You’ve been living in your well-loved apartment for years. The appliances only work every other day, but that creates more opportunity for culinary creativity. Quirky neighbors make all sorts of odd noises at all hours, but at least your sweet puppy is learning to sleep through it, thanks to his cuddly donut dog bed. Your spouse and children need more room to run around, but that’s what parks are for, right?
Maybe. Or maybe it’s time for an upgrade. Finding the right home in the right location can feel impossible. You’ve thought about building your own home, but that requires figuring out so many other things, and you’re not an architect. Still, that probably seems like the best option for a family whose feet have just outgrown their shoebox apartment.
Building a home is an exciting project, but it comes with a lot of stress. You can remove some of the hassles and headaches by hiring a contracting company that will take care of all the paperwork—permits, licenses, and insurance to name a few—so that you can focus on what really matters: building the perfect home for you and your family.
The Easiest Way
Streamline the process of building your home by buying a house and land package from a builder you trust. The company that helps you should understand what it feels like to be in your shoes; in other words, find a family that builds homes for families. They’ll know what it takes to make a home stylish, comfortable, and functional.
A house and land package includes all the paperwork. Your builder will do all the licensing for you, and you won’t have to even think about it. It’s an architect, a material warehouse, and a permit provider all-in-one. You won’t even need to find the land yourself; they’ve got it covered. From there, you can choose the home design of your dreams, and in the blink of an eye, you’ll be living in it.
You should also consider looking for a company that cares about the impact homes have on the environment. Efficient heating, cooling, and lighting systems will not only decrease your carbon footprint but also lower your monthly electric bill. Buy appliances with good Energy Star ratings. That means more money to spend on your children and healthier earth for them to live on decades from now.
The DIY Way
After you’ve been DIY-ing for years, maybe you’re ready to kick it up a notch. If you’re one of those brave souls who enjoys a strenuous solo project, then you’ll have to get a building license yourself in order to build a home with your bare hands. Getting your license looks a bit different in every state, so we won’t get into the details here. Just know that you oftentimes need a few years of relevant experience (working for a construction company, for example) before the state will officially allow you to build structures on your own. You also may need to take a builders’ licensing course to prove that you meet minimum financial requirements, and you must not have been disqualified from practicing business in Australia.
There are different types of building licenses, depending on your needs. A contractor license is different from a qualified supervisor certificate; contractors can’t supervise, and supervisors can’t do the work themselves. Only an endorsed contractor license allows you to do both. The licenses in your state may also be divided into commercial builders, domestic builders, and demolishers. Additionally, the licenses may vary by the height of the building you seek to construct. All of that is to say, in order to apply for a builders’ license, you must know specifically what you’re building and have relevant, supervised prior building experience.
