Many homeowners considering a major home remodel face the choice of remodeling or building a new custom home. Often, the cost and time commitment are not as far off as you would first imagine, and custom home building gives you great control over every aspect of your new home.

Factors to Consider Include:

• Zoning laws and other red tape

• Your expectations for your home

• Your likes and dislikes about your current home

• How long you plan to live in the home

• Historical, unique and other hard-to-replicate features

• Living options during construction

How Would You Describe Your Dream Home?

Perhaps the most important question you need to answer in choosing between a home remodel and custom home building is what defines your dream home. What would make your existing home perfect? Once you know the functional and comfort features that your dream home comprises, then you can visualize the path from your current home to your dream home. Now, you can compare those paths within the context of cost, time requirements and other practical considerations, such as zoning laws.

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Zoning Laws and Other Red Tape

Zoning laws, HOA rules and regulations and so forth are likely going to affect you whether you remodel or build. For a major home remodel such as a home addition, local permits will certainly be required (this is often true even for smaller home remodeling projects). This is also true for custom home building. In either case, the challenges you likely face will be relative to the scope of your project. If you intend to stick within your current footprint, expect minimal challenges, but if you plan an expansion, you may have to go before a zoning board and so forth before getting started. Having a professional general contractor at your side gives you a distinct advantage in understanding and working through this process efficiently.

Having Complete Control. How Much Is Enough?

Arguably, the greatest advantage of building your custom home is having complete control over every aspect of your home. A major remodel gives you extensive control as well but generally not to the extent that you can dictate fundamental aspects of the structure. Do you need that level of control? Would remodeling somehow restrict you in achieving your dream home? Be mindful that remodels can be quite sophisticated, and so, the answer to which is better is often about weighing pros and cons.

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Final Thoughts

Alair Homes Phoenix oversees major home renovations as well custom home builds. A professional consultation with us is a great place to start when making this decision. It can give you the information and expert advice you need to make the right decision for you. Contact us to schedule some time to talk about your dream home.