House Design Plan - Thinking about building your own home? While it's a very rewarding experience, there are a lot of things to consider. And it's not easy, even if you hire an experienced contractor to manage the project. Building a home will take a lot of your time and energy. Problems will arise during the course of construction that will need your attention. I'm not trying to discourage you, but you must be sure you have the resources to handle this type of project.

Start by making a detailed list of the "must-haves". How many bedrooms and baths? Two story, or one? Attached garage? What type of heat and air conditioning will be needed for your area? What type of exterior do you need (wood is high maintenance, brick and stucco require little attention). How about a deck?

As the manager, your biggest responsibility is hiring the subcontractors who will do the work. Do you know someone that recently had work performed on their house? Who did they use? Was it done on time and within budget? Would they use them again.

Drive around neighborhoods you like and find out who's building the houses. If you have dealt with subcontractors in the past (and you trust their opinion), get recommendations from them. If your carpenter recommends an electrician he works with frequently, that's a solid lead.

House Design Plan - Building your home is a very tall order. You will have to deal with a lot of problems, and quite a few of these cannot be foreseen or planned for in advance. It will take time, determination, and a lot of patience. Even if you hire a general contractor instead of doing everything yourself, there will still be a lot you have to consider.

Dealing with local building inspectors can be absolutely maddening. Talk about bureaucratic lunacy, you haven't seen anything until these goofs show up at your construction site. Depending on the inspector's level of competence (or incompetence), they will find all kinds of things to complain about. Some may be justified, but all too often the items they are refusing to pass are due to an over inflated ego on their part. And politics play into this unfortunate ordeal. If you don't build houses for a living, inspectors tend to think you don't know what you're doing.

Don't count on anybody to do their job right. Just because an architect has a nice office and a good reputation doesn't mean the drawings will be done properly. The contractor that comes highly recommended might end up ripping you off with shoddy work. You absolutely must stay on top of the entire home building project to prevent losing money or getting a house that you hate. It's amazing how many contractors can't even read a simple set of blueprints. And don't let them talk you into changing something unless you really want the change. In some cases, the contractor is simply trying to swap cheaper materials to increase the profit margin.

Get a firm estimate, put everything in a contract, and hold everybody to it. Don't allow excessive monetary draws. While it's customary to have an initial draw, make sure it's for actual building expenses and not some kind of "fee" to get work started. Every dime should go towards actually building the house. While material costs vary, and there is usually a clause in the contract that allows for this, don't fall for the "I'm not making any money on this project" scam three quarters of the way through. Unless you have made changes to the original plan that increase the cost, or supplies go up more than anticipated, don't pay any more than stated in the contract. Pay a dollar for a dollar, nothing more, nothing less. If you have been keeping the draws under control you can fire the contractor if necessary and find someone else. Remember that it's your house, your money, and you are the boss.