Take a minute and picture your dream home. What features does it have? What does it look like? What special little details would you include in the design? To truly see your dream home become a reality, nothing compares to building a custom home. 

As rewarding as it can be, building a home from the ground up is challenging and complicated (annoying how those things usually go hand in hand, right?). That’s why it’s important to know what to expect to keep things moving as smoothly as possible. 

Building your own home is a special and exciting adventure. Though rewarding, the building process can also seem like a daunting experience with many challenges – but it doesn’t have to be. Don’t know where to even begin? Good news – the Maramani team is here to help!

The more prepared you are, the easier the process will be. These smart tips will guide you in the right direction and help you to avoid many common mistakes when building your dream home (and keep your sanity intact) and actually enjoy the process. 

Determine your budget

Determining the budget is step 1 because you can’t start saving if you don’t know how much you need, right? So, here’s our expert opinion; begin by meeting professionals like an architect or a quantity surveyor because they could give you an accurate budget and costing for your dream house. This will help you determine what you can and can’t afford. Once you figure out your budget, you can go from there. You never know, you may be able to afford a bigger home than you thought!

Purchase land / look for a home site

Goes without saying, you need to have a piece of land or lot to build your dream home on. This will help you decide how big (or small) of a house plan you need to buy. After your land has been purchased you can start searching for your dream home plan.

Check local building codes

As you are looking around for the perfect place to purchase land, a key factor you should keep in mind is the local building codes of the said area. The practice of developing, approving, and enforcing building codes varies considerably among nations. The purpose of building codes is to provide minimum standards for safety, health, and general welfare including structural integrity, mechanical integrity examples include; sanitation, water supply, light, and ventilation etc. 

Find a house plan that you love

There’s a reason why we recommend purchasing land before looking at house plans. This is because it’s important to choose a house plan that fits the characteristics of your land. It’s better (and cheaper) to make the house fit the land rather than try to make the land fit the house. Also, the size and shape of your piece of land affects the type of home you can build on it.

Additionally, finding a house plan that fits your lifestyle is one of the most important parts of this process. It’s hard to narrow the search down to JUST ONE design when there are literally thousands to choose from. Most plan searches begin with the square footage or the number of bedrooms that are desired. You can also limit the results to an architectural style (or look at house plans with specific features).

Here are some additional factors to consider when looking for the the best house plan for you:

• Do you entertain often?
• Do you have pets?
• Do you have children or plan on having children in the future? 
• Is cooking something you love to do? 
• Do you work from home and need an office space? 

All of these questions will help you determine what kind of floor plan (open, small, big, one-story, two-story, outdoor living, etc.) will be most fit for your lifestyle.

Customize Your Dream House

Sometimes you will identify a house plan that totally matches your style. However, sometimes you may find a great exterior but would prefer some changes to the floor plan or measurements. Companies like Maramani will modify the house plan to match your expectations. With the expertise of our design specialists, you can get a full spectrum of design change options. They range from enlarging or reducing the total square footage of a plan to changing a roof line or foundation type. Depending on the scope of the changes, edits can be made to the existing plan or the plan may need to be redrawn.

Cost to build

How much will this plan cost to build? This is a popular question with many homebuyers. House construction costs are dependent on where the house is built, the level of finish (tile, trim, window quality, etc...) and the site. Maramani offers you a detailed “cost to build” estimate calculator. Our cost calculator is unlike any other, it even allows you to view 3 different prices at the same time [basic, standard, luxury] depending on your  budget. However, it's only visible to Premium Members. So what are you waiting for? unlock this and many other additional perks of a premium account such as access to floor plans, priority phone and email support as well as full access for a year, by signing up here

Finding a contractor

Chances are you now have a vision for your perfect home, have a design picked out and now comes the other challenging bit: finding a contractor who will embrace that vision and, most importantly, bring it to life. Try to determine not only whether each contractor is a good match for you, but whether you are a good match for them.

We highly recommend you take your time with this step, as is it what determines the final results, so no pressure at all. Here are some tips that might come in handy:

• Ask friends, relatives and co-workers for references
• Interview at least five contractors
• Check licenses, complaints and litigation history
• Check references
• Read online reviews
• Sign a detailed contract
• Get the proper permits
• Don't pay more than 10% of the project cost before the job starts

Now, go forth and start on your dream house journey. 

If you are looking for modern, readymade house plans at the best prices, then check out our wide array of customizable house plans. Don't be shy! Visit Maramani.com to actualize your dreams!