Pre-Built vs. Custom Design: Which Home is Right for You?

Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or moving into a larger space, you have probably thought about designing your own house. Before you break out the blueprints, though, you should weigh the pros and cons of custom design against purchasing a pre-built home.

Custom Time Factor

Building a custom home is time-consuming and requires you to stay in your current home or find another living arrangement during construction. This is great if you can do this, but sometimes you have to sell your current home to afford the new one. A pre-built home is move-in ready so you won’t have to rent an apartment or stay with friends or family for the duration of construction.

Building Costs

If you custom design your own home, you get to create it to your exact specifications. However, you also pay individually for materials, including the ones needed to ensure the house is up to current environmental and building codes. It could get more expensive if you factor in any changes you make during the process. Companies who design and build new homes “in bulk” usually get a discount on materials, meaning you could see cost savings in the purchase price.

A Sense of Community

If you like the feeling of moving into a well-established community where your kids can ride their bikes with friends or walk to school, a pre-built home will likely have been built in exactly this type of neighborhood. On the other hand, if you like space and want a larger yard or a bit of distance between you and the city, a custom home allows you to purchase as much or as little land as you want and be as far away from city traffic as you’d like. Whether you choose to design a home to your specifications or to purchase one that is already built but never lived in, each offers its own pros and cons. Either way, be sure to contact a reputable company such as Hamlet Homes to avoid costly mistakes.