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House PlansLet me say right off. If you have house plans your in love with, and you plan on staying in your home for a long time, then it really does not matter which house plan you pick. That is the beauty of living in America, we are free to pursue that which makes us happy. However, if you are looking at your home as an investment and may need to sell it in the next 5 years, then you definitely need to take some things into consideration before picking a plan. SIZE: If you are in the country, then this does not matter all that much. Just make sure you have at least 3 bedrooms and preferably two bathrooms or at least 1.5 baths. If you are building in a subdivision, in town, or in some other kind of development, then size of home should be a major part of deciding on a design. One of the biggest mistakes I see is people choosing house plans that are much bigger or smaller than their neighbors homes. Obviously, the larger the home is that you build, the more it costs. If you are building a house that is much larger than the houses around you, then you will most likely need to sell it for more than the houses around you. It is not good to have the most expensive house in a neighborhood or subdivision. First of all, statistically, people who purchase in subdivisions do not want to stand out to much from their neighbors. It is usually harder to sell the biggest home in a development. Secondly, they are more difficult to get financed. This is because banks like to make loans based on the average sales price of the homes in your neighborhood. This can hinder the loan process for the purchaser. The bank will require more proof of worth than they normally would(an appraiser is charged with proving the value of your house). If that proof can not be found, then the lender will require the purchaser to put more money down. I have seen it many times, homes that are larger than the ones around them tend to get bogged down in the sales process. Building a house that is too small can also be a mistake. Again, people tend to want to be in similar types of houses when purchasing in subdivisions. Many people feel there is a stigma associated with homes that are the smallest in a subdivision. They don’t want others to think they couldn’t afford a bigger house. Obviously that train of thought does not apply to everyone. I am simply stating that a small house could also get bogged down in the sale process. In general, it is better to build a house that is similar to the houses around you. AMENITIES: This is another area where mistakes are made. People upgrade their homes so much that there is no way they will be able to get their money back out of them. For example: Lets say you installed granite counter tops, Brazilian hard wood cabinets, and marble flooring in your home. If most of the homes in your subdivision have laminate counter tops, oak laminated cabinets and tile flooring in them. You will probably not recoup the amount of money that the upgrades cost. So do some research and ask your realtor and/or builder if they know what types of materials were used in the homes around you. It is no problem to upgrade here and there, but don’t go wild. EFFECTS: There are many house plans that make for an impressive exterior presentation of a home. Some have all sorts of gables and peeks making the house look huge and majestic. Usually however, they are empty. They simply lay on the existing roof. Again, this is fine if you are looking to make a statement with your home. But from a practical stand point, there are better places to spend the money. You may be able to make the home a little bigger with that money or finish a room in the basement. There are many house plans that look, in my opinion, equally as nice but have no wasted space. Just something to keep in mind when choosing a house plan. Ask the builder if any of the peek are “lay on’s” or empty space. He will be able to tell you by looking at the plan. STORAGE: Most architects are designing wide open floor plans these days to give the home and open and airy feeling. I love them. The drawback is there is very little storage in these homes. Lack of closet space is becoming and ever increasing problem with these plans. The fact is we all have stuff and too much of it in some cases. This is a problem most people don’t realize they have until they start moving in. The next thing you know, most of your stuff is stacked in a corner of the basement where it is hard to get to. So keep storage in mind when you are looking at house plans. FUNCTIONAL: You will want the home to be functional. For example, you don’t want to have to walk out the kitchen and around to the other side to get to the dining room. In addition, functionality may be owner specific. Perhaps you have needs or wants that others may not think of. In general, study the floor plan. Imagine where your furniture will be. Imagine yourself walking from room to room with all your belongings in them and make sure the layout of the floor plan will work for you. If it doesn’t, talk to your builder before you scrap the house plan. There are a lot of modifications that can be made to a design without jeopardizing the main structural supports of a home. FUTURE ADDITIONS: Generally this is not an issue. You build the size house you need and if you outgrow it, you move. But if you think you will need to add on to the home some day and you don’t want to move, then you need to pick a plan that will be conducive to an addition. Tell your builder your needs when your looking at the plan. If you think you will need an additional bedroom and/or bathroom, ask him how difficult it would be to add them. Also consider the basement. If you think you will want to make a nice living area in the basement down the road, then you need to address some issues while it is being built. If you want good head room, then you will want your builder to make the basement 9 or maybe even 10 feet tall. If you think you will want a bathroom in the basement, then have the plumbing stubbed in at build time. I can assure you that it is way cheaper to have it done at build time as opposed to trying to add plumbing after the basement floor has been poured. We could be talking thousands of dollars. You may want egress windows installed in the basement for future bedrooms. Make sure you discuss all future needs with your builder or architect so you can choose the right house plan. ENERGY EFFICIENT: Talk to your builder about energy efficient options. There are a lot of them. You can have 2x6 walls so you can have more insulation in them. There are exterior barriers for the walls and roofs that help insulate a home. There are furnace amenities that can help keep heat loss and energy usage at a minimum. There are numerous things that can be done to help the efficiency of your home. Check out this link. It has a lot of detailed advise to making a home energy efficient. HOME LOG: If you are just in the planning stage of building a new home, then this would be a great time to start a home log. Keep a list of things you like about your home, the things you don’t like, and things you wish your home had. This will help you zero in on your needs and wants which in turn will help you pick a house plan that is right for you. By the way, no plan will be perfect. People always say they would have done a couple of things different if they were to build tier house again. You are not striving for perfection, you are just trying to get as close to it as you can. Good luck! If you have any questions about house designs or any other question pertaining to new construction, please don’t hesitate to
contact me.
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