Hire an Architect and he'll help you answer questions 1 & 2. Don't discount the idea of taking an existing house and having it renovated to suit your needs (or even demolished to start from scratch). This might get you into an established neighbourhood, close to schools and amenities. An Architect can actually help you with the selection process.

Go to your financial advisor first. Figure out how much mortgage you can carry and how much equity you have in your current home. When you have an idea of what you can spend then you start looking for an architect.
Start right now. Two years is not that long when you are designing and building a house

Look at existing homes for sale, then add 25-50% for the premium of building new custom and ending up at the same general finish level and square footage. If that number doesn't work, buy existing.

I agree with Maltby, you need a professional on your side quickly. However, whether this is an architect or a builder sort of depends on your location and expectations. For example, in the area of SC where my business is now, mostly projects of the $250,000-$600,000 do not use an architect, they simply work with a home builder to develop a plan they are happy with. Personally, I would never want to build a house of any scale without an architect, as a good one will help you figure out the right details and spaces for your life.

Bear in mind, whether you use either or both, you must have a good relationship with them before it all starts as there will, FOR SURE, be bumps along the way and you want to be able to have honest, frank conversations with your team!

Good luck!

Where I live there are a lot of builders who say they are designer/architects too which they are not!! Hire an architect but let them know your budget. Sometimes renovating is cheaper.

basically 2 houses in 1, multi-generational:

http://nextgen.lennar.com/?utm_source=lennar&utm_medium=homepage_link&utm_campaign=corp_home_card_nextgen

everdebz...

Those look great but I'm not sure if they are the right fit for us. My mother-in-law splits her time evenly between here and her home country and still hasn't decided what she plans to do once she gets to the point where she can't travel.

We're building our forever home and I don't know if I want to make that much space single purpose. I've toyed with the idea of building a pool cabana for her to live in should the lot and funds permit because she won't live forever and after she's gone the space could become a cabana. If we need to sell even though right now we don't plan to it would be easier around here to sell a home with a pool cabana than to sell a home with an attached apartment since the area isn't zoned to allow you to rent out apartments in your home.

You just touched on something very important. Zoning. Not all regions allow secondary suites of any description and some do. An Architect can help you in your property search with the knowledge of what is permissible by local jurisdictions. Get that localized knowledge working for you.

I didn't think on them not allowing an in-law suite at all.

Which is why you need a professional to help you with the process. If an in-law suite isn't permitted, there are other avenues to achieve what you want. An Architect will be able to present you with options based on your requirements and local bylaws.

I spoke with my investment adviser today. He told me how much we can afford to spend on a house. While the amount is quite a bit ($850k depending on how much our current house is able to sell for), it's less than the houses my husband has liked online. The problem is that homes cost more in the area we are looking to move to than we paid for our current home. At that amount we wouldn't be able to afford a house as nice as the one we have in the area we are looking to move to even if we don't build. I need to discuss with my husband which is more important to him, how nice our home is or how convenient the location of our home is. It sounds like we can't have both.

I also need to get him to understand why we need to start the process now if we wish to move into the home 2 years from now. My investment adviser suggested showing my husband a timeline that states what the main custom house building steps are and how long they take. Does anyone know where I can find that information? That way he can see that I didn't just pull the number out of the air but that it will really take this long.

I spoke with architects in February 2013 and wanted to move into the new home in September 2014. They all thought we had a goodly amount of time. We selected our architect and started the process in April 2013. We are now about 6 months behind schedule. So March or April 2015 is the expected completion date. You need to start right now.

You have a number of options. Sophie Wheeler above is pretty close to our experience. If you are in a desirable part of the country figure 50% more than a comparable existing home. I wasn't ready to believe this when we started out.

Architect designed home - if you are talking pool cabana etc etc I am thinking you are not going to get what you are expecting for $850K. I don't know your area at all but in the PNW it costs about $260 per square foot minimum and that is with no landscaping, no curtains, etc. Not including the land either.

If I had it to do all over again I would probably buy an existing home and modify it extensively to meet our needs. I think I would have saved about 20% overall...and at these levels 20% is a lot of money. But so far I am not unhappy...just kind of shocked at the expense of it all.

The other option is a development. The big national developers are in the business of providing what customers are looking for and I have seen a lot of new homes with full service suites in them - around 4K square feet for a reasonable price (comparatively) and decent but not exceptional finish quality.

Best of luck!

I mentioned a cabana before I knew our budget. I thought our budget would be higher. If we sold our home for what Zillow claims it's worth then budget will be a bit higher. I don't want to assume that though. As for developments, there really aren't any options that would work for us right now other than ones where you buy the lot and build your own home. I've seen a few spec home options for those neighborhoods advertised by builders but none of the homes met our needs. The homes being built with downstairs guest rooms have a whole bunch of stuff added on that we don't want or need such as wine rooms or exercise rooms. It's wasted space and cost add ons that don't provide value to us.

http://homebuildingsmart.com/build-on-your-lot/

http://buildonmylot.com/

http://www.naturalbuilthome.com/

Similar to ADU’s, Laneway Houses, or Alley Dwellings, are small residences in the back yards of single-family houses, but they are on their own lot. This usually involves an exhaustive zoning and permitting process of subdividing an existing lot, to create two independent lots, with the smaller lot usually accessible from an alley. A dwelling with its own address can then be constructed new, or existing infrastructure can be rehabilitated....
http://intentionallysmall.com/tag/backyard-cottage/


600-square-foot "casita"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/aging-in-place-housing_n_1231255.html

prefab firm Modern Cabana to create a pared-down modular project
http://www.sunset.com/home/architecture-design/sunset-prefab-modern-cottage

details!
http://www.incinolet.com/

tcufrog - you are the EXACT reason my company exists - By Design Custom Home Concierge. PLEASE visit my Pro Page here on Houzz and from there you can click on the tab that will take you to my website for additional information that I think you will find is right on point. I'm located in Austin but have also lived in Dallas so I'm familiar with your area.

Since I last posted I've been busy. My husband and I have set a lot budget for lot and (hopefully) lot improvements. I've secured financing as well for the lot that is well above what we wish to spend.

We've narrowed our search for a lot down to two neighborhoods. The lot prices are about the same and the neighborhoods are across the freeway from each other. Both neighborhoods have homes already built that are that within the same price range and both are (unfortunately) gated. Other than those similarities they are very different which is making it difficult for me to choose between the two.

The first neighborhood is almost completely built. The lots are half the size of the second neighborhood but the neighborhood has a community pool and a small playground with a small fishing pond next to it. I've heard the pocket park is a real draw for neighborhood kids. That appeals to me since I have a 7 1/2 and 3 1/2 year old who are disappointed that they don't currently have neighborhood playmates. We will be moving in 2 years so I wouldn't be surprised if the neighborhood is finished by the time we move in. The HOA is strict about approving plans which annoys me but I do like the fact that they are making sure that the homes going in are a variety of building styles and aren't all cookie cutter. This has made for a very attractive neighborhood. My husband is concerned that the lot size available within our budget will make it difficult to build exactly what we want.

The second neighborhood is newer and has a bit of a Hill Country feel with it's landscaping which appeals me. The homes are further apart and the lots are larger. We would get twice the lot size for the same price as the other neighborhood but this one doesn't have the community pool or park to help my sons make friends. The neighborhood is much newer and although most of the lots are sold most are still empty so I have no idea how many kids my kids' ages in the neighborhood. With the homes so far apart I'm concerned it will be harder to meet the neighbors. I did find a very lovely lot though that's well below our budget even with improvements. There's no way we could find such a nice lot in the other neighborhood.

I am torn. Should I go with community feel and amenities but tight lot or spacious lovely lot but possibly no neighborhood playmates for my kids? What issues have I failed to consider?

I would love to not build in an HOA but there a no lots available in neighborhoods that don't have them. We've looked at already built homes and can't find any that will work for us.

What about getting a home in a good neighbourhood with good lot that comes close to your needs and renovating?

What size are the lots in both neighborhoods? Sounds from your description that you like what the smaller lot neighborhood offers for your lifestyle - neighbors closer together - community almost completed - pool & parks for your kids. Remember, when you take your kids to the pool or park, you will meet new friends too. When looking at the smaller lot, be sure you know what the front, back and side setback lines are - that is the box that you have to stay within for your home.

What spurred us into building a home was our need to find a home near our sons' school with a decent backyard and downstairs mother-in law suite. My mother-in-law lives with us half the year and probably will eventually move in full time. Since we couldn't find on close to the school already built we looked for one with a large enough lot to add a suite. Every time we tried to on the plans add one in a way that made sense we lost the backyard.

As a last resort we're building.

Thanks for the set back advice. My husband nixed one lot in the smaller lot neighborhood because it looked like the front setback was too great but I didn't think about side and back ones.

To address your question about how long it takes to build - a true custom home will take about 8 months from slab pour. How long does it take to get to slab pour? Depends on what is necessary in that neighborhood to get a building permit and the OK to start. Another factor before getting to permitting is "plan design". Some clients take a few months in plan design - others can take up to a year. It depends and everyone is different. One thing is certain - be sure you have your team together before you start designing your home. Architects will draw what you ask them to draw - they don't necessarily know what it costs to build the home they are drawing. I've seen people who have gone to an architect or plan designer - get a home drawn - then send the plans out to 3 builders to bid only to find out that the home they love, they can't afford to build. I promise you - take aways in your new home that you just finished designing is a bad start to what should be a fun and exciting time - building YOUR custom home. That's the main reason I started my company - to guide folks through the process, help them put the right team together for their project AND have fun along the way.

I am leaning towards the neighborhood with the amenities but my husband quite rightly is worried that lots will be too tight. We might be able to get a 1/2 acre lot in the smaller lot neighborhood but all of those lots are owned by specific builders already so we have to hope that one of them is owned by a builder we like. The other neighborhood has lots as small as .67 acres but the lot I've fallen in love with is a little over 1 acre. It has a slight slope on one side but it's still far enough under budget that we can pay to deal with the slope and still stay under budget.

I've interviewed to 3 design-build firms so far and given them each a 3 page list broken down into 3 categories: things we agree we need, things my husband thinks we need and things I think we need. I've gotten size estimates from them between 4,000-5,500 sq ft and between $120-180 sq ft. One big unknown is how big the mother-in-law suite is. My husband wants to one with a kitchenette but I want a smaller one without a kitchenette and instead have the kitchen better configured to accommodate 2 cooks. He also thinks we need a larger garage than I think we need. I'm working on reining in my husband because he keeps coming up with cool, new expensive ideas to add to the house. It's like he's building his Barbie Dream House with an unlimited budget which we don't have.

I'm just interviewing design-build firms who promise seamless communication and budgeting between the builder, architect and designer. I live 30 minutes from where we're looking to build and a preschooler home part-time so the thought of possibly juggling 3 different interests who aren't either getting along or communicating well doesn't appeal to me.

Hi,
You would be well served to make any offer on a lot contingent on the outcome of a 60-day study period. During the study period your designer/builder can research constraints such as zoning, architectural covenants, etc., produce a preliminary plan, and produce a preliminary estimate of the cost to build the home on the particular lot you've selected. If things don't work out (e.g., the home is over budget or you find that you and your husband can't agree on a design) you can walk away without having to purchase the lot.

Best wishes for a successful outcome.

@Charles Ross Homes - that is a very good idea. I wish I had done that.

I really like the 60 day study period. I just need to figure out the builder issue. The problem is that the builder that I've interviewed that I like best so far isn't approved for the neighborhood and I'm not sure how long that process takes or how difficult it is. The lot we like best in one of the neighborhoods is listed by a real estate agent who originally listed all of the development's lots and my agent's husband is good friends with him. If we choose that lot hopefully that means he will be easy to work with and will get information to us quickly.

I will ask my realtor if she can get some of this information before we meet with her next Wednesday to look at lots. She's already forwarded us the HOA agreements for both neighborhoods.

A lot has happened since I last posted. Last week my husband and I went with our realtor and looked at the two neighborhoods. We decided that one neighborhood that I liked had lots that were small enough that building on them would be stressful. We decided to reject it even though it has some great community amenities. The other neighborhood is landscaped in such a way that you feel like you're in the Texas Hill Country when you drive through. It's gorgeous.

When we drove through together my husband fell in love with a lot at the end of a street that I had rejected because I was worried would be too much work. After he described his vision I fell in love with it too. It's not the standard flat rectangle blank slate lot. It's an odd shape with a slope along the back. It's a 1.7 acre corner lot with a huge stand of trees at one end. When you're among the trees you feel like you're in the woods and we can imagine our sons playing in there. There's also a dry creek bed or drainage ditch running through the lot that we need to get examined. The lots across the street are wooded and have all been bought by one extremely wealthy person. We looked up the owner on the local appraisal district website. It's multiple acres and we suspect that they will build an estate behind the trees. We plan to find out. If that's true our view out of front door will be gorgeous.

I made an appointment with my favorite builder for my husband and I to look at the lot and a few back up lots tomorrow. It turns out that one of the architects he uses approves the plans for the neighborhood so he's going to ask him before we meet if he's seen plans for the lots across the street. I like the idea of using the architect who approves the neighborhood plans because I don't have to worry about our plans being held up during the approval process since I doubt he'd design something he couldn't approve.

It turns out that this builder remembers this lot and loves it enough that when he was considering building a spec home in the neighborhood he was planning to buy that lot. He knows my lot budget and thinks we can afford the lot improvements needed to build since the lot price is so far under our budget. He thinks the lot is beautiful for the same reason we do and thinks we can build a unique home there. He recommended a 30 day study period with a 45 day closing. During that time he wants to have the lot inspected by a civil engineer since it's not a standard lot.

I was really excited after speaking to him since another builder I spoke to about the lot thinks it's a poor choice since it's not an easy lot to build on. When I drove through the neighborhood with him he was steering me towards boring standard lots.

Not an easy lot to build on = much more exppensive than a standard build. Just be prepared with a healthy contingency fund.

The lot costs $189,000 although the builder thinks we can get it for less. Our lot budget is $350,000. The goal of the 30 day study period is to find out how much of a problem the lot really is and how much it will cost to get it ready to build on. Because this lot is a challenge we have also picked out some other lots in the neighborhood that will be easier to build on. They all cost at least $50k more than the lot we love and are about 1 acre. They also don't have the beautiful trees so we will have to budget for that as well.

I chose this builder because he has chosen to stay small and focus on building only a few custom homes a year. The builders I've found are much larger and I think I will feel like a number with them. Lately he's built everything from 2,5000 to 10,000 sq ft homes. One of his focuses is energy efficiency which appeals to me and he offers some things standard such as foam insulation that are upgrades with some other builders I spoke with. He also seems to have given careful thought to some of the unique issues we have in the area. For example, one upgrade he offers is to ground your home since one of the major causes of house fires around here is lightning strikes. He also offers hail resistant shingles since hail damage is a major problem around here. None of the other builders brought up such practical items during my meetings with him. That appealed to me since I'm a very practical person who can't be wooed solely by being showing shiny finishes.

Be wary of creek beds. I don't know where you're located, but in my area a creek bed (dry or otherwise) has the potential form requiring riparian studies and special setbacks dictated by various environmental considerations. Not say this is necessarily the case with your lot, but it might be worth speaking with the local building department to find out the potential implications. It's always good to know the legal and zoning limitations imposed upon a site by the local building authorities prior to making a final decision. What might look like the ideal lot can, once environmental considerations and zoning setbacks are considered, end up resulting in a less than ideal building site. Again, check it out with the building department to be certain.

I have no idea if it's a dry creek bed or a ditch. Will the engineer be able to figure that out? If not, who do I need to have take a look to tell me? If it is a creek do I need to have a local inspector out there in advance to tell me what my restrictions will be because of the creek bed? If not an inspector, who?

Like I said, visit your building department (usually located at the City or Town Hall). They should have all the information on file. They'll be able to tell you if it's a creek bed or not and if it has any implications for developing the property. Property owners aren't always forthcoming with this information, particularly if there are restrictions. Before buying any property that you plan to develop or renovate extensively, it is always prudent to check with the building department to see if there are any restrictions in place that would limit how you build.

You need federal info. Like are there wetlands? Seasonal streams can still be considered wetlands. What does the flood map look like? Are you within a 100 year flood plain? 500 year flood plain? 50 year flood plain? Does the lot have enough *buildable* elevation above the stream to not have to deal with that? What about access to the buildable area? Would any drive encroach on areas that cannot be encroached upon? Is this septic or sewer? Enough room for a leach field or utilities access? Rock that has to be bla$ted for a foundation? Lots of items to do your own due diligence on. Don't trust a real estate agent or builder to do that due diligence. It's on your shoulders as to whether you're purchasing the site of an too expensive to construct home or a completely unbuildable lot.

Hi,
Sophie's provided good advice. You would be well served to hire a surveyor to produce a physical survey of the property including zoning designation, delineation of the allowable building envelope, any easements, resource protection zones, flood zones, other restrictions, etc. that way you have a document produced and sealed by a licensed professional to fall back on. Ditto for a geotechnical engineer to sample the soils on the property and specify the type/depth/reinforcement required for footings. If you need well and septic you'll need to find professionals to advise you on those, too.

Just a quick comment on living in a HOA. It has it's good points and bad, but at least people have agreed to maintain their property in a certain condition, and you can complain if they don't. Not that the HOA can do a lot, but hoarding is becoming a major issue in our society with the junk overflowing into the driveways and yards as in the case of my neighbor. I've had to complain several times, and they've done what they could to get her to clean the place up. The best thing that has happened is that we were incorporated into the city so their code enforcement rules apply, and the CE officer has finally 'convinced' her via huge fines to not use the driveway as her garabe dump, and to mow her lawn to control the vermin.

Hi! We're in the process of building right now! In fact we just broke ground. If you're interested in checking out a real life, real time build, you can follow us on our website: ourcustombuild.com. It's still a baby site but we'll be adding content as we go. So far, the number of decisions is mind-numbing but it's fun! Good luck with your project!

If you still need financing, I can finance 100% of your construction costs given that you have equity in land or future equity in the project. Call me to discuss 916-223-4257

By the way, I can only do loans in CA, NV and AZ