Custom home information, including custom home building and tips on buying a custom home in Columbus and Central Ohio.

The most expensive way to build is to select a custom Builder to build a unique home (with particular design choices and complete flexibility of options) built on your lot or one that the Builder already owns. This is not surprising, since it allows for the greatest flexibility. Since it does not allow for efficiency of scale and the Builder is building houses one at a time, it costs more. They are not building a large number in a given area to spread the cost of supervision and they don't have the same buying power. You will get what you want, but you will also pay for it.

• Most flexible: Some Buyers are paying extra for the ability to have a very flexible Builder. Compare what production Builders have to offer and see if you need to have all that flexibility. You may find a broad enough range of choices in a Production Builder.
• Due to the flexibility, you will also have to make a great number of decisions about the layout, room sizes, style, finishes, etc. For some people this can a burden. They would prefer a range of pre-selected choices (such as those offered by a Production Builder). It can also be harder to control cost because of this great flexibility. It does not take long for the budget to get out of control when you start selecting higher-end finishes than originally budgeted. You may also be surprised how much money certain design changes can cost and how schedules can be devestated by delivery delays. That high-pitched or multi-pitched roof you just selected is considerably more expensive than a standard pitch. You may not even realize it until the final bill is paid. Assistance during the process is critical.