Congratulations! You are now in a position where you can afford to bring your dream home to reality after many years of hard work. However, it’s not as easy as you may have previously thought. Reality soon dawns on you that you have zero ideas about how and where to begin.
Sure, you can always choose from real estate listings, but if you have the capacity to build one that meets your needs and wants, then you should consider taking the leap. And once you are ready, start with the planning stage first.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Set SMART home goals.
Just like starting with any major project, it is always wise to set goals. However, it is not enough to say you want a big or a humble home without going into details. Set SMART—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely—goals for your dream home so you can bring it to life.
So, your broad goal is to build your dream home. To make it a SMART goal, consider the following:
- Specific: What type of house do you want? Where do you put it up? What builder should you opt for?
- Measurable: What are the cost estimates? The time estimates?
- Achievable: Have you considered your finances? Do you have a good credit history to back you up? Can you easily take out loans?
- Realistic:How is the current housing market? Do you have a family? Is the travel time to and from work or school feasible?
- Timely: How long is the building process? When do you intend to move?
2. Look for home inspirations.
While you already know what you want, it may be difficult for you to visualize it. Hence, it is always best to look first for inspiration online or in magazines, so you can fully imagine and express what you want in your future home. You can get more ideas if you seek advice from the professionals, such as interior designers or architects.
Also, always refer to your SMART goals. You can find tons of ideas online, and you might get overwhelmed. By sticking to your goals earlier, your searches will be more focused.
3. Decide on your budget.
If you have decided that you want to build your home from the ground up, be sure to reconsider your budget even after you have set it in your SMART goals and decide on it wisely.
Financially speaking, building a house from scratch is more expensive than purchasing one you can find on real estate listings. If you find yourself lacking in financial capacity halfway through the construction, you can always put it off until you have more money, or you can get a loan. However, it is always ideal to have enough money saved to meet the intended completion date.
4. Consider what you need and want in your home.
Make a list of everything you want and need in your dream home. Then, decide on which factors are essentials you could never live without. These are your must-haves.
You can further organize your wants list into high-priority features versus desires that you can reconsider adding later. Knowing your priorities will help the design process move along and focus on your essential items.
Determine what features and fixtures you want in your ideal house and write them down, from sofas in Toronto down to the type of flooring you can get at Capital Hardwood Flooring.
It’s possible to break down your list into manageable and high-priority items and those that you may or may not include in the future. A clear idea of what is most important to you can speed up the design process and allow you to concentrate on the most critical aspects, such as where to get a plumber in Caledon for your plumbing needs,
5. Don’t be afraid to make revisions to your plan.
Dreams are born from plans, but once you’ve set those in stone, it can be challenging to make revisions since it can cause a domino effect on the rest of your plans.
However, don’t be afraid to make such revisions to your plans. In fact, you are encouraged to keep a close eye on your house design ideas to ensure you’ve covered all of your bases. After all, it’s your dream home and should be worth investing in.
Make Your Dream Home a Reality
Things like what design to go for, where to seek funding, and who to ask help from are just some of the many questions you will find yourself asking once you finally decide to build your home. But hopefully, with the 5 steps above, you can finally start making your dream home a reality!