Pros and Cons of Custom Homes Vs Personalized Production Homes

This is part three of our series of articles comparing custom homes to personalized production homes. This article will focus on the pros and cons of custom Vs personalized production homes.

If you are considering the purchase of a new home, you may be trying to decide whether to have a custom home built or buy a personalized production home. There are very distinct differences between the two, so you should spend some time learning the specific details of each before you make a final decision.

Some of the questions you will need to have answered are:

Cost: What is the square foot cost for each type of home?

Time to Build: How long does it take to build each type of home?

Pros/Cons: What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of home?

Options and Selections: What options and selections will you get to choose?

Warranty: What level of new home warranty should you expect with each type of home?

Touch Points: How much personalized service will you get from each type of builder?

Learning everything you can about the different types of new home selections available will allow you to make a more educated decision about which option is best for you and your family. Please read our series of articles on this topic for more information and answers to all the above questions.

Custom Homes

Advantages:

• You will be able to choose the location of where your home is to be built.
• You will get to decide the details for every product and feature of the home.
• Your new home will be unique from every other home.
• The quality and functionality of the home will meet all your requirements and standards.

Disadvantages:

• Custom homes are expensive to build compared to personalized production homes.
  • A custom home builder is not able to buy the supplies needed in bulk, making the materials for the home more expensive.
  • Labor will be more expensive as a custom home has never been built before and many details and problems will have to be worked out during construction.
• In most cases, you will have to find and purchase your own land to build the home on.
• Custom homes take significantly longer to build than production homes.
• You will have the added expense of hiring an architect to design the home or have purchased plans modified, as well as finding a contractor who builds custom homes.
• A custom home will depreciate faster than a production home.
• It is difficult to get the home appraised for the total build cost. Thus, most banks will not lend the entire amount needed to build the home requiring a significant down payment from the homebuyer.

Personalized Production Homes

Advantages:

• You have the flexibility of choosing from a variety of price points.
• The land comes with the price of the home.
• Production home builders offer a variety of floor plans to choose from.
• There are fewer decisions to make which leads to less stress and less hassle.
• A personalized production home is much less expensive to build than a custom home.
• A personalized production home can be built much faster than a custom home.
• A selections coordinator will help you make the best selections for your new home to personalize it to fit your needs.
• Production homes are priced to meet comparable appraisal values enabling homebuyers to borrow the entire amount of the cost of the home depending on the type of loan chosen.
• Many production builders offer comprehensive warranties such as the 2-10 Warranty Program that covers the structure for up to 10 years.
• In many cases, you will have the added benefit of living in a community with access to amenities such as: golf course, clubhouse, fitness center, pool, tennis courts, basketball courts, baseball, volleyball, a park, playground and walking trails.

Disadvantages:

• You won’t be able to design every aspect of your new home.
• You won’t have as much input in how the home is constructed.
• You won’t have unlimited land options from which to choose.
• Because production builders build a large number of homes each year, they cannot offer as many touch points with their homebuyers as custom home builders.

The Bottom Line

When considering the pros and cons of custom Vs personalized production homes, the decision is a very personal one and one only you can make. You should take as much time as you need to study all your options, and then will you be able to make the decision that is right for you and your family.

If you find yourself torn about which direction to take, you may want to visit some personalized production home builder locations to get a feel for what they have to offer. If after that you don’t find anything that suits your needs, you can always contact a custom home builder to compare the costs and options they have available.

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