Our TOP TIPS for building your forever home
Building your forever home is one of the most exciting processes to go through! We love talking with bright-faced prospective homeowners. They are always full of ideas, questions, and itching with anticipation! There are many moving parts when it comes to creating your forever home. To help with the information overload (that is sure to come if it hasn’t already), we have put together our 4 top tips for building your forever home.
Make your forever home a Superhome!
Now, we don’t mean a house with a red cape flapping victoriously in the wind. No. A Superhome is quite literally that, a SUPER home. A Superhome is one that has been thoughtfully designed and built with careful consideration to the impacts and experience of the inhabitants and the long-term effects on the environment. This means implementing features and materials that help improve the health and well-being of you and your family and save you money by lowering ongoing household costs. Some of the key elements you will see in a Superhome are supreme airtightness and ventilation, hydronic underfloor heating and solar heating, earthquake resilience. You can read more about how to achieve this on the Superhome website.
Hire the right people!
Hiring the right people is a major factor in setting yourself up for success. Having a team of people around you who know their stuff and understand and appreciate your ultimate goals and desires makes a world of difference. Some members of your dream team you will be spending HOURS collaborating with. So you want to be sure that there is mutual respect and a shared vision of the project. If you’re planning on something quite specific, it’s often a good idea to research and meet with niche specialists. They are specialists for a reason! Our number one tip for building out your dream team is to ask for referrals from friends, co-workers, and the existing people you are working with to build your forever home.
Assess your budget and finances!
It’s time to get your sh*t in order. Understand your financial situation and create a STRICT budget. Likely before you get to the building phase, you will have spoken to your bank and mortgage lender. Understanding where you are with your finances and creating a budget that reflects that is crucial to developing a realistic plan of action and enjoying your home once you are settled in there! Don’t forget to add an “UH-OH” section to your budget! 😉
Get sustainable!
Building sustainably is not just good for the environment, but it’s actually great for you too. Many sustainable features that we implement into home designs lower your average living costs by reducing your energy bills! By harnessing the natural power of the sun (hello solar energy!) and implementing passive features into your home. Many eco-friendly building materials actually have a longer lifespan than artificial materials, reducing the need to maintain and renovate your house so frequently. This also helps to cut down on the HUGE amounts of construction and demolition waste that is sent to landfill each year.
What’s your TOP TIP for building a home??