Charleston remains red-hot and one of the most aggressive real estate markets for buyers. That is forcing many who wanted to find a home to consider the prospect of finding land and building new. Many new homeowners are intimidated by the custom build process, which makes sense: not only is it a heavy financial investment, but the endless choices can be overwhelming for many without experience. The key to your new home is finding the best custom home plans in Charleston, SC and going from there. But with so many options, how do you know which one is right for you?

Set Priorities First

Just like going to a restaurant with too many items on the menu to choose from, if you don’t narrow your search from the outset by identifying your priorities, it can soon get out of control and definitely out of budget. You have a limited amount to spend and knowing what you have to have and what you would like is an important distinction to make. If you have young children, you might only be comfortable with them being on the same floor as you, or above you. If you are getting older, you might want to only look at ranches, and if you enjoy entertaining, then an open floorplan is going to be a must. Once you know what you can’t live without, you have already narrowed down your search.

Be Observant

Just like when you are car shopping, take the time to look around and see what you like about other people’s homes and what you don’t. Sometimes knowing what you don’t want is as important as knowing what you do in terms of adding or subtracting options.

Take the Positives From Home Buying

The current real estate market has been anything but positive for most potential homebuyers. With fierce competition comes frustration. Think about the homes that you would have definitely enjoyed and take the positives from the situation. Think about it this way: had you bought one of those houses, you wouldn’t be in the position that you are in to have a custom home built just for you.

Think about the Exterior Too

Not many people think about how the exterior will look when choosing a custom home plan. Especially in the South, you are going to want to design a home that has an appealing exterior, too. Picture things like where you might want to include a patio or add on a front porch. Those exterior features are going to help to define what the inside looks like.

The Part Has to Fit the Whole

One of the best parts about home building is that you get to choose the property that your new home will sit on. Whether you choose it because it has a corner lot or because you like the view, consider all the things that you want to focus on to determine the main parts of the layout. You have to think about how the parts fit into the whole to plan the whole thing.

The real estate market in Charleston remains red-hot, which is great for sellers but not so much for buyers. If you plan on switching gears to build a new house, fret not. It isn’t as complex as you think. At Ragland Homes, our mission is to demystify the home building process for you so that you can plan the home of your dreams from start to finish. Contact us today and let’s get the ball rolling!