We’ve all dreamed of building a home—well, having someone else build it for most of us, that is!—and currently in Omaha area there are really great options available in newly developing neighborhoods all across town. Building a home is a chance to customize everything, from the floor plan that suits you best to the materials and color palettes you prefer all the way down to where the outlets are placed in the bathroom (it’s important!) and the accent hardware. Choosing the right professionals will ensure that at the end of the journey, you are living in the new home of your dreams!
Financing Your New Dream Home
When planning to build a home, you’ll not only be working closely with a general contractor but also with an experienced financial professional who will lead you through the financing process each step of the way.
The process starts with getting pre-approved for long term financing. Once that is in place, it’s a matter of having the discussion with the builder to determine who will be taking out the financing for the new construction and putting together a contract. If the builder takes out the construction loan, the banker will work to get the buyer approved for a purchase transaction once the house is completed. If the buyer/borrower takes out the construction loan, the banker will work with them during the construction process and get them prepared to have their long term financing set up as soon as their house is built. Upon completion of the construction, the banker will ensure that long term financing is in place and coordinate to pay off the construction loan.
At the start of the process during pre-qualification, the lender will look at the buyer’s credit, down payment, monthly obligations, income, etc. This will allow the financial institution to determine not only if they can get the client approved for financing, but even more importantly, to make sure that the client is comfortable with their new house payment obligation. This is essential since this monthly payment will likely be around for about the next 15 to 30 years.
Furthermore, mortgage rates continue to be at or near record lows. It seems most of the talk around the industry is that the Federal Prime Interest rate may soon be increasing. While not directly linked to long term mortgage type rates, this will usually coincide with mortgage rates increasing at some point in the near future. As far as resources go, usually an interest rate ‘lock’ can be taken out around 60 days prior to the completion of a newly constructed home.
There are benefits to both building a new home as well as buying an established one. The most obvious advantage to building is that you are assured to get the features, and floor plan that you want. However, when it comes to building, you may not be able to build in a neighborhood that is close to the area of town that you want to be in based on location near schools, work, shopping, friends and family, etc. As far as costs go, it can be more expensive to build than to buy, but not always. The initial costs to get into a new construction may be higher, but chances are there should be minimal expenses when it comes to repairs, decorating, and general upkeep. With an existing home there will likely be the need for replacing the roof, windows, utilities, etc. With a newly built home, everything is built to current code, and therefore should be less expensive to heat and cool. Most people do not realize that Homeowners Insurance is typically less expensive on a newly built home as well.
Although construction loan rates will vary from one lender to another, usually the difference is minimal. Always keep in mind that the typical construction loan process is approximately six months long and during this period the customer only pays interest on the balance that has been drawn upon. Do not get overburdened with the construction loan itself–the bigger financial impact will come with the long term financing. As such, look for a lender that has your best interests at hand for the long term.
Making Big Plans and Assembling Your Team of Professionals
You’ll want to start out by doing your research as to exactly what you are looking for, what matters most to you and what can be sacrificed, your budget, and you’ll also want to check out the work of the various architects, general contractors and home builders that can be found all around town. This way, when you narrow it down to who you will meet with, you’ll be better able to discern who will be the best fit for the job.
Real estate agents are very educated on the current local housing market, making them another great resource that can provide helpful advice and answer any questions you might have if you are making the choice between building a home or buying one. They are also well connected in the industry and can provide great referrals or may often times also represent a local builder.
Once you’ve made the decision regarding the land you will be building on, you’ll need to have someone map the defining characteristics of the property that will impact the entire project.
“The most popular services from our company for new home building are topographies and boundary survey certificates,” explains Toni Montana, owner of Land Survey, Inc. “Before you can grade or stake for a new home, you have to know where your property corners are and the grade of the lot(s). It helps determine how to place the home on the property, for walk-outs, where to place the driveway, and how the house will ‘sit’ within the property. Other things to consider are: Can we work around existing trees? How should the front of the house align with the street? Are there other barriers that need to be removed or considered with the current architectural plans?
When it comes to property lines, the two main things to be aware of are where they are located and that they MUST be certified by a professional, licensed surveyor. This is critical, because you definitely don’t want to be in any later phase of home building only to learn later that the property lines are ‘off.’ That would be financially draining. There is no need to skip this critical step. Most regular residential surveys cost less than $400, and when comparing that security and knowledge to the money you are investing into your new home, it’s a no-brainer. Make sure you are working with someone (a contractor, surveyor, engineer, etc.) who has previous knowledge and experience with EACH step from beginning (design/location) to the end (dream home complete).”
She adds, “Building a new home is exciting! Make sure you surround yourself with professionals who you trust, who have notable experience (do thorough background checks), and who are just excited about your new dream home as you are!”
Establishing Curb Appeal With Exterior Features
The ability to customize everything about a home when building also extends outdoors to the landscape of the property, which will transform from a blank slate to a beautiful, established landscape with the help of the professionals.
Especially when starting from scratch, you’ll want to plan your landscape with both short term and long term goals in mind. The landscape should reflect the home owner’s personality, for example, whether you choose lots of color with a free-flowing landscape or opt for a structured formal landscape. When considering a new landscape it is beneficial to look at least ten years into the future and then work backwards from there. For example, if you have a young family or are planning a family, should you leave a large open area on the property for that impromptu neighborhood football scrimmage, large family gathering or elaborate swing set? If not, then you can confidently move on to establishing tree placement. Since the growth of a tree to maturity may take several decades, the proper placement of trees is very important. Once the priorities are set, a budget is discussed and the work begins.
“I strongly advise incorporating your landscaping professional as early in the planning and design stages of your new home as possible,” advises Brandy Prettyman, owner of The Grounds Guys of SW Omaha. “This way you have extra eyes on the project, particularly those of someone who has a background in horticulture and grounds maintenance as those professionals know exactly what to look for and what conditions are necessary based upon the exact specifications of the landscape that you want.
The final grading of the property will also have a huge impact on your landscape—unless planned accordingly it might not be conducive to sustain what you have in mind. For example, if you are building at the bottom of the hill you’ll need to incorporate features in the design so that a lot of run-off during storms will not dramatically affect the landscape in any number of negative ways. You may not be able to incorporate the plants that you want or you could end up with drainage pathways through your property that will kill the grass too. Working together with your general contractor, a landscaping professional can assist in devising a solution for optimal grading to fit your desired landscape. So it’s not only important for the homeowner to work closely with their landscaper, but also for the landscaper to have an open line of communication with the builder to make sure you get the home of your dreams, inside and out.
Too many times we get brought on later in the project once the house is built, and while we can propose creative ways to get around any issues that are present, you may be stuck not getting exactly what you had envisioned for the landscaping of your dream home. Building a home offers the opportunity to get exactly what you want in all areas, but the right steps need to be taken at the very beginning and on throughout the process to get to the end goal of a gorgeous landscape with plenty of interest that fits your style, vision and future maintenance requirements.”
The strong trend toward outdoor living spaces continues to grow every year, with the addition of outdoor kitchens with pizza ovens, fireplaces and grill inserts, and so on. The other popular trend is outdoor lighting. Architecturally designed cast aluminum path lights and spots with a variety of finishes can enhance the nightscaping of any landscape. Like the modular constructed kitchens and fireplaces, lighting systems have been transformed from the do-it-yourself plastic fixtures whose bulbs burn out what seemed like weekly to attractive LED units whose bulbs last fifteen to twenty years with a properly designed system. Of course when starting with a blank canvas, as a new home, these features can be planned in advanced, budgeted as necessary and constructed as needs and budgets allow.
When planning for the installation of the landscaping and exterior features you want to be prominent on your new property during the building phase, it’s important to consider the resulting curb appeal of your property in addition to the short-term and long-term maintenance of your landscape that will be required and whether you will be able to handle that on your own or if you’ll need assistance. It’s also essential to be aware of the longevity and durability of the materials incorporated in the prominent exterior features and any future upkeep of them that will be required, which will generally depend on how much they are used.
Incorporating Technology and Energy Efficiency
When it comes to building a brand new home, there are a lot of new trends and technology that can be incorporated. This includes far more options to go green and to remotely control your home’s systems.
Pat Killeen, owner of Engineered Controls, offers his expertise on incorporating technology to control your home’s systems:“When it comes to building a new home, Engineered Controls has plenty of expertise to assist homeowners and residential HVAC and Electrical contractors with products/systems that will meet their comfort and energy needs, their security and video security needs and finally their home automation, or otherwise referred to as Connected Home, needs for today and well beyond into the future.
By partnering with a home heating and cooling technology partner like Honeywell, Engineered Controls has the ability to assist in the selection, design and installation of the home technology products that fit your needs. From award-winning wireless thermostats and zoning systems to control your home heating and cooling comfort system, to whole-home humidification and air filtration systems to improve a home’s indoor air quality.
When a homeowner is looking to enter into the security and home monitoring services arena, Engineered Controls is prepared to assist homeowners with proven security and monitoring technology to give them the peace of mind they are looking for. From state-of-the-art wired or wireless sensors that detect movement indoors by unwanted intruders, to digital video security where you can view live, streaming video in and around your home.
Furthermore, when a homeowner has their sights set on a having a complete home automation system or Connected Home, Engineered Controls has the customer technology know-how to package the best-in-class products/systems that will bring your home to life with a customized solution that allows you to take control of your entire home. In addition to the previously mentioned home heating and cooling comfort controls and in-home security systems that provide peace of mind, Engineered Controls can show homeowners how to control home lighting systems; control the access in and out of their home with wireless lock control; operate the window shades in their home for optimum ambiance, privacy and security by raising and lowering shades at specified times; and add home entertainment options to provide high quality home theater with a touch of a button. All of these home automation systems can be viewed and controlled in your home on touchscreens, televisions, tablets, smartphones or PCs.
Finally, Engineered Controls can offer unique service to pull this all together called Total Connect. Total Connect is an amazing interactive program or app that allows the homeowner to monitor and control their home automation system from a free web based account designed for a PC, tablet or smartphone. The Total Connect service essentially gives the homeowner a wireless virtual keypad that you can take anywhere. Some of the system functions available with Total Connect are remote access to home automation features to control Z-Wave® technology for lighting control and scene selection, wireless locks and thermostats. With a Total Connect account you can view full digital video of your home’s activities when you are away from home at work, on vacation or where ever you are!
When considering trends in our industry, two things are developing. From the narrowed perspective of just the new home market, it would be the Connected Home concept. From a wider perspective, the next mega-trend is the Internet of Things or simply IoT.
Connected Home Concept
In the not-too-distant future, homes around the world are going to become smarter and more and more connected places to live. This was evidenced in January (2015) at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where the Connected Home was one of the hottest topics discussed at the show. Although the drive to create a smarter and more efficient home increases daily, it is driven by mobile devices interacting with numerous connected objects and devices, the momentum to building (creating) home devices to appeal to more than just the high-income market.
Home automation devices such as smart thermostats and WiFi-enabled lightbulbs, home monitoring devices such as digital security camera that broadcasts to a person’s smart device and home security systems that connects to a central monitoring station. There is a high demand for connected devices like thermostats, light switches, door locks, light bulbs, sprinklers, washers, refrigerators and beyond. Studies show that about 70% of Americans want to control something via their mobile devices at home without getting out of bed. Research indicates that the Connected Home device sales are expected to drive over $61 billion in revenue this year alone.
Besides major technology companies like Honeywell, other scrambling to enter the Connect Home market are Apple, on their iOS platform of customers, Phillips, Samsung, GE, Google and many more.
The Internet of Things (IoT) Concept
On a broader perspective, The Internet of Things (IoT) is a term the technology industry has given to the network of physical objects or ‘things’ that have embedded electronics, software and connectivity to enable it to achieve greater value and service by exchanging data with the manufacturer, operator and/or other connected devices. In the Home Automation market, the IoT devices are typically used to control lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, home appliances, communication systems, entertainment and home security devices to improve convenience, comfort, energy efficiency, and security.
In the Energy Management market, it is expected that IoT devices will be integrated into all forms of energy consuming devices (switches, power outlets, bulbs, televisions, etc.) and be able to communicate with the utility supply company in order to effectively balance power generation and energy usage. According to Gartner, Inc., a technology research corporation, by 2020 there will be nearly 26 billion devices on the Internet of Things.
For the average homeowner looking to build a new home that is interested in some aspect of home automation or Connected Home, my advice is to do your research. There is plenty of information on the internet today that will make the average homeowner much more knowledgeable about what is available in the home automation market than anyone realizes.
Furthermore, make sure to contact home technology contractors and distributors that are in the home automation business. They can help answer questions about which products will integrate on the same networks as others. And finally, make sure when you are building a new home that you use cutting edge HVAC and Electrical contractors who are involved with cutting edge products and systems on a day-to-day basis.”
“The most important part in planning the design of a new home, at least in respect to our industry, would be forward thinking design of the wiring/technology infrastructure,” adds Doug Dushan of Echo Systems. “Often people aren’t even aware of what technology may be useful to them when building a new home. Our job is to design an infrastructure that will work for whatever our clients want to start with upon moving in but will also allow them to grow their system and their families’ use of technology.
Most of our clients are very good at what they do professionally but technology is rarely one of their areas of expertise. However, it is our area of expertise. We are accustomed to taking a client regardless of their knowledge base and informing them of the trends in technology so that they can factor that into their homes planning. The other area where we can be of significant help for someone who is building a new home is in the management and implementation of technology from start to finish.
There have been a good number of types of home technology over the past two decades; some have been a flash in the pan while others have shown the test of time. The advent of the mobile device, for example the iPad, has caused a paradigm shift in our industry. The trend in new homes is for not only audio and video but also subsystems such as security, cameras, heating and cooling to be controlled by a single app. This is similar to the idea of eliminating multiple remote controls on a coffee table. While many new technologies offer their own app, using multiple apps to interface with aspects of your home is really no different than reaching for one of multiple remote controls on your coffee table. It is cluttered and complicated to use. The systems that we champion bring all this under one easy to use app.
The simplest answer for someone who is wondering how to begin this process is to visit an expert. Our recently renovated show room is designed to appeal to those both versed in technology and those intimidated by it. Our showroom features a full home where people can walk through and see in real time what is possible so that they are better able to visualize if that is the right fit for them.”
Considering the technological advances that have been made for energy efficiency in homes, there are plenty of green options available. As a prime example, geothermal heating and cooling is another big trend that is incredibly beneficial to consider incorporating into your new home.
“Energy efficiency continues to not only be a trend but also a smart investment,” emphasizes Troy Spady of Complete Comfort Heating and Cooling. “Building a home that meets or exceeds energy efficiency standards will save you money and add value to your home from day one. The Waterfurnace 7 Series geothermal system actually provides energy monitoring of your system. At the push of a button on the thermostat you can find out how much energy your system is using on a given day, week, month, etc. Combine this with the new Symphony Wi-Fi based home comfort platform and you will have control over the entire geothermal system-not just the temperature as in other “smart thermostat” systems. We have many solutions that we can talk to you and your builder about that will provide savings and comfort to your dream home.”
When it comes to choosing the right builder, he further advises, “It’s absolutely essential to find a good builder. Aside from having plenty of knowledge and experience, this should be someone you are comfortable with and who listens to what’s important to you. Make sure they have a track record of success and can give you references from people they have built homes for. If they don’t give you options or force you to do what they want, they may not be the right fit for you if your goal is to build your dream home. We recommend installing a geothermal heating and cooling system for anyone building a home, especially if the plan is to be in the home long term. With the energy savings and the federal tax credit of 30%, this is some of the best money spent on building a home. If this is the direction you go in regard to your heating and cooling system, it’s extremely important that you make sure the contractor your builder is using has the experience and track record needed to successfully plan and install a geothermal system. Just because they say they do geothermal doesn’t mean they know geothermal. We have seen too many people call us after the fact to fix what someone else has installed.
When building your dream home, we have the experience and knowledge of other components of your home that can help enhance the comfort your heating and cooling system can provide. We are happy to give first-hand experience on ways to make your home the most energy efficient it can be. Skimping on the heating and cooling system can be a decision new home builders regret soon after construction is completed. We are here to provide solutions that will ensure you are happy with the overall comfort of your home for years to come by selecting the heating and cooling system that is right for you.”
Specifically regarding geothermal heating and cooling systems, Rick Schmitt of Nebcon, Inc. adds, “There are many advantages to a geothermal system—you’ll save money from installing a geo system and enjoy lower utility bills, there’s reduced noise and less greenhouse gas emissions from the system, you’ll be eligible for federal tax credits as well as the potential for local city utility credits, and there’s much greater energy efficiency with a geothermal system in comparison to other types of systems that are commonly used.
At Nebcon, Inc. we are fully licensed and have the extensive training and knowledge needed to successfully install a geothermal loop field on your property for your new home. As a recognized leader in the geothermal drilling market, we offer complete closed or open loop systems including piping, excavating, pumping and purging, and antifreeze installation as well as the capability to drill horizontally and vertically, which allows us to finish any size project in a timely fashion. We grout all geothermal boreholes for heat transfer and to protect aquifers, and moreover, we directional bore supply and return lines up through the basement floor which eliminates piping through the house.
Working with many of the finest custom home builders and the biggest names in the HVAC industry we have completed hundreds of projects across the Midwest. They range from ‘net zero’ homes to large multi system homes. The number of geothermal systems being placed is consistently increasing generally due to the fact that geothermal is such a good investment, especially in a new home. For those who want to go green, my best advice is to Go Geothermal!”
Putting on the Finishing Touches
In line with ‘saving the best for last,’ decorating your newly built home is also a major undertaking but very satisfying when you finally get to enjoy the end result. You don’t even have to wait; many times the interior design can be addressed early on in the planning stages of the project.
“Window coverings for your new home will be the icing on the cake, although that doesn’t mean that we can’t assist you in the process long before your home is completed,” advises Donna Schrader, owner of Ambiance Window Coverings.
“At Ambiance Window Coverings, we specialize in helping you realize your vision for the new home you are creating. With all of the colors, styles, and options that are currently available, it can seem overwhelming, but not when you let our experienced designers help you turn your dreams into reality.
However, it’s important to note that not all window coverings are the same. At Ambiance Window Coverings, we only carry Hunter Douglas products which come with a long history of innovation and quality along with a lifetime guarantee. The products you choose to put in your windows are an investment that will be at the mercy of the elements, so you have to be sure they can stand the test of time. We pride ourselves on quality and durability at Ambiance Window Coverings. When you choose Hunter Douglas, you’re not only choosing the latest in design innovation, but the highest American-made quality that money can buy.
Along with quality, style, efficiency, and value, Ambiance Window Coverings and Hunter Douglas care about the environment we all share and the environment you’re creating in your home. We offer products that are Green Guard® certified to safe guard the quality of the air in your home for you and your children. Child safety is another important factor to consider. With children in mind, all Hunter Douglas products come with child safety lifting systems. Keeping your family safe is the most important consideration when making choices for your new home.
In addition to energy efficiency, style and safety one of the latest trends we’re seeing in the window coverings industry is motorization. We have the technology to create window coverings that you can control at the touch of button, a real advantage when creating open spaces with high ceilings and the opportunities that presents for letting in more natural light. You can transform light and set a mood in your home with press of a button or a tap on your mobile device. Our best advice is to trust the experts at Ambiance Window Coverings to help you put the finishing touches on the home of your dreams.”
While building a home may present its host of challenges, there are also a lot of really nice perks. Be prepared to make a lot of decisions, and as such, ask a lot of questions and don’t hesitate to utilize all of the different resources that are available. Most importantly, make sure you are working with experienced professionals who you trust to turn your unique vision into a reality. Building a home isn’t for everyone, but it is the way to get exactly what you want for the largest investment you’ll likely make in your lifetime, and you can’t top that!