Saturday, January 18, 2020

Spec Homes vs Tract Homes vs Custom Homes

If you want to move into your new home as soon as possible, a Spec Home will probably be your best option. Also, if you want your initial budget to be smaller, a Spec Home could be a better option. If you have some time and money to spare, and want to have a large role in the design of your home, then a Custom Home could be a better choice. In contrast, a custom home is specifically tailored to your tastes, your needs, and your property. An in-house designer will work with you to determine what elements will suit your lifestyle and individual needs.

spec vs custom homes

Beyond the floorplan, many finishes, lighting, and paint colors are also pre-determined. The design of a spec home is predetermined, meaning there’s no room for customization or adjustments to the floorplan. There are big differences between all three, and knowing what they are will help you make the best decisions for your investment. Eliminate extra rooms and flex space that are trendy with today’s spec houses.

Disadvantages of custom homes

Spec Homes are built by a home builder or contractor before there is a buyer. These homes have all design selections and materials chosen according to the builder's specifications. Regarding design, they are often neutral and don’t have too many customizations so that they can appeal to a wider variety of people. They will have the type of amenities and features that buyers in the area would expect. Spec homes are faster and easier to get into because there are far fewer decisions to be made. Homebuyers can tour any number of spec homes with their realtor and choose the house that best suits their needs.

In a custom build, the consumer is involved from preliminary plans and preconstruction through completion. Trying to launch a new home project in the dead of winter will be a slow painstaking process. Yes, you can do all the planning, researching for professionals, and coordinating tasks with them in the winter, but ideally, start the building process when good weather comes around.

What time of year is it?

The downside is that your options for layout and home design are limited. Floor plans that are usually duplicated many times throughout a subdivision. The builder uses a generalized profile of the desired homebuyer and constructs a home around these guidelines. For example, the builder may design a home with empty-nesters in mind, or create a home with features that would typically appeal to young families.

As I’m sure you’ve expected, custom homes come with a high price and the process for building a custom home will be longer than that of spec or tract homes. Some builders advertise “semi-custom” homes — designs that are part of their portfolio. The customer selects a floor plan and “customizes” certain features and finishes, such as exterior materials and paint and carpet colors. To make sure the home has a look and feel consistent with other versions of the same plan, structural elements of the plan such as kitchen size and ceiling height can’t be changed. The number of selections is limited to keep costs down and ensure that construction stays on schedule. With a custom home, you work usually with a builder, engineer and land surveyor.

How to Choose a Home Builder

If you’d prefer to be involved in creating your dream home, perhaps custom is the route for you. It can be very difficult to find available land in close proximity to shopping and other amenities. Most times, you’ll have to look outside of your preferred area for available land. These builders buy large tracts of land and tend to develop their own subdivisions keeping their homes exclusive from other builders entering the community. Specs homes are well-built, have great amenities and upgrades, and are located in promising neighborhoods.

spec vs custom homes

Since your spec home is, in all likelihood, one of many built by the same builder, it will probably look similar to the others, which nips any wishes you had of uniqueness in the bud. Of course, the easiest way to a new home is to buy an existing house, one that was previously owned by someone else. First, let’s break down what exactly a spec home, tract home, and custom home are.

Generic Homes

But older homes often have work and maintenance that need to be done. With less control of a spec home, homebuyers need to do their due diligence before committing to the purchase. Often spec homes are move-in ready, allowing for a quick transition. Will there be any remodeling after the purchase, in order to make a few customizations?

spec vs custom homes

Construction takes 14 to 18 months after design work is complete. Ideally, start building your home in the fall or early spring, when the weather won’t slow you down. Then your builders can enjoy nice weather and work much more efficiently to finish your home before next winter comes around. Or they will at least get a good chunk of the project done before winter hits. Investors can expect anywhere between a 5% ROI on the low end and 15%+ on the high end. If you’re just starting out investing in spec homes, you will be closer to the lower end of this spectrum.

The best house will be the one that fits your family’s needs and suits your current and future situations. You can also make structural decisions, such as adding or removing rooms or making certain areas larger or smaller. Mid-sized Homes — Usually take six to seven months for design and documentation and are completed within a year. You might have some trouble with the budget, or some official documents pertaining to the construction might be caught up in red tape.

spec vs custom homes

A spec home is very popular because it can be built in a unique design, reflecting your style, and also provides you an affordable option. If you happen to find a house that is still under construction, you may get to have some say in flooring, paint colors, hardware, and appliances. But you still won’t have nearly as many customization options with spec houses as you would if you were having a production house or custom home built. Custom home builders work with their clients from the ground up to design their homes. Often this will start with purchasing a lot and then developing a custom floor plan or selecting an existing plan. This is who we work with most here at Homestead Timbers and we have become a go-to for custom lumber needs.

Spec Homes vs Tract Homes vs Custom Homes

Are you interested in building a custom-built home in the Pittsburgh area? We’d welcome the opportunity to talk about designing and building a home just for you. Even if you decide to choose a few amenities to add to the home, you likely won’t have to wait long at all for construction to be completed.

spec vs custom homes

The builder will choose such things as colors, materials, ceiling heights, and floor plans that suit the trends of the area. This ensures an easy sell while keeping the cost of building down. There are several types of builders in the industry – custom, tract and spec – and oftentimes, builders that build custom homes may also build spec homes. Custom Homes are homes that are built according to a buyer’s unique specifications and needs. The home buyer has control over major aspects of the finished product by helping with design, finishes, materials, and more. They can often choose their own floor plans, land, and can set their own budget.

It might be time to invest in the custom home you’ve always dreamed about. The custom builder you will hire for the job is bound to make your wishes for your dream house a reality. The single biggest advantage a custom home has over any spec home is the amount of control you have over its design and construction. Spec build, or speculative build, is a home that you build with the goal of selling or flipping it for a profit. In other words, you speculate that you will sell the home, but you build it before finding any potential buyers. Or would you prefer having one custom built from the ground up?

The builder chooses most of the features, so your input as a home buyer will be limited. Builders construct these homes based on what they believe potential buyers are looking for in a home. For example, a builder may include a plethora of amenities and upgrades for a home constructed in an upscale neighborhood. Home builders undoubtedly evaluate market trends to determine where and what to include in the spec homes. Whether it’s your first home, or an investment property, with U R Homes Texas you can be sure you’ve made the right decision.

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