Custom Home vs. Spec Home: Which Is Right for You?
In the market for a new home? One of the most important decisions you’ll have to make early on in the process is the choice between building a custom home and purchasing a spec house. While working with a custom home builder is a more involved process than buying a pre-built property, the rewards are always worth it.
Want to learn more? Here’s a brief guide to the main differences between building your own home from scratch vs. buying spec.
What is a custom home?
The custom home building process is all about you—the process, from start to finish, including the design and drafting service portion of the project, is guided by your input. These one-of-a-kind residences are designed and built for individual clients, and the overall goal is to bring their ideas to life. Some of the pros of building a custom home include:
- Personalization: Every custom home reflects the personal stylistic preferences of the people who’ve built it. By collaborating with a design and drafting service and professional contractors, you can create spaces that represent your personality, tastes and individual style. For example, families looking for indoor-outdoor living options can include carefully-designed spaces like screened-in porches to feel closer to nature.
- Function: Each family has unique needs in terms of how their home functions. Searching for a home on the standard market always comes with sacrifices, whether it’s the size of specific spaces, number of bedrooms and other factors. By going custom, you and your designer create a floor plan that makes the most sense for you and your family.
- Quality construction: Buying an existing home can be a money pit. When you build a custom home, you can ensure that all materials and construction methods are of the highest quality possible.
What is a spec home?
A spec home is built from a plan that’s been developed by the builder. Usually, builders create spec homes with certain types of homebuyers in mind, such as young families or empty nesters. Generally, spec homes are designed and built with features that appeal to a wide range of buyers.
Spec homes are usually completed before they’re sold, which means you won’t have to wait around before you can move in. Since the builder has already chosen the floor plan, finishes, appliances and all other features of the property, all that’s left for you to do is to move in.
The sacrifice you make when buying a spec home is that you won’t get to put your own personal stamp on the home unless you make changes after you move in. While you can change fixtures and finishes at your own expense, you can’t significantly change the floor plan, even if it’s not working well for your family.
Working with a custom home builder is the only way to ensure your next home is your forever home. No matter your budget or your unique needs, WSL Incorporated delivers every time. Contact us today to start the custom home building process and get the home you’ve always dreamed of.