Buying vs. Building

BUYING VS BUILDING The pros and cons of buying a production home vs building a custom home on your own land

BUYING VS BUILDING The pros and cons of buying a production home vs building a custom home on your own land

The first step to owning a brand new home is deciding between a custom home that you build on your own land and a production home that you find in a subdivision or development. Both directions have their advantages and disadvantages. So let’s have an honest conversation about building a home on your own land – and we promise not to sugarcoat anything. We want you to make an informed decision with realistic expectations. Because we want you to love where you live, either way.

PRODUCTION BUILDING PROS A QUICKER MOVE. A production builder may already have a few homes in progress, nearing completion or even fully completed and ready for move-in.

So you may be able to get a new home without the wait. Even starting from square one, the build may be faster if the homesite has been prepared and utilities are in place.

A SIMPLER PROCESS. With fewer decisions to make, you have a more straightforward path. When buying a production home, you’ll find many of the choices have already been made for you by the builder. You’ll be able to select your floorplan from a list that typically includes from three to maybe ten different plans. And you’ll be able to choose from a handful of different finishes and fixtures as well as simple floorplan options, such as changing an upstairs loft into another bedroom. But generally speaking, the process involves fewer steps because it offers far fewer choices.

CONS COOKIE CUTTER. Working with a production builder you usually get only a handful of floorplans to choose from and even fewer, if any, design options. With fewer ways to customize, you get a home that feels less individual, less like you. And because it’s not a perfect fit, you may find yourself needing another new home sooner than you would with a custom-tailored Wayne Home.

LESS PRIVACY. Production homes are usually built on smaller lots, spaced closer together. You might end up knowing your neighbor better than you’d like to. The homes also tend to be smaller with a higher price per square foot.

CONSTRUCTION DUST. In many new home neighborhoods, yours is not the only home being built. Long after you move in there may be dust, trucks and noise from a neighborhood under construction.

EXTRA EXPENSES. Often, planned communities come with a homeowners association, which means you’ll pay a monthly HOA fee. And sometimes, you pay more in property taxes, too.

COVENANTS. With an HOA comes a set of rules you must abide by. Covenants are meant to keep your neighbors from building a shed next to your fence or letting their hedges grow too high. But it also means there are fewer things you can do without approval by committee.

ON-YOUR-LAND BUILDING PROS YOU GET TO CHOOSE YOUR LAND. You choose where it is, whether that’s close to town or nestled in a more private location. You pick the size; it could be expansive or just right for your budget. You can even find the type of land that suits you. Like property by a lake, on a hill, surrounded by trees, or perfect for horses, for instance.

YOU CHOOSE WHERE ON YOUR LAND TO BUILD. Situate your home as you see fit.

Oriented towards the views, towards the sun or both. Closer to the road or tucked away out of sight. We offer expert homesite evaluation to help you get this one just right.

YOUR LAND IS A BLANK CANVAS. Put a patio anywhere you please. Add a fire pit and a pool while you’re at it. Plant a garden. Plant a tree … plant a forest. How about a shed and a workshop? You can have all the outbuildings you want. RV parking?

No problem. This is your land. Dream big.

VALUE EQUALS EQUITY. The improvements you make to your land add up.

The infrastructure that it takes to build a home – adding a driveway, running utilities or installing a well and septic system – are things that make your land more valuable.

Going through the process itself creates equity. And that’s on top of the value of the home you build, which is the ultimate improvement.

CONS FINDING LAND. Some of our customers already have land and just need a good builder. Some start with nothing more than a dream. If you’re more of the latter, you’ll need to fill up the tank and visit a few properties to find “the one.” But we can help point you in the right direction, and we work with real estate pros who specialize in finding land.

NOT ALL LAND IS BUILDABLE. Remember you’ll need to consider running a driveway and utilities to your home, so some properties are more practical than others.

And the ground needs to be solid so you don’t have any future complications with your foundation. We do homesite evaluations all the time, so please take advantage of our expertise.

ON-YOUR-LAND BUILDING Cont.

CONS MORE LEGWORK. Since this is your land, you’ll need to pull permits for septic, well, and utilities. Or tap into municipal water and wastewater systems. It can take some time and the process varies state by state and county by county. The good news is that our production administrator will be there to assist at every step.

SO MANY CHOICES. A custom home on your land gives you so many options, it can be a bit daunting. From choosing where to place your home on the land, to customizing your floorplan, to picking out the kitchen backsplash, there are a lot of decisions to make. But we have design professionals on hand to help you make the most of every decision.

PROS MORE PRIVACY. Usually, when you build on your own land, your neighbors are fewer and farther between. Depending on how few and how far, you can play your music as loud as you like with no complaints from next door.

CUSTOM FROM THE GROUND UP. It’s the very definition of custom, a home that suits your needs. And with Wayne Homes you can choose from over 50 floorplans and oodles of design options – from exteriors to fixtures and finishes down to the last detail – to match both how you live and your personal style.

A HOME THAT FITS YOUR BUDGET. Usually when you think of a custom home you think “expensive.” It doesn’t have to be. Wayne Homes offers many right-sized floorplans, each with an impressive list of standard features, from the $200s.

YOUR FOREVER HOME. You choose the land. You choose the home and how it all comes together.

You can even design it to accommodate multiple generations with an in-law suite. In other words, with a home so perfectly fitted to your life, you may never have to move again.

One final thought about building on your own land. Yes, it’s a little more work. But as an on-your-land specialist for almost 50 years, we’ve helped literally thousands of people build their “forever” homes. We hope that our experience and award-winning personal service will give you the confidence to move forward with building a custom Wayne home on your land. We invite you to contact your nearest Model Center to learn more.

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