The chances of finding a home on the market with everything you want are pretty slim. You may find a home close to your vision but will likely have to turn to renovations to make the home more suitable for your family and lifestyle, which can get pretty expensive. With custom homes, however, you choose everything. As the homeowner, you have total control over all the decisions and choices made from the floor plan to finishes and everything in between to ensure you get a finished product that meets your needs, both inside and out.

By collaborating with a custom home builder, interior designer and architect, you can design each room to reflect your unique personality, tastes, and style. Customize every detail, including flooring, cabinets, and windows right down to countertop materials and the colour of hardware and doorknobs. Want a home full of natural light? An office accessible from the outside? Or a deck with a covered area? When you’re working with a new home builder, you decide what your dream home looks like.

Buying a previously owned home has the advantages of being built and move-in ready, but can come with several shortcomings as well. For example, they aren’t built to suit your preferences, there are risks of finding repair and maintenance issues down the road, and they do not typically come under warranty like new build’s do. All these repairs, upgrades and renovations can leave you shelling out a lot of money on top of the initial cost required to purchase the home.

A custom home builder can help you stay within your budget while dramatically reducing the chance of substandard construction, saving you both money and time. With years of experience in the industry, new home builders are the best resource for prices on labour and materials, construction practices, and up-to-date building codes to ensure you stay within budget. You can also take advantage of their vast partnerships and connections with suppliers and home professionals and receive the lowest prices possible on materials, labour, paints, home furnishings, and more. While a custom home is a large initial investment, it will save you serious money in the long run as you will receive superior craftsmanship, the best quality materials that will last for generations to come and higher resale value than an older home when or if you decide to sell.

A huge benefit to building a custom home is energy efficiency. Compared to older homes, newer homes are more energy-efficient as they are built to better standards and can incorporate the latest technology. Customize your home inside and out with energy-efficient features to save money on your utility bills and increase the comfort of your home, such as Energy Star appliances, insulated windows and doors, energy-efficient HVAC systems, LED lighting, and solar energy solutions. Additionally, use creative landscaping to increase your energy savings with strategically-planted trees to provide natural shade and regulate the heat in your home.

When it comes to purchasing a new home, one of the most important factors for a new homeowner is location. Building a custom home gives you the freedom to choose your location. Would you like to be near schools? Want ocean views? Or live close to friends and family? A custom home builder has a team of real estate professionals, architects, engineers and construction experts that can help you find the perfect lot for your custom home that suits your family’s lifestyle and priorities. If you already have land or are looking to purchase a lot, a custom home builder can provide expertise on lot conditions to help you envision your dream home. New home builders can help you identify problems with the lot regarding zoning, permit requirements, flood zones, utility hookups, drainage issues, and more. Whether you want a secluded lot, join an up-and-coming community, or be part of an already established one, the location choices are endless when building a custom home.

For more than 30 years, Westmark’s custom home builders have been working with homeowners across Vancouver Island to build the custom home of their dreams. If you’re looking for a new home builder you can trust with your vision, contact our team today!