Have you been dreaming about building a custom home but the process is so intimidating you
just don’t even know where to begin?! Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with this blog post. In
it we’ll walk you through the custom home building process step-by-step. All the way from the
day dream to the finished product! Let’s get started.
Step 1: Set your budget.
Okay, okay, we know, we said that we would start with the day dream but you guys have
already got that covered! So let’s bring you back down to reality for a minute and talk numbers.
You need to know what you can comfortably spend. Don’t worry about financing yet as that’s a
different step.
Make sure that you know what your big number is and then you can work with a custom home
builder, like us, to figure out how much to allocate to each item like land, construction, finishes,
etc.
At Radiant Homes, we work with our clients to generate what we call a budget study. This is a
document that gives you a 30,000 foot overview of the costs of the home you explain to us from
your day dream. This is a completely free consultative process that lets you know what we can
deliver based on your budget.
Step 2: Get drawings of your home design.
The next step in this process is working with an architect to design your home. Or, if you have a
home that you already love, like our Marigold Model home for example, we can use those plans
as a starting point, which ultimately can make the design process a bit more efficient.
If you have already established a relationship with us at this point, we can get you in touch with the architects we work with and can advise on which architect would be a good fit based on the style of home you prefer. We can engage the architect and make sure that they design the project with your budget in mind.
If you work with an architect first, they may design a home that meets the plan you have in your day dream but when it comes to constructibility, it might not meet your budget. So then it’s back to the drawing board, literally.
Step 3: Get a bid.
Once the plans are done, we get to work preparing a bid package for your project. If the Budget
Study was 30,000 feet, this is the microscope view. Our intention here is NO surprises.
We write up a bid that includes detailed prices for woodwork, doors, stairs, wall finishes,
cabinets, lighting, plumbing, flooring and every other detail of the home.
Let me give you an example: We don’t just write out $3,000 for lighting. We tell you specifically
what type of lighting fixtures you can get for that dollar amount. How many and where they can
go. We break it down room by room. This is where we engage our interior designer in the
process so you have a professional to support you through the process from start to finish.
We plan it all out up front so that you’re not 10 weeks into construction realizing you’re going to
have to spend an extra $5,000 on flooring. We’re fun and all, but we’re really aiming for NO
SURPRISES.
Step 4: Execute a construction contract.
Now it’s time to sign on the dotted line and turn this dream home into a reality!
This is where we’ll work out the terms for financing. There are multiple scenarios for
construction financing, and each client should consult a professional lender to explore the
options that are best suited for their situation, but simply put: we can finance the project and
you’ll simply buy the home from us at the end OR you can take out a construction loan from
your financial institution, which will convert into a mortgage at the end of construction, and
finance the project yourself.
All the pros and cons depend on each client’s individual situation. For example, one client may
want to support his financial institution of choice or another may be able to get a very good
interest rate. It’s 6 one way, half a dozen the other.
Step 5: Construction begins!
Now we’ve broken ground and we are taking the plans and the finish selections and turning it
into real life. Because our motto is ‘no surprises’ we have a detailed schedule that we follow that
has scheduled walk-throughs on it.
We invite our clients to join us on these walk-throughs and be a part of the process. We
constantly send updates via text and email to the clients. Kind of like when your daycare sends
pictures of your kids!
Step 6: Our team guides you to the finish.
One thing that makes Radiant Homes unique is the team of experts we have on each house.
We have someone on site every. Single. Day. We do not leave your baby in the hands of sub
contractors who might not know the ins and outs of the design plan. We are there every day,
making sure the project moves along, on schedule and on budget.
Our team consists of the following rockstars:
Project Manager: This is a high level manager who makes sure the project meets the clients
needs and fits their budget. Then these guys make sure this project will have the time it needs
with all the other projects we have going on. Our project managers are David and Josh.
Project Superintendents: The supers are key to our process. They are on the job every day,
hammer in hand, making sure it gets built the way YOU want it to. They are the eyes and ears
of quality control. It’s not unusual for Andy or Jayme to be walking around and touching up
paint, listening for creaks in flooring or talking to subs making sure a fireplace gets installed
correctly.
Architects: We have relationships with some of the most talented architects around. We have them involved in the design process and then engage them throughout as needed.
Interior Designer: We engage an interior designer early in the process before we’ve even sold a project. The interior designer helps cast a vision for the home, and, by engaging them early, we don’t have to spend time catching them up on things. This also helps ensure that the budgets we are setting for home finishes are in line with the overall design goals of the project.
Step 7: Close on your dream home!
After that last nail has been hammered in, and the paint has dried, it’s time to do our final walk
through and hand over this beautiful home to you.
We have a punchlist that we look at with the homeowner and do the final walk through together.
We make sure everything is PERFECT. Then we sign the paperwork, you get the keys and a
binder with all your warranties, owner’s manuals and all the information on the extra special
items in your home.
Congrats; you just built a custom home! And you can count yourselves as one of the special
few that have a home which not a single other person in the world has. We think that’s pretty
cool!
If you have any questions about our process or are interested in building a custom home,
please reach out! Remember, our budget study is a free consultation! We would love to help
cast a vision for a home that is designed for the life you’re building.
About our contributors:
David Reid is the President of Radiant Homes. He believes in working tirelessly to ensure that you see your home lift off the paper and become a home designed specifically for the life you are building. He also wants it to be a gratifying and enjoyable experience.
“When we hand over the keys, you will have a Radiant home or lake retreat that is unique to you and your family, and built within your budget.”
Each project is a piece of art and David wants it to be the homeowner’s masterpiece.
