The Build: Expenses Every Custom Homeowner Should Expect While Building
Darian McConnell • July 15, 2022
When building your dream house, there are a lot of expenses, some you might’ve thought of & some you haven’t! There are expenses that you do have control over, then there are variable and fixed costs that you don’t have control over, but they’re necessary when building a home. In this article, we are going to go over those costs so you are more equipped to build the home of your dreams!
Variable Costs: A variable cost is a cost that varies with the level of output. As I’m sure you know, how large your house is affects all of the expenses that come with building a home, including the following.
- Plans & Architect Fees
- Engineering Fees
- Steel Pack Materials
- Framing Materials
- Site Work Materials (Dirt work)
Fixed Costs: A fixed cost is constant whatever the quantity of goods or services produced. The fixed costs listed below are absolutely necessary when building a home, although you may have not thought about it yet!
- Porto John
- Dumpster Fee
- Building Permit (varying per city)
Costs You CAN Control: Building a home can be overwhelming at times, but knowing what costs you can control will benefit you, your wallet & your peace of mind for sure!
- Interiors: When you choose Brandon Schrock Custom Homes, you get the benefit of working with our in-house (and AMAZING) designer, Randi. If you are looking to save a little money in your build, you can always take a look at the details of your interiors. These are some items you have absolute control over, because you’re the one who selects them & you’ll know the price upfront!
- Lighting
- Countertops
- Hardware
- Appliances
- Flooring
- Trim
- Cabinets
- Tile
- Interior Door Styles
- Plumbing Fixtures
Keep In Mind: These are some things you need to keep in mind when building a home. These items might not be at the front of your thoughts, but they do affect your expenses more than you might think.
- Overall house design- The bigger & more detailed, the more money you’ll spend. It’s also important to note that kitchens and bathrooms are the most expensive rooms in a house, so just reducing the size of some rooms doesn’t really reduce the cost by much.
- Here at Brandon Schrock Custom Homes, we do our absolute best to create an estimate that is as detailed, and real-time-price as possible, but it’s not an exact, as the prices do fluctuate in the market.
- Vaulted Ceilings- Requires special roof trusses, which are more expensive than standard trusses.
- Amount of Windows- Windows may not seem like a top-of-the-mind big expense, but depending on how many you have, they can add up QUICK.
- Site work
- Flat lot vs. sloped lot
- To put it simply, the more hilly your lot is, the more expensive the site work will be.
*Because there is so much more that goes into a home than just a house plan and putting sticks in the ground, we suggest meeting with a builder before you start designing a set of plans. Making sure your lot and design matches your budget will save you some head and heartaches in the long run.*
The Schrock Post
Welcome to another blog with the Schrock crew (Randi specifically)! This time we will be discussing current custom home ‘trends’ and let our in house expert , Randi Schrock, be the judge and jury! *Disclaimer: Randi wants everyone to know that all of these questions below are our opinions. Because we are custom home builders, we are going to build what YOU want. Each home and client is different and it doesn’t matter what we would want, it has to work for YOU! You’re going to be the one in your house daily, as long as your home is functional for you, that’s all that matters!!*
Hey y’all, for those who don’t know me, my name is Darian McConnell and I work at Brandon Schrock Custom Homes! I’ve known the Schrock Family for roughly eight-ish years and love them to death. I’ll be running their blog, where I get to do all the fun stuff! My hope is that you get a sneak peek into the Schrock family and love them just as much as I do, happy reading!!! This week I had the pleasure of interviewing the Schrock kids. For those of you who don’t know, Randi and Brandon have two children, Aiden & Carter. Aiden is an artsy, spunky, & outgoing 13 year old. Carter is a little firecracker who makes friends everywhere she goes & loves cheerleading. An extra bit of information about these kids is that they have hearts pure as gold, and they have grown up on job sites! I asked them each fourteen questions about their mom and dad, they had some very interesting answers. *The following is Aiden & Carter’s real answers, they were not coached*
Your kitchen island stools are just as much the focal point of your kitchen as the table and countertops! You’ll save time, frustration, and even a little heartache if you measure beforehand.
To have the most seamless luxury home building process, here are the four things you’ll need before you start: A competent home builder Financing - either cash or a construction loan Land A house plan that fits your land, needs, wants and budget So let’s go into more detail about what you'll need in the home building process. A competent home builder How many times have you heard people say building their home has been a terrible experience and they would never recommend the builder they used? How about people who never see their builder or have zero communication after the contract has been signed? Stories like that make us cringe. And bad experiences like that are exactly why we do things a little bit differently. Our goal is to make everything as stress-free on our clients as possible. We communicate efficiently and effectively and thoroughly throughout each phase of the project. We understand that building a home can be an emotional journey, so we are transparent and patient. Listen, we’ve been there. We also only build a handful of custom homes a year. So we are pretty picky about who we choose to build a relationship with. And it really is a relationship! We will be together for a long time, so we want to make sure it’s a good fit for us as well. Read more about our process Financing It is your home, your land, and your finances. And your finances are none of our business. Whether you have cash in hand or have a construction loan, you are the ones that finance the project. We recommend researching financing options to see what’s best for you. To learn more about construction loans, read this article and talk to your local bank. We are also front-side custom home builders, which means that you give us a budget and we do the research before breaking ground, which means there is a true budget. Land Of course, you need to have land to build on before starting. But before you buy that land, we recommend first talking to a builder. We understand that it’s tough in today’s market because land sells ridiculously fast. But there is a cost associated with getting your land ready for your home - that includes the driveway, all utilities, and the building pad. Most people don’t have any idea what prepping the land for your home entails. So we suggest meeting onsite for a quick evaluation so you have an idea of what it will cost to be able to create a buildable site. A house plan that fits your land, needs, wants and budget It’s so easy to get wrapped into a style or find something on Pinterest that you want to build, but if it doesn’t fit your land, your needs, or your budget - you’re just spinning your wheels and wasting your time. Fitting the topography of your land is very important. If you don’t take the topography into consideration, you could be looking at paying tens of thousands of dollars more than you would have if you built to what fits your lot. Fitting your needs and wants is the main reason to build your own custom home. For instance, are you building your forever home? Then you should consider wider hallways and doorways, and zero entry spaces. Is bathroom counter space important to you? Then let’s design a space to fit a bigger vanity. Do you have a lot of four-legged friends? Consider adding in a dog wash. Budget is probably one of the most important things people forget about in the designing process. It’s easy to get swept away in our Pinterest boards and following design bloggers and picking out all of those things we want in our homes. Designing a 3-million-dollar home when you have a million-dollar budget is not good for anyone. Having a budget just means we have to compromise on a few of those things. But that is exactly why Brandon has me here! I’m here to help you with all of it! I take care of the house design and all interior design, so you can get exactly what you want without feeling like you sacrificed anything. It’s truly the best job ever! If you are interested in sitting down with me and Brandon to go over the process in detail, to interview us, and let us interview you - we would LOVE to hear from you! Call or text us anytime! Brandon | Builder | 479.601.4650 Randi | Designer | 479.601.5890
