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REAL ESTATE

MONTANA LIFESTYLES
Custom Home-Building Without the Headache

By PHOEBE CHONGCHUA

Building your own home can be a truly rewarding
project and a lesson in frustration all framed beneath
one rooftop. Success and satisfaction can be achieved

by following some simple guidelines. Creating a space
that is unique and “yours” is a fulilling task.
Do your due diligence. If you’re considering taking
on this challenge you’ll want to do your homework irst.
This advice could save you thousands of dollars and
endless headaches.
I interviewed inancial expert Kevin Daum, who
is a co-author along with Janice Brewster and Peter

Economy, of the newly released “Building Your Own
Home for Dummies.” Between the pages of his book is
valuable information that takes you from concept to
dream home and even shares problems and resources.
Most people don’t build their home alone. Less
than 25 percent of those building homes actually at-
tempt to do it themselves; instead most will hire some-

one to handle the construction and oversee the pro-
cess. However, Daum says that many books are geared
toward the owner/builder person who plans to be a
general contractor; he said he wrote his book to ad-
dresses the rest of the population. “The bulk of [those
building custom homes] are going to hire an architect,
hire a contractor because they have to work for a living CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
to pay for it. But they’ve been widely ignored by most of cide what you want to build before you buy the lot: It’s “The point is, when you have a custom home, if you

the marketplace in the books that are out there,” says critical to realize when building your home that the do that extra work and have your contractor check on
Daum.
two main issues, the ability to inance it and secondly availability of certain items . you’re going to know ex-
Here are some important tips to help you custom- to protect your investment, are basically the same is- actly what you’re dealing with and that’s your absolute
build your dream home. Don’t under educate yourself: sue. Matching the size and price of the home you build best remedy against having cost overruns. Pick the
Gather as much information as you can before you dive with the neighborhood can help protect your invest- items before you start,” cautions Daum.
into the process, use multiple sources and ask for plen- ment.
Realize that what you spend may not be what your
ty of advice from experts.
“You’re not going to build the Taj Mahal in a home is worth: “If you go into a million-dollar neigh-
Don’t underestimate the amount of liquidity need- 1,500-square-foot neighborhood because nobody is borhood and you spend $2 million [building your

ed to build a home. “The American public is deeply mis- going to buy it. By the same token you’re not going to home] that does not make that house worth $2 million
guided in thinking that equity is considered cash not build a 1,500-square-foot home in a 5,000-square-foot because people who are spending $2 million don’t nec-
just in construction but in everything; it is very, very neighborhood because if you do that you’re going to essarily want to buy a $2 million house in a $1 million
wrong. It’s a Depression-era mentality that is not appli- spend more money than the property is worth,” says neighborhood,” says Daum.
cable anymore,” explains Daum. “Equity is equity and Daum.
So if you’re ready to go for it, here’s one last bit of
it is not liquid, and from a bank’s standpoint they don’t When designing the house, design the whole house advice: “You’d better be in a really strong marriage and
care how much equity you have. You could have a half- including picking all the materials. Building a home is you’d better be in a situation where that person is going

million-dollar lot that is completely paid of and if you not the time to leave anything to chance.
to give you enough freedom and lexibility to do what
don’t meet their reserve requirements, their liquidity “Spend three more months with the architect, you have to do on the ly because you don’t always have
requirements, you will not get a construction loan,” spend $5,000 more with the architect and spec out ev- time to say, ‘Hey we have to do xyz’; Sometimes you have
says Daum.
ery single detail – every hinge, every doorknob, every to just make those decisions and move forward.” And
New home and neighborhood should be equal. De-
cabinet knob,” says Daum.
then the sky is the limit when building your own home.
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