Building a new home can be an exciting and rewarding experience but can also be filled with challenges and pitfalls. Every home construction project is unique, but homeowners make common mistakes that can be avoided.  In this month’s blog post, we highlight five common yet avoidable mistakes homeowners make when building a new construction home and what you can do to maximize the overall project effectiveness.

1. Working With the Wrong Builder: Your builder will oversee everything from end to end, so it’s essential to choose someone who is communicative, available, trustworthy, and excited about your project. Take your time to find the right builder by using resources to check their references, reviews, and portfolio of work. Remember when looking at reviews that each homeowner’s situation is unique. Still, if you see a pattern of negative issues with a particular builder, it is probably a red flag. Speaking of builders, Prominent Builders and Designs have been making homeowners happy for decades, and we have an extensive portfolio of satisfied customers. When you work with our design professionals, your needs will be met.
2. Choosing the Wrong Location: Where your home is located is significant for your lifestyle and future quality of life.  If you are unfamiliar with the area, research the crime statistics, availability of conveniences like grocery and other retail stores, school choices, and any unknown issues like future construction or road patterns that could lower your home value.
3. Inadequate Planning: When building a new home, planning is essential to helping the project progress smoothly and to address any unforeseen delays or budget issues.  Make sure you have additional money to use if there are complications to the construction.  For example, if there are additional costs for land clearing or other construction needs that were not anticipated.  Proper planning also includes establishing a realistic time frame for completion and factoring delays into your timeline.  Prominent Builders and Design professionals are well-versed in helping homeowners create realistic plans and communicate each step of the way.
4. Not Focused on Home Resale Value: If you are building a home you plan to live in for a long time, you should undoubtedly build it to suit your preferences.  But if you plan to occupy the home for a short time, then build a home with a higher resale value.  Homeowners that want to include their unique style by picking odd materials for external or internal aesthetics may find they are reducing the value of their home.  Go with more neutral choices that are appealing to most home buyers.
5. Using the Wrong Materials: Using the wrong materials can lead to problems. Make sure you choose appropriate materials for your climate and location and meet all your local and state building codes.

To maximize the overall project effectiveness, take these essential steps:

• Improve overall communication with your builder. Maintaining a two-way dialogue with your builder throughout the process is vital.  Make sure to convey any concerns or address your questions with the process.
• Stay involved in the process. The more you are involved in the process, the fewer problems and surprises you will experience.  Staying informed by actively spending time at the construction site and communicating regularly with your builder is essential to making timely decisions.
• Be realistic about costs and time frames. With any project, there are bound to be complications that may result in additional costs or delays.  Factoring those into your process will help reduce stress and keep you focused on the end goal.

Building a new home can be a complex process with many potential pitfalls. By avoiding common mistakes and taking steps to maximize project effectiveness, you can ensure your new home is built on time, within budget, and to your satisfaction. Ready to start? Give the Bergen County professionals at Prominent Builders and Design a call today.