Spec Home Vs. Semi-Custom Vs. Custom Build
Getting into your dream home is a big decision and takes a lot of thought. One aspect we often see people get stuck on is if you should build or buy something already built. If you do decide to build, how custom should you be going? Let’s take a deeper look at some of your options.
Spec Homes
Builders commonly put up spec houses or model homes to show people what they can build and the quality of their work. Usually spec homes have a goal of appealing to as many people as possible and are listed on MLS. Currently, Bill Weber Jr. Homes has spec
homes going up in Sun Prairie, Cottage Grove, Deforest and Waunakee. See what’s currently available here.
New build spec homes in Dane county tend to feature tile showers, LVP flooring, white quartz countertops, large mud rooms with custom lockers, tray ceilings and so on. Buying a spec home allows you to get into a home fast, but you will sacrifice the ability to make selections on final finishes. If you do want to make final color selections and love the floor plan, building a semi-custom house might be the best option for you. At a 6 month build time, Bill Weber Jr. Homes will make building a fun and enjoyable process. If the house checks the boxes and just needs something small, why wait?
If you want to get into a home right away, but want something slightly changed. Bill Weber Jr. Homes does offer remodeling services. You can always call us back to add a basement finish, screen porch, addition, etc. Remodeling can be a bit of a headache for people, but we strive to getting projects done as fast as possible so you can carry on with your lives.
Semi-Custom Homes
Once you decide that building is the right fit for you, deciding how custom you want to go can determine the next steps. Unfortunately, there is no clear line between a semi-custom home and custom home. When building your home with Bill Weber Jr. Homes in the Dane county area, a semi-custom home is a very good route for cost and tailoring the home to your needs. We offer a variety of Standard Home Plans that can be modified to meet your needs. Bill Weber Jr. Homes allows you to pick all of the finishes, move walls, adjust kitchen cabinets and so on. We allow the flexibility you deserve when building a home. Wait that’s not custom? It could be! We take pride in our ability to make those small changes some builders wont allow.
When designing your home, we help you understand the costs of making changes early in the process, so we can best meet your budget. With 26 years of experience, we have a firm grasp on pricing, market trends and our building process. Most of the time, our semi-custom builds offer people the versatility they need and results in quality homes that last for generations to come.
Custom Building
What is custom? Custom is just a fancy word for “costs more”. Kidding kind of.. Our definition of custom building would be building a home completely to the homeowners specs. This usually gets into different insulation methods, unique building materials, a “from scratch” plan and sometimes funky exterior measurements that costs more. Bill Weber Jr. Homes offers drafting services and can help you customize and design your future home. Keeping cost in mind is a key part of the design process when going the custom route. There is no better person to draw plans than your builder. It is easy to over design a home and end up getting a bid hundreds of thousands over budget following a poor design process. At Bill Weber Jr. Homes, we take that path off the table.
When building a custom home, we are designing the house to the landscape. We start looking into how
to best maximize your view, how to best fit the lot and design the home to your specific everyday needs. This route takes a lot more planning, drafting and designing. Usually we start to pull in 3rd party professional designers to help with color schemes, furniture layouts and so on. We start to build each room individually in a sense. Building a custom home usually has more problems with appraisals, material availability and can take longer from start to finish.
Does that mean custom building is a bad path? Absolutely not. It just means to expect to take a more active role in the design/ build process and that costs might be a little higher. What we love most about the custom route is the friendships we make, ideas we gain and the final product we get to show off.
We love custom building and have a team dedicated to building your dream. Whether you have us building a lake house, a house on acreage or in a pristine community, we have what it takes to get the job done right for you.
What Now?
Hopefully this article helped you understand what some of the different paths are in building. Bill Weber Jr. Homes has arguably one of the best building processes in Madison for building homes to a wide variety of homeowners needs. Whether you’re buying a spec, building one of our standard floor plans or going completely custom, Bill Weber Jr. Homes can help you. We are dedicated to building your dream home. Give us a call to set up a consultation.
