The Custom Home Building Process: A Complete Guide

If you want to own a custom home but aren’t sure where to start, this is the guide for you. Walk through every step of the custom home building process, from the first spark of an idea to receiving the keys to a home that’s built just for you.

Let’s start with the basics.

Step 1: The Vision

Every custom home starts as a dream. Before you sign a contract or start selecting blueprints, you need a vision of how you want to live the next few decades of your life.

Getting Inspiration

Walk through neighborhoods with houses you like, attend a parade of homes event or open house, and browse through home design magazines and websites.

Doing this helps you identify details that you love, right down to the shape and style of the windows you want. It’ll also help you shape your vision.

Location, Location, Location

Your home’s address is just as important as its architecture.

Consider local school districts, commute times, local amenities, proximity to larger cities like Grand Rapids, and the personality of the neighborhood or town. Where you build is the true foundation of how you’ll live day to day once you step outside.

Step 2: Choose Your Builder

The right builder helps you shape your future home to match your exact vision. However, not all custom home builders are the same, so it pays to shop around before you sign on the dotted line.

Evaluating Model Homes

Most home builders will have at least a few model homes available so you can see their craftsmanship firsthand.

Tour these model homes. See how the rooms flow together, the finishes they use, and how well the space meshes with what you have in mind.

Questions to Ask Before Signing

• What is the timeline I can expect for construction?
• How do you prefer to communicate as my home designer?
• How often can I expect to hear from you?
• What’s included in the price?
• Can you show me some examples of homes you’ve built in the style I’m looking for?
• Can I deviate from your floor plan if there’s a feature I really want to include?

And that’s just a few examples. A good builder is transparent and encourages you to ask them virtually any question about their building experience or what you can expect when it’s time to start building your new dream home.

Step 3: Getting the Site

You can’t have a dream house if you don’t have somewhere to put it.

Purchasing the Lot

No matter if you already own land or need help finding a lot in the area where you want to live, this is the first step to finalizing your site.

A Primer on Zoning

Most cities in West Michigan and throughout the US have different zoning designations that determine how land can be used. Common designations include:

• Residential: Areas marked for single-family homes
• Commercial: Zones designated for businesses like shops and restaurants
• Rural: Areas designated for farming, typically further away from the urban center
• Historical: These areas typically have historic landmarks or buildings, and thus have special preservation requirements
• Mixed-use: Areas with multiple uses, sometimes within the same set of buildings.

These designations and your neighbors’ properties affect what you can build and how your home will blend in with the rest of the community.

Step 4: Designing Your Custom Home

Here’s where the fun begins. Now you have a chance to bring all your wildest ideas and home visions to life.

Starting with a Floor Plan

Most builders have a collection of floor plans that can give you a starting point for designing your home. The one you choose will be your canvas to start building your dream home.

Buffum Homes has dozens of designs that give you a strong foundation. Adapt and customize them to reflect your lifestyle with anything from an open-concept gathering space with an outdoor kitchen area to a quiet retreat with plenty of places for privacy.

Customizing to Make It Yours

Shape your home into a reflection of your taste by adding your choice of custom features and finishes. Cabinetry, flooring, architectural accents—everything down to the style of the closet doors can be customized for you.

Step 5: Final Pricing & Contracts

Now that you’ve solidified your ideas, you’ll clarify what your builder will deliver once the team starts breaking ground on your property.

Reviewing the Scope of Work & Price

You’ll review a detailed proposal that outlines your selections, finishes, and construction costs. We provide complete transparency here because it helps avoid unpleasant surprises later.

Locking in the Agreement

Review the contract with us, ask any questions you might have, and sign it. Once you’ve signed, the design and price will become official, and you’ll have peace of mind now that the project is moving forward.

Step 6: Financing

Around the same time that you’re signing the contract, you’ll also want to start considering your financing options.

Choosing Your Route

There are three flexible financing options that Buffum Homes offers when you’re building a new home:

• Cash payments: If you can pay in cash installments, you’ll avoid financing costs and keep things simple for yourself.
• Construction loan: Find a lender for your project, such as a bank or credit union, and secure a construction loan. Buffum will draw funds from the bank at various stages to keep the build on schedule.
• Buffum Homes financing: This option includes builder-direct financing for the construction phase. Our financing covers most of the construction costs until the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) is secured. After obtaining the C of O, the final closing with your lender can be scheduled. Utilizing our own banks and credit lines, we offer this financing for a flat fee of approximately 1.5% of the total construction contract.

Coordinating with Lenders

We’ll connect you with trusted lenders and help streamline the pre-approval and funding process, so everything aligns smoothly with your build timeline.

Step 7: Pre-Construction

Before the shovel breaks ground, there’s another important piece of groundwork to complete: the paperwork.

Meeting Your Project Manager

You’ll be introduced to your project manager before we start building your home. They will oversee your custom build and keep you updated at every step.

Getting Permits, Vendors, and Long-Lead Items

Your project manager will help you acquire building permits, schedule construction time with vendors, and order specialty materials that need to be custom-made or shipped to your new home. This will help your project stay on track from the start.

Step 8: Construction

Now you get to watch your dream be built from the ground up.

Making Selections

During construction, you’ll finalize design elements like paint colors, fixtures, and finishes. These choices bring character and warmth to your home.

Watching Your House Be Built

You’ll see your ideas take shape right before your eyes. Buffum Homes encourages you to visit your site during construction and watch your home come to life!

Step 9: Welcome Home

Now all the work we’ve put in together pays off. You’ll get to settle into the home you helped create.

Final Closing

Get ready to sign your name a lot. On closing day, your paperwork will be finalized, and the title of the house will officially transfer to you.

Getting the Keys

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of walking into your brand-new home for the first time and knowing that it’s all yours.

Once you have the keys and finish your final walkthrough with us, you’ll get to move in and enjoy!

Leave the Details to Buffum

We’ll make the home-building process fun, not overwhelming. Buffum Homes will help you take care of the details while keeping your vision as our guiding light.

Ready to start planning your dream home? Schedule a consultation today.