Choosing The Right House Plan
Everybody would like to live in a mansion or a sprawling ranch but there are many factors to consider when choosing a house plan. There are also a few pitfalls that can be avoided by doing your homework and making the right choices.
Before you commit to buying a stock or custom house plan, you should know how much of a house you can afford to build. A good place to get this information would be the bank that you might use to get your loan from.
Once you know what your budget is, you can determine how much house you can afford and pick a house plan that fits that budget. One way to accomplish this is to call several homebuilding contractors in your area. Ask them what the building costs per square foot are. Not all contractors are willing to volunteer this information, but you will find enough of them that are willing to help at the prospect of gaining a customer.
With this information you will be able to determine the square footage of a house plan you can afford. If your budget is $200,000 and the cost per square foot is $100, then a 2,000 square foot home is in your budget($200,000/$100= 2,000).
Another consideration is the size of the lot you intend on building your home. You don't want to invest in a blueprint for a house that won't fit on your lot. Check with your municipality or county on the distances you must have between the building and the lot lines. Most have rules on how much backyard you must have and how much your house must be set back from the street or building line.
Some towns and subdivisions also have what are called covenants. These are rules that dictate what you can and cannot build. Some of these covenants might include the minimum square footage house you can build, brick or frame construction, minimum roof pitch, and types of building materials you are allowed to use.
These are some of the important things you must consider. Building a new home the biggest investment you'll ever make. Doing a little homework will keep you from getting an unwanted surprise and wasting time and money on a plan you can't use.
(c) 2005 Mike Merisko www.sawkerfs.com
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Don’t Relapse After Rehab. Sober Living Housing Can Help
- No Relapse! How a Sober Living House After Rehab Can Help
- Tips For Growing Beautiful House Plants Even If You're A Beginner
- How To Buy An Older House And Save A Fortune
- Sober Living-a Transition for Joining Back the Society
- Kappa Kappa Gramma: Senior Housing on College Campuses Attracting Lifelong Learners
- Great Idea Coming from the House
- Sober Living Los Angeles




Clorox Coupon - Free Printable Clorox Coupons
By: Newsbandit | 10/11/2009Easily save money by using printable coupons and getting your Clorox Coupon to take to your local store.
Save Your Marriage By Sharing Your Feelings
By: Wink Farrand | 10/11/2009Learning how to share your feelings with your spouse or significant other is critical to saving your marriage or relationship. This is not something you can learn from an article or book, it's more like learning an instrument or a sport. It cannot be done alone, but must be practiced with someone else.
7 Reasons To Never Use A Moving a Uhaul or other rental truck
By: Shawn Banks | 10/11/2009Thinking a bout doing a self move and renting a truck....think again
Candy
By: Michiel Van Kets | 10/11/2009Christmas is coming. It is time to get those old boxes down from the attic or up from the basement and check what you have left from past Christmas holidays' that is still in working order. Many of us when searching through the box of Christmas decorations find that some...
Double Jogging Strollers- A Great Way to Banish New Baby Jealousy!
By: Jack Patterson | 10/11/2009Regardless of how eagerly your older child may have awaited the arrival of that new sister or brother, when the baby finally arrives, it's only natural for there to occasionally be a little bit of sibling competition. Even if Big Bro or Big Sister doesn't feel a whit of jealousy toward the new baby, though, it may still be quite an adjustment for an older sibling to adjust to having an addition to the family. You can help the adjustment and bonding process, while getting ...
Care of Bonsai Trees - Taking The Pruning Knife to Your Plant
By: Christine McKinnon | 10/11/2009It's a scary thought taking a knife to your bonsai tree for the first time. While it's necessary for the proper care of bonsai, it's not something that should be done without careful planning and a little know-how.
Christmas Presents
By: Sammy & Mags | 10/11/2009The True Cost of Christmas is often only counted when Christmas is over, yet for some girls and boys they live the nightmare
Foods To Eat When Pregnant: What Are The Correct Pregnancy Foods?
By: Roger Noonan | 10/11/2009Every pregnant woman wants the very best for their child, with her immediate concern being that her unborn child will develop normally over the nine months of pregnancy, and is born happy and healthy. What is comforting for the mother-to-be is that with a little research and application on the correct foods to eat when pregnant, she is taking a significant step in the right direction in ensuring the health of her unborn child.