How to Build a House in Texas

In recent years, Texas has become one of the nation’s most preferred places to build a home. Texas is now in preference of those who want to start a family or settle in this beautiful southern state.

The explanation is simple. People are attracted by the lifestyle, weather, culture and affordability. No matter where you want to build your home, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi or Beaumont the same written or unwritten rules apply anywhere.

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As everywhere in the world, building your house begins well before starting foundation excavations.  Financial preparation is extremely important even crucial in this process.

In fact, every step is important and must be weighed carefully. However, building a house is the biggest investment of your life.

DETERMINE YOUR BUDGET

You need to know that the overall cost of a new house vary greatly from state to state due to several factors such as:

a) The cost of land;
b) The cost of building permits;
c) The cost of house building contractors;

You can have an estimated cost of your new home using a “Construction Estimating Software”. However, the overall cost depends a lot on the quality of materials used in the house construction especially in finishing.

Therefore, it is a smart idea to add a buffer percentage to your budget, representing contingency and expensive finishes. You need to determine how much you can afford to spend and do not forget the golden rule that stipulates, “A mortgage should not exceed one third of your monthly earnings”.

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DETERMINE YOUR NEW HOME LOCATION

Choose the land you want to build before starting to find a building contractor. The land and grade changes will influence the design and layout of your new home. This will affect significantly the building contractors’ price.

However, choosing your new home location is an extremely important step and you must carefully weigh each aspect. In fact, several important factors should be considered such as:

a) Is this location close to work, shopping and schools?
b) Is this location a quiet location? Is it far enough from any highway, railway or major roads?
c) How much are the local taxes?
d) What kind of development is stipulated for this area in the near future.

MAKE a LIST OF BUILDING CONTRACTORS

Now after you have bought the land, it is the right time to choose the contractor.

Start making a list of building contractors who work in this area. You can search for information online. There are many websites that can help you such as “AmericanBuilders.com”, “BuildingOnline.com” or “Reals.com”.

However, there are several others methods to determine which is the appropriate building contractor for you. Ask your friends, your future neighbours maybe they can help you with some information. Surf their websites, visit model homes or request brochures. Gather how much it is possible, information on each building contractor reputation, experience, price range, etc.

It is not a bad idea to contact building contractors who built similar houses with your house. Ask them for a price per square foot. However, the general contractor will usually assign the work to subcontractors or other members of his team.

NEGOTIATE the CONTRACT

This is one of the most parts of your project. It is critical to be extremely careful.

DO NOT agree any job to be done without a written contract. There are so many liabilities in this profession and it is unlikely to get a quality work for your money.

Therefore, you need a written contract sign and dated by architect (designer) and building contractor. This contract must describe everything in detail and must include a listing of all factors and features included in the project.