Help With Floor Plans – Five Reasons to Use a Home-Building Coach When Selecting House Plans

Find a website. Pick a plan. Buy it! Simple as that, right? Well … not so much. There are many things that can come back to bite you in the assumptions. For one, sometimes a pre-prepared house plan will not be approved in your neighborhood.

Okay, so you’ll just hire an architect and let her create? I’m going to have to nix that as well. Not that hiring a architect or even buying a pre-made plan is bad, they can be great options. There’s just a lot of preparation you need to take before you get your happies on. That architect may have done some neat stuff or that online plan might look perfect but hold your horses … please!

PRESENTING YET ANOTHER REASON FOR A HOME-BUILDING COACH

This article is mainly for those who are going to be involved in their own building or remodeling project. However, if you’re turning it over to a General Contractor, you can use your GC to accomplish these same items.

Your home building coach can save you a lot of potential money and hardships when it comes to selecting or creating your house plans. Mistakes along these lines can be extremely costly and can cause a lot of delays. So, if you’re planning on heading your own project with the help of a homebuilding coach (and I hope you are), hire one early! Here’s why.

Benefits to Using Your Home-building Coach to Help With House Plans

Your knowledgeable, local coach will be invaluable to you well before you start building. The house plans/blueprints are the catalyst for everything you do.

#1. Selecting the style and size that gets maximum benefit in the neighborhood.

Don’t just assume you know what size and style fits in. Unless you’re all alone in the country and there are no restrictions and no appraisal issues, you’ll either have extremely strict rules or at the very least, you’ll have certain limitations and requirements that you’ll need to live (build) by.

#2. Compliance with the local building authority requirements as well as the common local building methods.

Yes, a local architect may be familiar with these but if you use an out of state architect you’ll need to question them. Also, if you buy stock plans this could be a big issue. While more jurisdictions are going with universal building codes, there are still local building practices that need to be considered so you don’t over or under build and waste time and money.

#3. Incorporating the building materials choices that you want and are readily available.

Over the years, I have found that people don’t always get what they want. Sometimes the architect isn’t familiar with certain building materials. Sometimes the builder says he just doesn’t use those products or doesn’t follow that method of building. Then, there are other times when the home owner is unknowingly asking for the impossible. The coach is going to help solve these problems BEFORE they become problems.

#4. The ease with which changes can be made to the plans.

Whether you’re working with an architect or buying pre-prepared plans, changes will often need to be made. Some can be expensive and some will be simple. You may not be able to judge between them. Your coach can. (Note: if you’re buying stock plans from a company, be sure that they allow customization/changes!)

#5. Figuring the cost to build before the plans are purchased or finalized.

Vital! You certainly don’t want to get stuck with house plans that are way beyond your budget to build. Be sure to get an estimate before finalizing your plan purchase or before you get too far along working with your architect.

CONCLUSION

There are other factors to consider depending upon where you are building and what you are building. Being forewarned with these five items will keep you out of trouble and open the doors to other potential issues you should address. Hire that coach early and get that help right away.

You can learn so much more about home building and remodeling online. One great option is to take advantage of a very informative yet simple to follow *free* e-course that you can find by clicking here http://www.DreamHomeCreation.com You will also find other tips and tools, surveys, videos, and additional articles by Mel Inglima.