Custom homes have the flourishes and personal touches that give you comfort and satisfaction throughout your days. They come with features that make them uniquely suited to your lifestyle.
Benefits of Building a Custom Home
Your home is the most important place in the world. It's where you make memories and build a life. Your home is where your loved ones spend their hours, and where your children grow up. Whatever home you're living in is a special place, but the benefit of building a custom home is clear. And if you are thinking of building a custom home in Colorado Springs, well that has benefits too.
Custom homes have the flourishes and personal touches that give you comfort and satisfaction throughout your days. You design them with features that make them uniquely suited to your lifestyle. They often have greater value than other homes, because they have unique qualities that help them stand out.
Building a custom home and living in Colorado Springs can be a joyful place where time is well-spent. In this article, we'll discuss the benefits of building a custom home over a production or semi-custom home. We'll also give you helpful tips to make your custom home in Colorado Springs the perfect place to live. Custom homes take extra time to design and build because they are unique to the owner. It's all worth it. Here's why.
Production, Semi-Custom, or Custom Home - What's the Difference?
To understand the benefits of a custom home, first, you have to know how custom homes are different from production and semi-custom structures. These differences may seem nuanced, but at the end of the day, life in a custom home can be vastly superior. Once you understand, there's almost no contest.
Production Homes
Also known as tract or tract builder homes, production homes are pre-designed structures built in neighborhoods with other houses of the same cohort. Home buyers who build in tract neighborhoods have limited control over their home's design. They choose the colors, cabinets, flooring, and floor plan (one of a few pre-designed options).
The entire neighborhood is built in the same style. In tract neighborhoods, the most expensive homes do not appreciate as quickly as the more affordable homes. Homeowners who choose the most expensive finishes, features, and options may lose money when the time comes to sell. If you're a home buyer with expensive tastes and an eye for unique features, you're unlikely to find what you want in a production house.
Semi-Custom Homes
Semi-custom homes are another type of tract builder home. As with production homes, home buyers have limited control over the features and style of their semi-custom homes. Home buyers are given their choice of colors, cabinets, flooring, and floor plans (one of a few pre-designed options). Buyers may also request changes to the design at the time of purchase. Small changes are allowed, such as moving a wall, installing a fireplace, or installing an extra closet, but come at a cost. Once the builder and home buyer have decided on a design and a price, the builder moves forward with construction.
Like production homes, semi-custom homes are built in subdivisions where all homes are constructed in the same style. Although semi-custom homes can have unique features, each house is based on the same design, and all houses in the neighborhood resemble each other in some basic ways. For a home buyer who wants their home to reflect their style, semi-custom homes are only a small improvement over production homes.
Custom Homes
A custom home is a house that is 100 percent customized to suit your lifestyle. Your custom home might start with a drawing on a napkin, or a conversation with your spouse that begins: "Wouldn't it be great if...?"
Some custom homes begin with a floorplan found online, while others start with an architect. You're in charge when you're building a custom home. Your budget sets the limit, and the rest is up to you. You may build on land you purchased independently or from the builder. You can select the location, lot size, features, and the view. Your custom home can have all the features you want, down to the smallest detail.
Because your custom home will be designed in the style that you choose, your home will be different from other homes in your area. It will express your unique personality and show off your tastes.
Benefit of Building a Custom Home
While the benefit of building a custom home is probably becoming obvious as you continue to read this article, there are many benefits to consider as you move forward with construction. Building a custom home can be a lot of work, so you'll want to remember this as you get deeper into the process.
You Choose the Architectural Style
Do you love traditional architecture like Colonial-style houses or Victorian mansions? Perhaps you're excited by modernity and the sleek, geometric appearance of contemporary structures. Whatever style you like best is what you can choose for your custom home.
When you're working with a custom home builder, it helps to have ideas to share as you design and construct your new house. Collect pictures online of structures, architectural flourishes, and finishes that excite you. These images will help you walk your builder through the design process to create a house that suits your preferences.
Floorplan to Suit Your Household
Maybe you want a big master bathroom with space for a jetted bathtub, and a separate shower. Maybe you spend all your time in the kitchen and need it perfect. Perhaps you're planning to have a big family, or you have a big family already.
Whatever makes your household unique is what will influence your home's design. If you love to cook and need an extra large kitchen, you can have one. If your book collection is bigger and more impressive than most, maybe you'll opt for wall-to-wall built-in shelving. Your home builder and designer will work with you to create a house perfect for your favorite activities and the people you love.
Include Latest Styles and Innovations
Building trends and materials change all the time. Several years ago, smart home features were beginning to take off. Today, home automation is a major consideration in home construction. When you build a custom home, you can control the level of innovation.
Maybe you'd like to build your walls above the current energy efficiency requirements or cover your home with solar panels. Perhaps you'd like to add smart features just now hitting the market, to make your house as technologically advanced as possible. Your custom home builder will rise to the challenge - that's what they do.
Want More Land or More Privacy? You Got It
One of the problems that some homeowners encounter when considering production or semi-custom homes is the small lot size that is typical in these neighborhoods. Subdivision lots tend to be small, and neighbors are close together.
When you build a custom home, you can choose the lot, lot size, and the level of privacy that is right for your family. It's common for home buyers building custom properties to seek out houses on lots 1 acre or larger. All that is possible when you're building a custom home.
High-Value Investment Pays Off
While custom homes often cost more than production and semi-custom homes, they typically deliver higher value. They're a good investment for someone who wants to live in the house of their dreams, and then sell it later. Quality matters with a custom home. Choose a builder that you can trust to build a house that buyers will flock to when it hits the market.
Where Can I Build a Custom Home in Colorado Springs?
Land is available in the Colorado Springs area! While some home buyers find infill lots inside the city, most custom homes are constructed in locations open for development. These locations include:
- East side of Colorado Springs
- In the Black Forest
- Along Highway 83 up to County Line Road
- In Monument
Some of this land is inside the city limits, while others fall under county jurisdiction. If you work with Wayne Anthony Custom Homes to build your custom house, we have lots available to help you get started. You don't have to build your custom home on these lots, but some homeowners prefer it. You can see some of the success we've had with lots of these areas in our online portfolio.
Benefits of Living in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a thriving community that brings many people flocking to the area. It's an ideal community for households seeking natural beauty and economic opportunity.
Lower taxes. Taxes in Colorado Springs are pleasantly affordable compared to many areas in the country. Residents pay state income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes. TABOR, the Tax Payers Bill of Rights from 1992, limits the ability of the government to raise taxes without taxpayer approval. This helps our taxes stay relatively affordable.
Colorado lifestyle. Colorado Springs is known for its great recreational options, including trails, hiking areas, spots for mountain biking, and parks of all sizes. Pikes Peak is west of Colorado Springs, offering beautiful views from the summit visitor center. Things to do in the area include the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Cave of the Winds Mountain Park, Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center, and the Pioneer Museum. For anyone who loves fitness or who wants to spend their life outdoors enjoying the natural beauty and crisp dry air, Colorado Springs offers a lifestyle that can't be beat.
Significantly lower cost of living compared to Denver. Denver's cost of living is 11 percent above the national average, but Colorado Springs is well below that amount. Our utilities and grocery costs are even lower than the national average. This keeps people coming to Colorado Springs, so it's a growing community that's been getting bigger for years.
Proximity to Denver. Denver is just north of Colorado Springs, about 70 miles away. Travel between Denver and Colorado Springs is relatively easy, and if you're not making any stops, you can reach Denver in about an hour. Whether you need to travel to Denver regularly for business or just want to escape to another city for fun, this drive is relatively easy.
Excellent weather. Summers in Colorado Springs are temperate, and the area sees an average of 300 days of sunshine each year. (It's perfect for hiking, biking, and spending time outdoors.) Colorado Springs is a high-altitude city where it can get quite cold at night. But during the day, if the sun is shining and the wind is not blowing, the temperature can be 30 degrees, and you will feel quite warm in the sunshine without a coat. The area receives an average of 3 feet of snow each year, but the snow in Colorado Springs usually evaporates the next day.
Thriving economy. With a low unemployment rate and a range of jobs available in the Colorado Springs area, many people are able to find a job to support themselves and their families. Key industries in the area include tourism, healthcare, aerospace and defense contracting, IT/software development and cybersecurity. The five US military bases in the area bring a lot of local employment, while large non-government employers in the area include the U.S. Olympic Committee, Newmont Mining Corporation, Lockheed Martin, and Progressive Insurance.
Ready to Build a Custom Home in Colorado Springs? Contact Wayne Anthony Custom Homes
Over a million homes are built every year, but when you build your custom home, it will be one of a kind. The benefit of building a custom home will be made clear when you're finally living in a house that was made exclusively for you. If you're ready to take the first step, contact Wayne Anthony Custom Homes to get started with the initial consultation. We're excited to hear from you.
