Action Plan

The decision to build a custom home is a major commitment. You will experience many emotions when making this decision; excitement, hope, confusion, anxiety, hesitation, fear, happiness and many more. There are many questions you will have when going through this process. Sanctuary Builder has a sincere interest of educating and guiding you through the design and home building process. From our years of experience, we have compiled an “Action Plan” of what you can expect moving forward. While every situation is different, the following information will help guide you through the steps of designing and building your new custom home.  

WILL YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH FINDING THE PERFECT HOMESITE TO BUILD YOUR
     CUSTOM HOME ON?   

In real estate, location is the foundation on which everything else is built. Location entails much more than a physical address, it evokes such things as security, comfort, convenience and love. Yes love, we all desire to love where we live. Your future neighborhood must be a place where you are happy, comfortable, safe and in love with your surroundings. Your home is one of the largest and most emotional decisions you will have to make. It is also your largest financial asset. Because you have so much invested and you will spend the majority of your time in your home, we want to make sure it is exactly what you want and where you want it. When making the decision of where to live our full service real estate Sales Associates will help you with every question that you need to answer; where do I want to live? How much do I want to spend on my homesite? How much can I afford to spend on my home? What type of orientation do I want for my home? What style architecture will fit best in my new neighborhood? How can we best utilize the land with your future home incorporating landscape, hardscape, pools and other areas? Based on all this information, we will provide you with our recommendations for custom homesites, conceptual designs and more.  There are many things you should consider and research when purchasing your future homesite; these items include the CC&R’s, HOA fees, Architectural Control Committee, restrictions, zoning and any Developer Design Review Processes. There are many other details that you will need to weigh when going through the land purchase process. Some of these items include the type of utilities available, soil conditions, topography of the land, hillside review, water front or golf course lot restrictions, height restrictions, building setbacks, non-buildable areas, natural area open space, the municipality that is responsible for permitting, state agencies that may have an interest, and wildlife preserves and protected species of plant or animal life. The list can be daunting, but we have skilled and experienced professionals ready to help you throughout the entire process.

THE AGE OLD QUESTION, “IS IT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE OR VICE VERSA?” OR
         REGARDING A CUSTOM HOME, “SHOULD I BUY A HOMESITE OR DESIGN MY
         HOME FIRST?”

There is no right or wrong answer. Most people will find the perfect homesite first and then design a home to fit the parameters of that site. If you purchase a homesite prior to designing your home, you need to be aware that you may end up with limitations on the size of home you can build.  It is always a good idea to consider the square footage and maximum dimensions of the home you want to build. With this in mind you will be able to start with the minimum size requirement of your homesite. You should also be aware of the required setbacks; these are distances from the street to the front of the house and between each house that are determined by the city. Your dream home may be 110 feet in length and if your homesite is 160 feet long with required setbacks of 20 feet this will leave you with a 30 foot back yard. Will this be acceptable to you? One last item to consider is the maximum lot coverage allowed by the municipality.  How much of the land will your home sit on and does that fit into the city’s guidelines?  What are the minimum/maximum square footage requirements for your new community? Are there any timeframes that are required by the developer? There are also many more issues that you should consider prior to finalizing any land purchase.    

If you do purchase your homesite first please consult with us so that we can ask all the pertinent questions and make sure that we can provide you with the home you really want in the end.

What if you choose to design your home prior to purchasing your homesite? There are several scenarios to consider with this option as well. You may work with Sanctuary Builder for several months on designing the exact home you want but once you purchase the homesite, the developer may require several changes to your plans. Custom neighborhoods have design guidelines that must be adhered to and these adjustments can cost you time and money.  You might also find the ideal homesite to purchase but due to the soil conditions of the land the basement you have designed and always wanted may no longer be possible.  Consequently, items mentioned previously such as lot coverage, required setbacks and square footage also needs to be considered when you have your home already designed and you are shopping for the homesite to build it on.  

As you can see, there is no easy answer to this question.  Ultimately, it is up to you, the customer, on what you value and determine are the most important factors in your new custom home.  The team at Sanctuary Builder works as your homebuilding partner and will offer our guidance and expertise in both scenarios and will work towards your goal, the new custom home in a fantastic location, with all the features and amenities you desire.

YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE PRELIMINARY MEETINGS WITH THE TEAM AT SANCTUARY
            BUILDER AND YOU TRUST THAT WE ARE THE RIGHT BUILDER FOR YOUR NEXT HOME.

Great, let’s get started! You will first be asked to execute a Custom Home Design Agreement and make a non-refundable earnest deposit. In summary, this agreement retains Sanctuary Builder to perform particular and specific tasks prior to the construction of the residence. Essentially, it is the starting point of the design process.  The agreement details the responsibilities and obligations of both the homebuyer and of Sanctuary Builder during the design phase.  Please see your Sales Associate for all the details, terms and conditions.

WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT DURING THE DESIGN PHASE PROCESS?

We will begin by working with you in selecting your design team which may consist of an architect, civil engineer, structural engineer, interior designer, exterior color specialist, cabinet designer, construction manager, project manager, purchasing director and sales associate. It is the collaboration of this group who will meet with you, listen to your objectives and then work together to put all of your thoughts, ideas, interests, needs, wants, desires and goals into a working blueprint. This working blueprint will be utilized by your design team to create your engineering documents, system concepts, lot analysis, grading and drainage plans, truss/roof systems and any other design information required for your home.  During the design phase, the exterior selections of your home will need to be determined and finalized by you so that we may submit them to your Architectural Review Committee.  These selections include paint colors, stone, brick, doors, windows, roof material/type, iron, exterior finishes, hardscape, landscaping, fences, gates, water features, courtyards and any other materials that will affect the appearance of your exterior elevation. The Committee may require that some of your selections be altered however; if you change the material after your plans have been approved by the Committee, this will cause a delay.  The Committee will need to review and approve your selections again.

Once the plans have been approved by you, Sanctuary Builder attends the pre-construction meetings with your HOA and works on your behalf to get your plans approved through the Architectural Review Committee and Developer. We will also assist you with procuring the soils report, survey, topography map and landscaping/vegetation plan as required by the Community CC&R’s. During the review and document procuring process, we will work with you on the interior selections of your home.  These selections include flooring, lighting, cabinets, plumbing, electrical, countertops, surfaces, windows, doors, paint, texture, colors, material accessories and many other treatments.

Once your plans and selections have been finalized, Sanctuary Builder will begin working through our completive bid process and analysis. We work aggressively on your behalf to obtain bids from the most competitive and reputable companies we can obtain. Our approach to the bid process is to seek out competitive bids yet be assured that your home will receive the highest quality of material and service available.  We are sensitive to your budget but we maintain our standards of quality and realize that you get what you pay for.  We will utilize our skilled and knowledgeable purchasing experts to take you through the process of creating, obtaining and completing a final cost breakdown and completed bid package.  We will use our experience, qualifications, contractor relationships and internal quality control measures to provide you with the best built home we can within your allotted budget.

Once the bids have been received and selected, we will present you with a Construction Agreement Package. This package will include the Purchase Agreement, final approved plans, specifications, materials, selections and price options for your new custom home.  

AFTER THE CONSTRUCTION PACKAGE HAS BEEN REVIEWED, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?

Once you have reviewed the Construction Package, you will need to execute the purchase agreement, make the required deposits and begin the exciting process building your new custom home. After we have received your approved construction package we will begin the process of obtaining the required permits and authorizations to start the construction  of your new custom home. (Visit our “Building Process” for a step by step process of building your next Sanctuary).  

This is a reference guide of what to expect prior to constructing your custom home. In our efforts of continuously informing and educating our customers, we hope you have a better understanding of what will happen over the next few months.  Our entire team is dedicated to being your homebuilding partner and we will guide you through every step, hurdle and decision with designing and building your custom home.

Additionally, this is a guideline to how our process works. There are many other situations and circumstances that can differentiate from the outline above. We do not require every customer to go through this process. We are flexible and can adapt to your circumstances as needed. Our mission is to provide you with our knowledge, talent and skills to best suit your needs. We can and will work with our team or the team you have already assembled. We want to make the process of designing and building your new custom home as easy, cost effective, creative, enjoyable and efficient as we possibly can.