Are you dreaming about building a custom home but you aren’t sure it’s a possibility for you because you don’t have a huge budget? Guess what … this is just one of many myths about building a custom home that is swirling around.
What if I told you that you can, indeed, build a cute and cozy little custom home that is perfect for YOUR family (without blowing your budget)?
It’s true.
Welcome back to the Before You Build Podcast! I’m your host, Carrie Barker (a.k.a. Caroline on Design), and today in episode 45, we’re going over three common myths about building a custom home.
Possibly you’re thinking one (or more) of these things yourself.
Let’s go ahead and dive right into 3 common myths when it comes to building a custom home.
MYTH 1: A CUSTOM HOME HAS TO BE LARGE
The first myth is that a custom home has to be large.
Let’s debunk this myth right away.
A custom home does NOT have to be large.
Have you ever watched an episode of ‘Tiny House, Big Living’ on HGTV?
I don’t even know if this show is still on, but if you’ve watched any ‘tiny house’ show, you know what I’m talking about.
These little, tiny homes are packed with custom details.
They are far from large, but they are the epitome of a customized home with details that improve and enhance the way the family will live in their tiny home.
The same principles apply to any size house.
You’re likely not building a tiny home, BUT this example illustrates that a home can be custom at ANY size … from 200 sq ft to 20,000+ sq ft (and anywhere in between).
MYTH 2: A CUSTOM HOME HAS TO BE ‘FANCY’
The second myth is that a custom home has to be ‘fancy’.
Again, let’s look at the tiny home example.
In the past, I watched many episodes of ‘Tiny House, Big Living’ and never once did I see a tiny home dripping in ‘fancy’ (aka, incredibly ornate) details that you would see in a mansion on ‘Real Housewives’.
The reality is that when you’re building a custom home, you can incorporate any type of design that makes you happy … whether that’s ‘fancy’ expensive details or just simple architectural details that make your brand new home look like it was built in 1920.
The beauty of building a custom home is that you can morph all of your favorite details from several different homes together to create YOUR dream home.
Together with your builder (and/or architect), you can design the perfect (‘fancy’ or simple) custom home for your family.
MYTH 3: A CUSTOM HOME HAS TO BE EXPENSIVE
The third myth is that a custom home has to be expensive.
This might be the biggest myth of all … and it’s not even true.
A custom home does NOT have to be expensive.
Granted, many custom homes *are* at a higher price point but this isn’t a requirement.
Once again, we’re going back to the tiny house example.
I’ve rarely seen a budget of over $100K (and many are in the $40Kish range).
These are highly customized houses with a very small budget.
Obviously, tiny houses have very little square footage, but it just goes to show that custom homes can come in a wide variety of price ranges.
THE KEY IS TO CREATE A REALISTIC BUDGET (AT ANY PRICE)
I teach my clients inside my ‘Before You Build’ Program how to create a ‘realistic’ budget that they can actually stick to.
We go through this work before they determine how large and expensive their custom dream home will be (or can be).
When you’re working with a custom home builder, you’ll have the opportunity to customize your home to YOUR budget.
Your builder (psst … hire an experienced one!) will be able to tailor your home square footage and finishes to fit into your specific ‘realistic’ budget.
This will, of course, require you to make some compromises and you may not get every custom detail that you want in your dream home, but you’ll get your absolute must-haves AND still stick very close to your dream home.
NEXT STEPS
I hope you now believe that you CAN, indeed, build a cute and cozy little custom home that is perfectly functional for the way YOUR family lives (without blowing your budget).
Your custom home doesn’t have to be large, fancy, or expensive in order to have fun details that really customize your home and make it all your own.
If you’re dreaming about building a custom home and you’re a little freaked out about making design mistakes or just completely blowing your budget, you will NOT want to miss a *FREE* on-demand training that I’ve created for you.
I’m teaching ‘3 Simple Steps to Build a House You Absolutely LOVE … without blowing your budget’.
I’ll also teach you the exact step-by-step process that I teach my clients inside my ‘Before You Build’ (BYB) group coaching program (just so you know … this simple 4-step process completely transforms my clients’ entire home build experience!)
