You and your family have been dreaming about building a custom home for quite a while now. You may not be completely certain of all the details, but you have agreed on a few things: where you want to live, what kind of architectural styles you prefer, how large you’d like the house to be, and a few more general ideas.
However, when you began the conversation, your first question was most likely, “How much will this cost us?” That’s an important question to ask, but frankly, the answer is also most likely to be, “It just depends.”
Options to Consider When Building a Custom Home
The answer is vague because there are several things to take into consideration when building a custom home. Prices vary depending on how you answer several essential questions: Are you thinking about a two-story house or a ranch home? How many bathrooms and bedrooms will you need – for right now and also for in the future? How many square feet do you want? Do you need a 2- or 3-car garage? Do you want a standard ceiling height, or are you dreaming of a vaulted ceiling? Do you prefer aluminum, vinyl, wood, stone, or a brick siding exterior, or a combination of several of them? What style of cabinetry do you want in your kitchen and bathrooms? And what about your flooring – do you want hardwood throughout the entire house or some carpeting and tile, too? Do you love the look of crown molding or prefer your home to feel more casual? Are you dreaming of quartz countertops in the kitchen, or are you okay with laminate?
When building a custom home from the foundation up, the choices and options you have are seemingly endless. Like it or not, depending on which finishes you choose, and the style and size of the home you want will affect the final price.
It’s also interesting to note that – again, depending on your choices for flooring, countertops, ceiling heights, etc. – it may cost more to build a ranch-style home than compared to constructing a 2-story house, even if they’re the same square footage. That’s because the ranch home has a larger footprint (meaning the basement is bigger). Plus, ranch homes often have better curb appeal and look grander and more substantial from the exterior. For retirees or those with mobility issues, building a custom home without a central staircase is also more convenient because there is additional usable floor space and no restrictions to room access.
The Base Price of Building a Custom Home
Before we begin building a custom home for your family, let’s start by pricing a “basic” home. This will give you a general idea regarding the average cost of building a new house.
Start by thinking of a house that’s not too fancy and not too big. Try picturing a standard two bathroom, three-bedroom ranch home. It should have regular height ceilings and an open floor plan. Let’s say this home offers a 2-car attached garage and is approximately 1650 square feet. Leave the basement unfinished for now but add a small concrete patio of just 10’x10′ (or 100 square feet) outside the back door. The kitchen has laminate countertops, vinyl floors, and there are standard door and window frames throughout the house. Oh, but wait – let’s add a wood-burning fireplace because you’ve always wanted one of those. Do you have it all together in your mind now?
Would you like to attempt a guess as to what this “basic” home will cost? Using the cost-to-build calculator and choosing only “Average Standard Quality” finishes and construction choices (but adding that fireplace), this house will cost you approximately $155 per square foot or about $255,750. Was your guess close? Or were you way off?
Adding A Few Extras, When Building a Home
But what if you want just a few “extras”? Let’s upgrade the flooring to wood and carpet, add some brick to the exterior façade, and raise the ceilings to 9 feet tall instead of just 8 feet. Now let’s put crown molding along the ceiling in the living and dining rooms and expand the master bathroom. So the bathroom appears a little bit fancier, consider a long vanity, double sinks, and a nice big bathtub. What is the cost now? According to the same calculator, the price per square foot has increased to $202.75. So the total cost of this house becomes more than $334,000. Do you see what just happened? Even though you thought you only added or changed a few items, the final price is considerably more.
What’s A Cost-to-Build Calculator?
If you want a general idea of what your custom home will cost, the easiest place to begin is with a free cost-to-build calculator. It’s fairly easy to find this through an internet search (type in “cost to build calculator”), and once you answer some simple questions and fill in the blanks, the calculator will do the rest. It will also give you a cost breakdown and summary.
However, in addition to the cost of building a custom home, it’s also important to remember to budget for the price of a lot, the cost of clearing away any trees or shrubs, etc., on it, and landscaping your yard after the house is complete. If you want to add extras such as a fence, a deck, a shed, or something else, understand that those things will increase your total costs, too. According to the National Association of Home Builders, these extra expenses can add another 20% to 25% to the project’s cost.
Planning Your Budget Before You Begin to Build a Home
Before you get too far into thinking about building a custom home, the first step is to plan your budget. Know what kind of finishes and the quality of materials you want. As you saw, upgrading even a little can make a huge difference in the final cost. To save money, for example, you could have a laminate countertop in the kitchen and upgrade to quartz or granite in a few years. Or you might decide to install carpet in the living room now and change it to wood flooring later. Additionally, you could leave the basement unfinished but complete it after the kids get older. Materials and costs vary greatly, so you can subtract thousands of dollars to the bottom line with just a few changes.
What’s more, prices can and will increase over time, especially due to problems like COVID, when products are slow to arrive or may not be shipped at all.
On the other hand, here’s where building a custom home can get even more interesting. Remember, a two-story home can be less expensive than a single-floor layout, even with the same square footage. That’s because a two-story footprint is smaller. You can save a few dollars here because the basement is not as large; there are fewer cubic feet of poured concrete for the foundation, and fewer hours of labor costs, etc. But what if you don’t want a 2-story home? How can you build your dream home without going way over your budget?
Beware of Misleading Home Builders
Unfortunately, some unscrupulous home builders will quote a low “base price” to lure in unsuspecting potential customers. Then, as the home is built, suggestions are made to “upgrade” a few items, and gee, that sounds like a great idea because it’s “only a few more dollars.” Suddenly the total cost significantly increases. Things such as a pretty chandelier, upgraded flooring, and other décor choices add expenses. Additionally, aspects like sewer laterals, surveys, excavation, and those all-important building permits that were never added to the “base price” (but are required to complete your home) are now included in the final price.
Then there are unexpected changes, surprises, or delays. That means extra fees, too. Now your $255,000 home has become a lot more expensive – almost $80,000 more, to be exact! You never bargained for or budgeted for an amount that high. Now, what do you do?
Jewell Homes Can Build Your Dream Home
Before you give up on your dream of building a custom home, contact Jewell Homes. Jewell Home’s pricing includes commonly “forgotten” costs such as excavation, building permits, erosion control, plan modifications, and driveway and garage stone. They also involve finishing touches like interior and exterior painting, appliances, light fixtures, flooring, and cleaning up the site once the project has been completed.
Unlike many other Southeastern Wisconsin home builders and construction companies, Jewell Homes always gives you an honest price. They won’t keep adding small amounts to the total throughout the building process or “find” hidden costs or surprises. The professionals at Jewell Homes offer All-Inclusive Pricing with real prices for real budgets.
Standard Inclusions With Jewell Homes Prices
For all of their customers, Jewell Homes’s pricing covers everything regarding home construction. This includes things other builders leave out. It also includes as standard features what others consider upgrades. Items such as under cabinet lighting in the kitchen, 9-foot ceilings, energy-efficient HVAC, cultured stone and brick exteriors, custom wall painting, tile floors in baths and laundry rooms, and so much more.
Working with one of the best Milwaukee home builders to create your dream home should be a great time in your family’s life, filled with long-lasting joy and excitement. Ensure your designs and ideas are brought to life with a builder who listens to your needs, implements your desires just as you hoped, with quality materials and craftsmanship, and promptly. Additionally, Jewell can design a home to fit within your budget. Their professionals understand that there is a significant investment to building your custom home, no matter the amount you spend.
Start the Home Building Process With Jewell Homes
The first step in the process with Jewell Homes is to meet with their design experts to discuss your family’s needs, wants, and requirements. This gives the experts a clearer understanding of what you all imagine as your dream home. After that, they’ll explain in detail the work process that will take place to design and build the ideal home to meet your family’s needs.
Jewell Homes’ experts take the time to go over each aspect and detail because they want to make sure there are no oversights and nothing is forgotten. Everything will be covered and discussed at length. Jewell will make sure your ideas and needs are executed perfectly, as well as discussing all available options and help you choose the best ones for you and your family. Because Jewell is a custom home builder, they are dedicated to providing the perfect home for your family, whether you want a small, cozy cottage or an expansive, opulent abode.
Every Detail is Managed When You Build Your Custom Home With Jewell Homes
When you work with Jewell Homes, you know that every detail will be beautiful, and every issue will be managed. They combine their wealth of experience and expertise with design industry knowledge. Once you see the final product, you’ll realize that Jewell Homes has not only met but has exceeded all your expectations. Once the project is done, you can take pride in your new custom home because you know it was built with quality craftsmanship.
Contact Southeastern Wisconsin’s Best Home Builder Today
Whether you want a quiet refuge away from the city, a warm and welcoming home for entertaining, or a place to downsize after retirement, Jewell Homes is here to help. Your newly built house should always be designed with your lifestyle and your family’s requirements in mind. Jewell strives to create an ideal home where you and your family can relax, enjoy activities together or separately, and make wonderful memories to last a lifetime.
That’s why Jewell Homes is the top choice for a custom home builder in the greater Milwaukee community. Jewell earned their solid reputation based on their quality customer service, outstanding professionalism, honest pricing, and their amazing ability to turn your dream into reality.
Jewell Homes can make it happen. Talk to their team and start the process for your custom home with the best builders in greater Milwaukee today!
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