otherwise normal, rational people. So will you.
Arming yourself with knowledge will help things move along a bit more smoothly but, even so, don't expect a totally smooth home building process. (And this also includes major renovations). Building a house is one of the worst times of your life and you'll be paying a huge amount of money for the misery.
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