How to Budget for a New Home



The cost of building a new custom home plans varies wildly according to where you’re building, your specific lot, the size of your home, and it’s features and finishes. HomeAdvisor puts the national average at $286,277 – but customized and high-end features in high-demand areas can push this average up to $700,000 with ease. So, how can you budget for a new home? Here are some guidelines from a leading NJ residential architect.

  • What can you afford? This is the ultimate deciding factor, so take a good look at your savings, assets you may sell (for example, your existing house) and what kind of loan you would qualify for at your bank. A good guideline for loans is that they should not exceed 25% of your stable monthly income.
  • Square foot costs. Square footages usually refer to heated areas of a home (so, not the basement or garages). Find a home that is similar to what you’d like to build – same area, same size, etc. – for comparison. A sales agent will be able to give you information on the square foot costs for that home, which you can then use to get a rough estimation of the costs for your own.
  • Make a list of costs and estimates: Take your total budget in the first column and start filling in potential expenses – the square footage of the home you want to build with the estimated cost on the comparison house, the cost of the lot you want to build on, permits, architectural fees, and extras you’d like to include that are different from the comparison home (chef’s kitchen, in-ground swimming pool, etc.).

 Have a buffer. Unforeseen costs can and do happen in almost every home building project. Often, these can be prevented by going through a very thorough planning process with your home architect and contractors, but they can’t always catch everything. Sometimes, owners want small changes and modifications while the building is in process or decide to splash out on a different building material. Regardless, it’s best to have at least 10% of your budget set aside for these contingencies, so you don’t have to compromise on your dream or stretch your finances to breaking point when they come up.

 Your Residential Architect – Your Best Home Build Planning Resource 

 With 20 years of experience, the architecture firm of Seth A. Leeb knows that the secret to creating outstanding homes is building a great client relationship. As a full-service architectural firm, we are able to assist our clients all the way from site analysis and design conception through the construction of their home itself. For more information on our custom residential architecture services in New Jersey, please contact us today or visit our website at https://leeb-architecture.com/

Original content posted on https://leeb-architecture.com/how-to-budget-for-a-new-home/

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