If your New Year’s resolutions include finally building a dream home on Oahu, we’re here to help. While building a new house can be challenging, it’s easy to reduce construction-related stress with a little planning and the right team. Here’s four simple tips to get you closer to this year’s new-home goal.

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1. Make Your Budget: Before you sift through flooring samples, pick out appliances, or deep-dive into a pile of fabric swatches, you’ve got to establish your budget. From cost per square foot to setting aside a contingency fund for unexpected additional costs, working out your proposed budget is the first step to building your home. Need help getting started? Our free online estimator can help you get a good idea of how much you’ll need to build your dream home. Once you get a preliminary budget established, identify areas where you can add money if needed, and what areas can be trimmed as a result.
2. Find the Right Professionals: The right team can make or break your construction project, so choose your contractors, builders, and designers carefully. When possible, ask to see past designs, visit current building sites, and speak with former clients about their experience with a particular company or professional. Don’t forget to contact us when it comes getting professional advice and recommendations from the best architects, draftsmen, and interior designers in Oahu.
3. Anticipate Delays: Even the best-laid plans experience delays due to weather, shipping delays, or unexpected issues with the building site. But the most frequent delay often occurs during the permitting process. Despite numerous improvements, getting your building plans approved can still take months, increasing your construction budget and adding extra stress to the process of building a home. To avoid these delays, consider hiring a licensed third-party reviewer to manage each step of the permit approval process in a matter of weeks.
4. Research Available Sustainability Options: From alternative heating and cooling solutions like ridge and soffit ventilation to solar design, insulated concrete, energy-efficient appliances, and thermally modified wood, there’s plenty of opportunities to explore environmentally-friendly building options that can help save you money both long and short term.

Of course, the very first step to reaching this New Year’s goal is contacting Home Planning Hawaii. We can help you get started on working out a budget, finding the right professionals, and exploring your options for navigating the permitting process. Happy New Year’s and happy building!