It’s fall. The summer rush is over. We’ve had some time to rest after Homearama, and now we’re ready to start cranking out some new custom contract homes before old man winter hits us. When you work with Architectural Builders, a P.L. Lyons company, you get a home that goes from concept to completion. That simply means our clients often bring us a dream set of plans, or sometimes just a sketch on a cocktail napkin. We take that concept of a home, and take it through to completion. That sounds simple enough, but a lot goes into designing a home, drafting the plans, pricing out those plans, laying out the specifications, picking the amenities, constructing the home, and closing on it.

We’ve just finished, as I mentioned, above two homes in Homearama in Shakes Run. We sold both those before the show was over. Praise God for that! We also finished up a contract home in Cardinal Club Estate in Simpsonville, and a couple homes in the Oldham/Trimble county area. So we’d love to start talking with you about your next custom home.

Today we want to hit upon some of the myths about building a contract custom home that just aren’t always true. If you’ve hesitated to begin your new custom contract home because of one of these myths, then wait no longer.

Myth #1: It takes forever to build a custom home

It’s true that if you choose a builder that lets you drag your feet every step of the way, or one who doesn’t follow a thorough process with dependable sub contractors, then odds are your home could take forever. The average home takes 4-9 months to build depending on the size, the complexity and the season. Yes mother nature is still out of our control, although we do our best to plan for those setbacks and contingencies.

Myth #2: Winter is a bad time to build a house

Builders, especially seasoned ones, build year round in a climate like we have in Louisville, Kentucky. There are some advantages to building in winter. Subcontractors are not as busy so getting them on your job site is easier. Material prices tend to go down because most of the demand is in spring and summer. Plus you get to build your home during winter and enjoy it come spring and summer, versus the other way around.

Myth #3: It costs way more to build a contract custom home than it does to buy an existing home

Again, that’s not always the case. Buying a home in a well established neighborhood can sometimes command a larger price for the land. Also, the cost of rehab or remodeling projects are often dismissed when purchasing an older existing home. Meaning, if you compare apples to apples, the cost might not be that far off. With a new custom contract home, the bank and appraiser have the say in how much your home value will be, not an existing homeowner with attachments.

Myth #4 It’s too much work on the homeowner to build a new contract custom home, and it’s impossible to meet a budget

Without the right builder, this one is probably very true. But with the right builder, who has the right internal team and qualified subcontractors, this isn’t the case. The proper design, blueprints, and pricing are key to cutting back on the amount of time the client needs to put into the process. It’s also not hard to meet a budget when all the costs down to the concrete and splash blocks are laid out for you. Take a look at our advanced estimate if you’d like to see what we mean. All along the way with our custom homes you get to see exactly what budget affect your change order has on the overall cost.

I hope we’ve dispelled some myths about building a custom contract home. If you’re in the market for a custom contract home in Louisville, KY or the surrounding counties of Bullitt, Spencer, Shelby, Henry, or Oldham County then let’s schedule a time to talk. We’d love to help you take your dream home from concept to completion.