San Antonio custom home builder blog about building custom homes in TX

Building a home can be a daunting task, here’s a few quick tips to get you off to a good start with your Hill Country home.

Emphasize choosing the right lot

Most people picturing their dream home don’t picture their dream lot, but people moving to the Hill Country often have specific reasons for doing so. Are you hoping for some acreage, longing for anything with a view, or hoping for an active community? No matter why you are looking to build in the Hill Country, be sure to find your ideal place to build with a lot conducive for the home you desire. Some developments will offer “discount” lots that seem like a steal, until you realize the extra expenses required to make it buildable. If finding the right lot feels overwhelming, finding a builder with experience in realty can help answer your questions, avoid potential pitfalls, and help you visualize an empty lot as your dream spot!

Set your budget AND consult the experts

We recommend setting your budget before beginning the design process. Having a preliminary budget is also helpful to give your builder a baseline on what aspects you can afford to incorporate in your home. While having a preliminary budget can help protect you from spending more than you bargained for, we also recommend consulting your home building team on how to specifically categorize your funds. Experts can also recommend how much to include in contingency in case of any problems or potential upgrades. We have found that having a little extra tucked aside can be helpful when you inevitably find a dream backsplash or favorite light fixture that is out of budget.

Balance your personal style with features that boost resale value

While you want your home to reflect your style, keeping a future home buyer in mind can benefit you down the line. Choosing classic color tones, adding a home office, opting for modern light and bath fixtures, and keeping an open floor plan are just a few of the many ways to boost future resale value. With expert experience in both building and selling homes, we are happy to walk you through the process of building a home that you and future buyers will love.

Consider local style

Different regions in the Hill Country can have their own unique flair varying from a mix of rustic, modern, ranch style, farmhouse and more. When building in the Hill Country, consider finding a community with exterior styles similar to your own that still boast a unique, custom feel. This consideration can boost future resale value, as neighboring homes can have an impact on your home value when it comes time to sell.

Choose carefully and make final decisions

As you choose design aspects for your interior and exterior, make your design decisions carefully as changing your mind can prolong the building process. While the many decisions can feel overwhelming, using an interior designer can help you visualize each individual decision and guarantee cohesion in the final outcome. Many home building companies partner with designers for that very reason.

Consider your desire for space and your willingness to commute

It’s a common trend, lots get bigger as you move further away from the heart of San Antonio, or any major city. Do you want room for the kids to run around or the feeling of walking around in your backyard without seeing into your neighbor’s window? Are you craving the community feel of a smaller town filled with character, like New Braunfels, Bulverde, or Boerne? At the same time, it’s important to also consider how long you are willing to drive to get to children’s schools or your workplace. And importantly, where is the nearest HEB? Let’s face it, their tortillas are a staple in any Hill Country kitchen. With the rise of workplace flexibility and bustling small towns surrounding San Antonio, it may be easier than ever to move further out, but it’s still important to consider what your family needs in a close radius to home.

Make a list of your ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves’

It’s important to cultivate a list of what you need in your future home versus things that are simply a nice addition. For one, knowing your must-haves is imperative to clearly tell your builder what you need, both for budgeting purposes and for the actual home itself. Scrolling through endless Pinterest photos of dream homes can leave you with a wishlist that may exceed your budget. Making the prior distinction between ‘a want’ and ‘a must’ can provide clarity when the time comes to choose between features.

Don’t forget outdoor entertaining spaces

Picture this, you move your family to the Hill Country, build your dream home, and realize you don’t have any outdoor space to enjoy the gorgeous hillside views. The horror!! It’s important to incorporate large outdoor features into the budget early on so it can be a part of your overall home loan. Waiting to build a porch, pool, outdoor kitchen, patio or more can sound like a good idea, this means you will later have to pay cash or secure a second loan. This doesn’t mean you need to build the screened in porch, pool, pergola, and outdoor kitchen all at once, but choosing the one you know your family will utilize from the beginning will allow you to have space to enjoy the Texas scenery right at move in. Planning ahead for outdoor space will also leave your home feeling complete, even if there are some big ticket outdoor features that you plan to add later on.

Consider lighting for design and lighting for the sake of light

Including a stunning light fixture can upgrade the feel of a room, but can leave your family in a dimly lit space as beautiful light fixtures often provide less light. To overcome this, we recommend pairing recessed lighting with pendant lighting. This can mitigate this problem and provide ample light in addition to a show stopping fixture.

Where to put the laundry room

Laundry rooms can be upstairs, in unfinished basements, in the garage…. we’ve all experienced inconvenient laundry spots. While simply having one on the main floor is a common option, one of our favorite tricks is to connect the laundry room to the master closet. This may finally be the solution to get your spouse to stop leaving their dirty socks on the closet floor.

Consider how noise will travel

It’s important to consider how noise will move throughout your future home as there are many ways to limit noise. The pitter patter of little feet sounds more like a stampede on the wood floors you insisted cover the second level instead of carpet. Saving on a cheaper, lightweight door may leave rooms less sound proof. Additionally, rooms located off the kitchen, play room, garage and other high traffic places may all be prone to noise and should be considered when planning the layout of your home. With a little forethought and expert help, your home can be built to quiet these everyday noises.

Find the right professional to fill in the gaps

While you may be certain that you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, exactly what you want. There are SO many things that the average customer doesn’t consider. How many outlets does a room need? Which way will water drain on the lot during heavy rain and how do you build to prevent it from pooling inside your new dream home? Our last suggestion is to find an experienced home builder who can give you peace of mind and create your Hill Country dream home.

We hope you feel more prepared for this exciting next step towards your future home.

-The Team at Texas Signature Custom Homes

Have a contingency fund

We’ve all seen at least one episode of an HGTV show where something goes horribly wrong and the budget takes a major hit. The best way to plan your custom home budget is to leave room for unexpected expenses. Here we suggest to hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Your contingency fund can absorb unexpected shocks without hurting the rest of the budget.

Another benefit of having a contingency fund is having a pool to dip into for pieces you really love that exceed budgets. This is crucial when your dream countertop costs more than expected. Having this fund gives you flexibility to splurge without having to deplete other budgets.

Lastly, we recommend setting aside this fund to give you the flexibility to change your mind. As the framing goes up, you may realize that another window is needed for natural light or another change needs to be made. Budget now to give yourself options later.

Make an itemized custom home budget

We all know it is important to have a set budget for how much you are willing to spend on your Hill Country dream home. More importantly, you need to know how much to spend on each category. An itemized budget provides organization, accountability, and clarity for both you and your builder. Without specified categories, it is impossible to track your progress in spending. This make sure you continue to have funds for the many important things in your dream Texas home.

An itemized budget also allows you to make educated decisions and tradeoffs. If you splurge on a dining room light then others need to be substituted to remain on budget. This clarity allows you to make educated decisions as you choose the features in your custom home.

Work with the right professionals

Most of us aren’t walking around with the expertise on what to budget for things like flooring, drywall, and contingencies. That’s why it’s important to find the people who can. The right professional home builder can help set realistic budget expectations catered to your specific budget and style. Even better, a local builder has specialized knowledge on what your home needs to stay cool in Texas summers. They can also help you set the right contingency fund to avoid going over budget. A good home builder considers factors such as your lot, home plans, and design preferences. A builder with years of expertise in the field often finds ways to maximize your budget for your priority areas.

Don’t make every nook “Pinterest worthy”

It’s hard to scroll through cultivated images and not feel the pressure to make every nook photo worthy. In reality, not every corner of your house needs to draw attention. While having your dream home should be a priority, it’s important to focus on focal points in your home. This is easier on your custom home budget as focal pieces tend to be costly, but it’s also beneficial from a design perspective.

Allowing simplicity in some features allows show stopping aspects to stand out, such as floor to ceiling windows of your Hill Country view. When every aspect of a home is cultivated for snapshots, it can become overwhelming and even feel cluttered. A more simplistic approach overall allows show stopping features to be appreciated and can help your home feel stunning, rather than overwhelming.

Make a list of non-negotiables

While this may seem counterintuitive, making a list of non-negotiables can actually help protect your budget. This can help you and your builder have a clear roadmap of priorities. At first, every detail in your Hill Country home may feel like a non-negotiable, but with the many decisions that will be made, you will soon learn that there are many things that you simply do not care about as much as lighting, tile, wall colors etc.

This means that items that don’t fall on your non-negotiable list can be substituted for more cost effective options allowing you to direct more funds to the home aspects that you care more about.

Choose your style before the decisions are made

When faced with warehouses of options for your custom interior, it can be overwhelming, particularly if you have yet to decide on a style for your home. Do you want Hill Country Style, a modern farmhouse, or terracotta tile to incorporate the Mexican roots in the San Antonio area? Without choosing a guiding style, it can be easy to find yourself choosing individual accents that you love that have no cohesion resulting in a chaotic space. Many of the most eye-catching accents also usually come with a hefty price tag.

Deciding upon the style and feel you want for your custom home can help guarantee cohesion and help you decide how to alot your budget. Are the floor to ceiling black paned windows crucial for the style you want? Then splurge! Do you want the look of hardwood floors but are flexible on the type? Then save! Use engineered hardwood that offers the same style for a lower cost.

When designing and building your Hill Country dream home, we know budgeting can be overwhelming. With decades of combined experience in the home building space, our team is here to help with free consultations to help turn your dreams into reality.

Click here to schedule a free consultation for expert help!