Are you planning on building a new home in 2017? Minimize construction stress by preventing unwanted surprises as you work with architects, contractors, and designers in creating your dream home. Here are five things every potential home-builder should know in advance!

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• Bigger isn’t always better. A dream home doesn’t require endless square footage. In fact, unnecessary space can be a burden, not a benefit. As you consider floor plans, imagine where you and your family will be in ten years. Are extra bedrooms necessary if kids will no longer be living at home? Do you really want to be responsible for cleaning five bathrooms? With the cost of premium real estate on the islands always increasing, it’s smarter to build a well-designed home that suits your needs over a sprawling mansion you can’t maintain long-term.

• Know the land. Especially if you’re building a beachfront property. Not all soil is suitable for building, especially sandy soil too close to a changing shoreline. Before you purchase the land for your new home, make sure to have the lot professionally inspected by a builder or a professional surveyor to ensure that the soil can support the foundation of your future home. Once the land is approved for building, work with your architect to design a home compatible with the surrounding environment- your home may need an elevated foundation or a lower roof-line in order to maintain the  structural integrity of your new home.

• Avoid surprise installation costs. Building a hidden getaway far from the noise and stress of civilization? Solitude might increase your building budget, so plan ahead to avoid unexpected utility installation costs. If your building site doesn’t already have access to utilities like electrical lines, sewage, or natural gas, you’ll have to pay for those services to be run to your new home. Don’t ruin your budget before building begins by failing to account for additional utility costs.

• The “best” materials aren’t always the most expensive ones. You can still build a beautiful and functional home without exclusively using high-end materials. Prioritize where you want to spend your money while cutting costs with alternatives that look and function the same as their pricey counterparts. Quartz countertops are low-maintenance, durable, and just as beautiful as more expensive marble.  Manufactured wood or vinyl flooring saves money and doesn’t warp in humidity. Save the high-end materials on things that truly matter to you and your design aesthetic.

• Plan ahead. Work with a designer to make design choices in advance, so you don’t stall construction with mid-build decision making anxiety regarding bathroom tiles. Planning and deciding on aesthetic details in advance saves you time and money, and will help you and the builder stay on budget. It may be overwhelming to try and coordinate cohesive design choices before building even starts, but you’ll make better choices when working with your own schedule instead of the contractor’s time-frame.

Ready to find the designers, architects, and contractors for your new home? Contact us today and we’ll help match you with the perfect team.  You can also get started with our r, an easy tool for determining the budget for any upcoming construction project.