Avoiding Common Issues When Building a Custom Home

Ensure Your Custom Home is On Time and Within Budget

2021-08-31Updated: 2022-09-02 Helton Construction

With the current state of the home market, buying a pre-built home just hasn’t been an option for many people. From higher building material prices to low inventory, existing homes are becoming increasingly harder to get. For those that find a home to buy, they often have had to offer way more than the original asking price just to beat out competitors. This may leave you paying more for a home than it’s worth.

You are now considering taking on the task of having a custom home built instead. There will be plenty of decisions to make and things can get off track at some point along the way if you aren’t prepared well enough. If you go in equipped to deal with these unforeseen issues, you will rest easy knowing that your custom home is being built with quality, on time, and within the budget parameters you expect.

At Helton Construction, we want to make it easier for you to overcome any barriers to getting your custom home built. We’ve put together a road map to help you navigate the most frequent issues that can present themselves when building a custom home.

Design/Budget Misalignment

When your budget doesn’t allow for all the bells and whistles of your design, the solution is to scale back. How would you do that?

In truth, the best way to resolve this issue is to steer clear of it altogether. Oftentimes, homeowners design their custom home without ensuring that their plans and budget match. This can be incredibly frustrating once they finalize their plans and receive a hard estimate for their home that exceeds their desired budget.

Helton Construction has many quality home designs available that are both desirable and affordable. Throughout the home building process, if the home design and budget begin to veer off the expected path, the inconsistency will be caught quickly and corrected before it's too late. 

Helton Construction will work together with you to create a perfect design plan by evaluating your priorities then guiding you on where to compromise, where to splurge, and which materials and/or design elements will maximize value. This critical phase is to ensure that your budget and selected design are in sync and will help prevent budget flaws or the need to make undesired design compromises later.

Permit Delays

There are two things to know about home building permits. The first is that Helton Construction will take care of all new home construction permits and inspections from the local entities that have jurisdiction over where your home is to be built.

The second thing is that securing permits can be a time consuming task. This is frequently because of the strict regulations involved in issuing them, but by maintaining contact with us about permits and upcoming inspections, you’ll know what to expect and who to communicate with if there’s an issue or delay with any inspection. 

Material Selection Delays & Lead Times

Cabinets, hardware, flooring, countertops, sinks, fixtures are among needed materials to order early in the home building process. Helton Construction will give you a selection sheet with specific deadlines so that you know what to focus on. It can take weeks or even longer for orders to be satisfied, and occasionally materials are out of stock. Without the required materials, your custom home could be delayed. Having them available before they’re needed will help keep our timeline on the right course.

During this part of the process, you might be thinking, “this is overwhelming!” Give yourself plenty of time to consider your wants and needs, ask us questions, do plenty of research, and make your decisions. We’ll be there to help you through it all.

Unexpected Costs and Delays

Even the best-laid custom home plans can face unexpected costs and delays. Before beginning construction, talk with us about how much to budget for in case of unforeseen costs and what else might come up in the process. Delays happen for all kinds of reasons and can impact the construction of your home. Just as you did with your financial budget, give yourself enough room in your process timeline beyond the allotted delivery date.

The best way to get ahead of these unexpected inconveniences is to look at our Pre-Construction Services. This option involves a small investment up front so we can do the planning and design work UP FRONT, to make sure you get what you want. You’ll have complete clarity on what you’re going to get and how much it’s going to cost BEFORE any work starts. You’ll also have a chance to give us a test drive to see if you even like how we operate. And you’ll only make a small commitment and write a small check up front.

This combination makes for a thorough understanding of what the project consists of and keeps a tight budget with a tight timeline . Also, by doing all the necessary planning up front, we may be able to save you enough money to offset the cost.

Hassle-Free Custom Home Construction

Because so many different things can go wrong during home construction, it’s important to work with a reputable builder, like Helton Construction, that you can trust. Wendell Helton is a second generation home builder who has been in the industry for over 55 years. He has residential, commercial, and industrial construction endorsements and believes that "Quality over Quantity" is the best approach to building your new home.

Choosing Helton Construction will keep you always one step ahead of any possible issues with getting your new custom home built. Talk to us today about building the custom home of your dreams.