You're probably used to builders talking about all the positives of building a home on your land: the freedom, the quiet, being away from your neighbors, you name it. You can sit on your front porch and watch the sunset without seeing anything but the land and the sky.
That's all great, and those are some of the reasons why our clients do what the do, but the road to get there has a few potholes.
And I think it's important for me to be honest with you about that, as a builder. Here's why.
Let's say you're going to go to the dentist. Have you ever visited the dentist for any kind of work other than a teeth cleaning—like getting a filling, crown, or a root canal?
If you're in that situation, you want the tooth filled or fixed, or else you wouldn't be there. But what if the dentist didn't warn you before he stuck that needle in your gum to numb it? What if he just started drilling without warning you it was going to hurt? It's an absurd thing to think about, because of course a dentist knows it might be painful. And any good dentist will give you realistic expectations about the procedure out of respect.
Building a home on your land can be a little painful, too.
Your custom home on your own land has never been built before. Obviously that's true, but have you thought about what that means? Nobody's created it before, so there's nothing to duplicate. On one hand, that's pretty exciting! On the other, it can lend itself to human error.
Chances are, you have a vision in your mind of what your home should look like, but not everyone involved in building your home understands that vision, and it can be a difficult thing to get across. That one-of-a-kind dream home is also being built with natural materials (wood, tile, brick) that have natural variations. There will be natural imperfections that are unpredictable.
Your new home is also being built outside in the weather, and if you're building anywhere in Oklahoma, it will (at minimum) get rained on during construction. You'll be dealing with subcontractors who will probably make mistakes, like any other human being.
Why am I telling you all of this? Am I trying to talk you out of building your dream home on your land? Of course not. I spend my days helping families do just that.
But I have found that people are most happy and satisfied with their end result if they know what to expect going in. It feels a bit dishonest to me to gloss over the gory details. Yes, the end result will be beautiful. But the process might sometimes feel like someone is poking in your mouth with sharp tools while you drool onto a bib.
You deserve to know what's about to happen if you do choose to build your family's forever home on your land. You deserve to have realistic expectations so you can prepare yourself and move through the process without getting blindsided.
If your builder pretends it's going to be all rainbows and unicorns (at least until he gets your check), then it's time to find another builder.
