Wondering what you need to know before building a custom home?
I imagine you probably have questions.
Lots of them.
This is completely normal—and honestly, it’s a good sign.
The people who ask questions up front are the ones who end up building homes they absolutely love, without regrets and without blowing their budget.
So whether you’re just dreaming about building or you’re actively interviewing builders, this episode is for you!
I’m going to answer the most common questions I hear from first-time custom home builders—the practical stuff you need to know BEFORE you start building.
BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ IS A GREAT FIRST STEP!
But real quick, I want to let you know that doors to my BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ program are open RIGHT NOW through next Monday, February 9th.
It’s the ONLY step-by-step framework that takes you from feeling overwhelmed to confident before you ever break ground.
AND … it guides you through building a home you absolutely LOVE … and is very close to budget.
Doors are open only twice a year to the public, and RIGHT NOW happens to be one of those times. (just sayin’!)
So if you’ve been considering joining BEFORE YOU BUILD℠, now is YOUR time!
Listen to this episode or read the blog post below.
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Ready to confidently build a house that you absolutely LOVE … without blowing your budget? Doors to BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ are open RIGHT NOW! JOIN BYB NOW!
What to Know Before Building a Custom Home
Let’s start with the big picture question …
What do you actually need to know before building a custom home?
Here’s my VERY short answer …
PLANNING BEFORE BUILDING IS ESSENTIAL
You need to know that it is ESSENTIAL that you PLAN, PLAN, PLAN for every aspect of your home build … BEFORE you even think about breaking ground.
There are four specific areas you really need to focus on (and we’ll cover these in this post), because these four things literally affect everything else.
They affect how close to budget you’ll come in.
They affect how your entire home-building experience will go.
They affect how much you’ll like the finished product (i.e. your completed house).
So the most important thing to know is that you PLAN strategically and intentionally before you break ground.
What Is the First Thing to Do Before Building a House?
The first step is to clarify your vision for your home in crystal clear detail.
Most people think the first step is interviewing builders, but it’s not.
You need a solid vision of your future home BEFORE you start talking to builders.
Why Vision Before Building Is Important
Here’s WHY you need a solid vision before building.
If you don’t know what you want (like truly want), there’s no way you can explain it to your builder.
You might have a vague idea of what you want, but if you can’t tell your builder ahead of time (before getting a quote) that you want painted, custom, inset cabinetry in your kitchen (for example), your builder won’t know this.
And consequently, your construction quote will NOT include these much more expensive, highly customized cabinets.
So boom, right there, you’ve already gone over budget because you’ll be making a change order in the future when you realize your cabinet quote is way too low and doesn’t reflect what you actually want.
What happens when you don’t have a clear vision before building?
When you don’t have a crystal clear vision of what you want, and you can’t verbalize it to your builder, you can’t rely on the quotes you get.
You can’t create a realistic budget from a vague vision and vague quotes.
Not to mention, you’ll be forced to make quick decisions in real time while building if you don’t have an idea of what you want before you start building.
I’m not saying you have to know the exact product before building, but you need to know, for example, that you want solid wood flooring or quartz counters.
Otherwise, you might be quoted for lower-end products.
The first step is getting clear on
- How your family actually lives day-to-day (not how you wish you lived or how it looks on Instagram)
- What spaces you need and why
- What your non-negotiables are versus nice-to-haves
- How you want each room to function
- How you envision living in your future home
- And of course the design materials you want (not the exact product, but the materials)
When you have a crystal clear vision, that vision becomes the filter for every single decision you make moving forward.
When Is the Right Time to Start Planning?
So now you know that you need to be super clear on your future home vision before you get quotes.
And, believe me, this takes time.
It can take a lot of time.
So the best time to start planning for your custom home is much earlier than you probably think.
Most families assume they’ll figure things out once they have a builder or once they’ve finalized their floor plan.
But by then, you’ve already missed the most critical planning window—the time when you have the most control over decisions and the least amount of pressure.
Planning early allows you to:
- Research and interview builders without feeling rushed
- Make thoughtful design decisions instead of quick choices
- Create a realistic budget based on YOUR priorities (not just your builder’s estimate)
- Avoid costly mid-build changes that happen when you didn’t think something through ahead of time
If you’re thinking, “But I’m not building for another year—isn’t this too early?”—the answer is NO.
EARLY PLANNING IS YOUR SECRET WEAPON
The families who plan ahead feel SO much more CONFIDENT and IN CONTROL throughout their build.
They have less stress, come in MUCH closer to budget, and have WAY fewer regrets.
If possible, spend at least 6-12 months planning before you break ground.
Side Note: I plan to build in the next 18-24 months, and I’ve already started preliminary planning. My Instagram collections and Pinterest boards are full of design inspiration and ideas … and as soon as I find land to build on, I’ll kick into high gear for planning.
WHY NOT PLANNING BEFORE BUILDING IS A BIG MISTAKE
Not planning is a BIG mistake.
BIG. HUGE. (sorry, ‘Pretty Woman’ reference)
This is a big one, but I also see other mistakes people make before building a house.
I see these on repeat, and they lead to significant budget overages and regrets. 😳
What Are Common Mistakes to Avoid Before Building a House?
Of course, there are mistakes like designing your home based on trends rather than timeless design that YOU love, or rushing through your decisions, or not adding a little contingency (10-15%) for unexpected expenses.
But … these are the two BIG mistakes that almost always lead to significant budget overages and design regrets.
Mistake #1: Assuming Your Builder Will Think of Everything
Builders are experts at construction—not mind readers about how you want to live.
They need YOU to show up with some idea and clarity about what your future home will be.
If you don’t tell them you need little extras like you need several outlets in your pantry or that sight lines to the playroom matter, for example, they won’t know.
A good builder will help you think about this a little bit, but it’s up to YOU to design a home that works for YOUR family.
Your builder will build what you tell them to build.
So it’s important you tell them (or show them) in detail what you want.
Mistake #2: Not Having a Realistic Budget
Most people take their builder’s quote as their budget and assume it’s what their house will cost.
But that estimate might be for builder-grade everything.
What about the upgraded countertops you want?
Or custom lighting?
Or solid hardwood floors?
These cost extra—and they add up fast.
Things become ‘upgrades’ when you decide on them in real time while building.
YOUR PRIORITIES SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN YOUR BUDGET
When you know what you want up front (before you break ground), your priorities are incorporated into your budget, giving you time and space to eliminate less important items.
The key to creating a realistic budget is knowing where YOU should splurge and save BEFORE you ever start building.
The good news is that BOTH of these mistakes are 100% avoidable when you PLAN intentionally and strategically from the very beginning.
What is BEFORE YOU BUILD℠?
And that’s exactly what BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ helps you do—it gives you a clear, step-by-step plan that helps you:
- Clarify your vision in crystal clear detail (so your builder can see it too!)
- Hire the best home builder for your project (hello, good building experience!)
- Create your realistic budget (that you can actually stick to!)
- Design a floor plan layout that is perfect for the way YOUR family lives, and
- Build a solid design foundation that will serve as your beacon and guide for every single design decision you make
Doors just happen to be open RIGHT NOW (through Monday, February 9th).
They’re open to the public twice a year, and right now is one of those times. 👏
BYB TAKES THE GUESSWORK OUT OF PLANNING!
Here’s the thing … there’s no guesswork about how to plan strategically and intentionally when you follow the BEFORE YOU BUILD BLUEPRINT℠.
I’ve laid it all out for you … step-by-simple-step … with plug-and-play workbooks that you can directly upload to your Google Drive and start planning with intention.
Custom AI Home Build Coaches (Say What?!)
And I’ve just added custom AI home build coaches that are specifically trained by ME with MY BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ frameworks and coach the SAME way that I would coach you.
That’s 24-7 coaching from AI me … it’s there when you need it (even in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep and your mind is swirling with home build confusion).
This is a brand new tool and is only available inside the BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ program.
So if this clarity and guidance sounds good to you, I’d love to have you join us inside!
GET ALL THE BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ DETAILS!
Planning Before Building is Important
Whether you join BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ or not, here’s what I want you to remember:
PLANNING AHEAD MATTERS. 🙌
The people who take time to clarify their vision, create their realistic budget, choose their builder carefully, and make thoughtful design decisions end up with homes they absolutely love … and, bonus, they’re very close to budget.
The people who wing it and hope for the best?
They’re sending me emails freaking out because they’re $200K over budget, or they’re thinking about all the things they wish they had done differently as soon as they move in.
YOU get to choose which story YOU want to be in.
ELIMINATE THE GUESSWORK + JOIN BEFORE YOU BUILD℠
If you’re ready to build with clarity and confidence—if you want a proven system that eliminates the guesswork—I’d love to welcome you inside BEFORE YOU BUILD℠.
Doors are open RIGHT NOW through next Monday, February 9th.
Let’s make sure you build a home you’ll love for decades. 😘
Ready to confidently build a house that you absolutely LOVE … without blowing your budget? Doors to BEFORE YOU BUILD℠ are open RIGHT NOW! JOIN BYB NOW!
