Whether you’re building a detached garage or a custom new home it is important to have a good picture of what you want it to look like.   People often have an idea of the style of home they’re looking for and they typically have a wish list of what the layout might be. 

Communicating these desires to a custom home builder is another matter. Three-dimensional home design software has been around for more than 20 years and in the last ten years has become first-rate; there’s no longer any reason to rely on two-dimensional drawings. This software (of which there are several options) will give you a sense of the luxury home construction right down to the grain and stain of the kitchen cabinets and what knobs are the best match.

We frequently have clients who look at a home lot and cannot imagine where to place their custom home or how the finished result will look.  With this tool you can include your topography and trees, and even add landscaping providing you with a good idea of how your new custom home will look on your property. 

 

In this example, the client wanted to turn the house for the best views and also have large windows in an in-ground basement.  She was able to have a reasonable idea of the outcome before the first shovel went in the ground.

This software enables you to “walk” through your custom built home with a virtual tour before your home construction even begins.  There is no better way to discover that you don’t like the style or placement of a window or that your furniture doesn’t fit.  It’s also useful for remodeling, interior design, kitchens and baths, even decks and landscaping.  Needless to say, it is definitely easier and cheaper to try out new ideas before actual new home construction starts. 

If you purchase a house plan on the internet or choose a model from a builder, ask for a 3-D version so that you can see what those rooms actually look like and how the home will appear on your property.  The key is to find a designer/architect/builder who uses this technology. 

Or, for smaller projects, you can purchase a simplified program and do it yourself!

So you’re thinking of building a new home in Loudoun.  What should you do first?  Buy land?  Hire an architect? Or hire a builder?

Land (as in single lots, not large tracts) is selling again and prices are on the rise, so your first impulse might be to run out and start on the land purchasing process before it gets too pricey.

Then again, you might not be quite ready to make that commitment.  It might sound more appealing to sit down with an architect and put your dreams on paper

Realistically, a custom homebuilder is in the best position to help you set up a budget for your land and house, with a clear knowledge of all the parts and pieces involved.  Architects have vision but most are not aware of the hard costs of the components in your custom home.  All too often, customers have brought us plans for new custom homes that they will never be able to afford

We also frequently see customers who have paid dearly for a piece of land without knowing whether it is buildable or what the cost of improvements (well, septic, driveways, grading, etc.) might be.  Take for example the client with the beautiful view from the mountainside who would never be able to get a concrete truck up the hill without spilling its contents

So, I recommend that you talk to a builder first.  A good builder will get an idea of the level of quality you want in your new custom home and the home lot size you are looking for.  With that information we can give you an idea of the cost of building a home.

Then you’re ready to talk to a mortgage banker who can determine what you can afford and can explain the unique construction-to-perm financing that you’ll need for this project.

Now you’re ready to look for that land.  Find a realtor familiar with the land listings in the area you want to live and start exploring the countryside.  Once you’ve found the property of your dreams you’re ready to sit down with an architect, budget in hand, and design a home that best fits that home lot as well as your desires.

Finally, you can return to the builder to bring your dreams to reality.  Be sure you find a builder who will help you navigate the process and who will build you a high-quality, energy-efficient custom luxury home that will last.

In the midst of traveling to the builders’ show, and constantly tweaking our new home’s design, we have been continually preparing our current home for the market.  In October, we brought in a home staging expert to advise us on making our home more marketable.  This gave us plenty of time to schedule painters, carpet cleaners, etc., as well as to figure out what needed to go and where we’d put it.  We were able to do a little at a time – until January.  That’s when we hit it hard, spending several hours a week checking off tasks and enlisting our daughter, taking advantage of a college student’s bottomless need for money.  

I have to say that, with the help of Tah-Da! Staging, I kind of like the cleaner, leaner look.  The idea of staging is to depersonalize and declutter your home so that potential buyers can more easily picture themselves living there, envisioning their things in your home and on your walls.  So you take down all of your personal photos and get rid of all extraneous stuff.  Some of it is hard, but it’s only temporary.  The family pics will be the first things to go back up in the next home.  Otherwise, it is actually rather enjoyable to take truckloads of stuff to the Salvation Army or the dump.  I feel as if I’ve lost weight!

Cleaning and decluttering is the number one most important step you can take to make your home more marketable.  This can include rearranging furniture, adding new props to enhance rooms, even adding fresh flowers and playing soft music.  (Unfortunately, our speakers were part of the decluttering process!)  

I once helped an 88-year-old friend clean out her house so she could downsize.  It took months to go through closets one item at a time.  My 18-year-old had similar issues.  She had no idea where to begin as she stood amongst mountains of cherished belongings.  Once I made some sorting suggestions she was off and running.  Whether you’re 18 or 88 it can be hard to part with your stuff.

Perhaps it goes without saying that you should make any obvious repairs.  All of those issues you’ve put up with or ignored over the years must finally be addressed.   In our case, my honey-do items are only addressed after our homeowners are taken care of.  What’s that they say about the cobbler’s family having no shoes?

And of course, make the house sparkle.  Deep clean every nook and cranny.  Hang up fresh towels.  Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Replace worn rugs.  Train the dog to wipe her feet and put away her toys.

These are just some of the things I've gleaned from the experts.  I'm hoping they'll help our home sell quickly.  In this market you've got to try every angle.  I'll keep you posted on how we fare.

Some of our favorite attractions at the Builders’ Show were the “smart” home displays.  The capabilities they promise cause me to envision a house that the Jetson’s would be at home in – integrated control of lighting, heating, sound, security, etc.  Add to that what the future will bring in terms of smart grid technology and green automation capabilities and the possibilities are dazzling.

Although we’ve installed various levels of these systems in our custom homes, I am excited about the opportunity to do it in our own.  In order to get a handle on what we want and what we can afford, we created (yet another) wish list.  (There are far more options available; these are just the ones we selected.) –

•    HVAC

•     Turn off girls’ wing when they’re not home
•     Temperature control to minimize usage

•    Lighting

•     Scene-setting dimmers in living area and master bedroom
•     Light driveway when someone is expected
•     Light gazebo path

•    Security

•     Automatically lock all doors when leaving the house
•     Doorbell rings in office, master bath, entryway

•    Audio and video

•     Sound systems – playing music throughout the house
•     Networking capabilities to share video and DVDs
•     Speakers on porch and patio, surround sound in living room

•    Intercoms

•     Intercom to girls’ wing and office area

•    Integrated systems

•     Total home control systems integrating the above; i. e., an LCD console user interface in the kitchen, which functions as an intercom station, gives you full control of the music in your home, allows you to set various scenes (dimmer for a dinner party, brighter for preparing meals or cleaning up) setting lighting and music volume levels. You can even operate it from your smart phone inside or outside your home.

 

The next consideration is whether to go wired or wireless.  Although wireless appears to be the wave of the future and is less expensive, it’s not yet very common in the U.S., especially in residential use.  (It is a good option for home renovation, however.)  We’re opting for the tried-and-true hard-wire systems.  Although they cost more up front, we’ll always have the fallback.  Wire is cheap and easy to install in a home under construction.  At the show, we especially liked Legrand and Lutron.  They both have excellent sites if you're interested in all that this technology has to offer.  But we’ll also talk to our own subcontractors who have installed similar systems in most of our custom homes.

The bottom line is, as with our other wish lists, to prepare for the future as much as our crystal ball allows. In addition to wiring whatever we can think of, we’ll install conduit wherever we can imagine a future need.  We’ll start gradually on our wish list and add options as they become available or affordable.

I’m ready to kick back with Jane Jetson and let my house do all the work!  We’ll see how much makes the final budget cut.