Mon, 28 May 2012 14:41:24 -0700WeeblyWed, 07 Mar 2012 14:28:39 -0700http://www.redbearutah.com/1/post/2012/03/find-your-location.htmlThere are several large home builders along the Wasatch Front.  Many of them who build high quality homes.  But many of the subdivisions require that you use a specific builder to construct your home, and often only from a select set of plans, which might be great if one of their homes meets your criteria.  But if you can't find your dream home in the builders planbooks you'll be on your own.  Where to start?  You can search local listings or even KSL.com until you find a lot in a location that you love.  Then you have to ask a few questions.

1. Are all utilities stubbed or will I need to do some offsite work?
   
2. Is there a require builder?
3. Are their covenants (CCR's) that I must follow on my home?
4. Will my home fit on the lot? What are the setback requirements? 
   
5. Should I look for a lot with my dream home in hand or find a lot and then design my home?

That last question has lead to numerous debates.  Is it better to select a lot before the home plan, or home plan before the lot?  There are pros and cons to both situations.  With a home pan you know the general size and dimensions needed as you look for a lot.  Although if you find the "best lot in the world" it would be a pretty sad day if the home would not fit within the dimensions.  Generally I advise people to have 2-3 plans they like and use them as the basis as they look for a lot.  The first thing I tell them is don't pay anything for plans until you have decided on a specific lot.  It can be an even sadder day to discover the home does not fit on the lot and you have spent some hard earned money on plans that can be used.  Home have to be specifically engineered for the lot and even the distance from Salt Lake to Ogden can change the requirements, so don't buy until you know your lot. Lets say you have found your new dream lot what happens next? (Its time to make an offer)

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To get a feel of where you'll be at for your monthly payment check out this site  Credit Sesame Its an all around financial site, but has a very useful mortgage calculator.  This could be your first stop to understand your ability to purchase.  

The second step is to get started with a Mortgage specialist.  You can make contact with someone to get some preliminary numbers and then once you are ready to buy or build you have a go to for your lending needs. They will have the expertise and experience to guide you in the right direction.  There are couple of different routes 1) Construction loan with a one time close.  This type of loan will fund the construction of the loan and then "roll" into a permanent mortgage upon the completion of the home. 2) Builder financed loan, which really means the builder gets the loan or uses cash to construct the loan and you apply for the permanent financing or mortgage.  Who ever you work with make sure to check their licence status here: nmlsconsumeraccess.org  All Mortgage specialist will be licensed and their NMLS# shold be easily found on their website. 


Next. #3 Find Your Location 

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]]>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:11:28 -0700http://www.redbearutah.com/1/post/2012/02/building-a-new-home.htmlSo you have decided that the only way to meet the needs of your family is to construct your own custom home?  The process of buying a lot and building a home can be filled with surprises.   I will be posting some of the steps I learned while building my home which will hopefully help you build your dream home. So lets get started.

1. How much can you afford.
2. Find your location.
3. Plans, architects and builders
4. Purchase the lot and finance the home
5. Building starts. The building steps of a new home.

Next. #2 How much can I afford? ]]>