It’s a great idea in theory…

I wish building a house, a custom home, was the easiest option.  However, as anyone who has built one or as the lender who has loaned on one or the realtor who has sold one, can tell you, it can be a mess.

Among the budget troubles and timeline challenges you can read about, there is just a ton of uncertainty involved. 

My least favorite aspect is the possibility of some serious lien issues arising.  When the buyer buys the lot, and then arranges for the contractor to build upon the lot, that buyer also owns the title to the land.  If they get mixed up with an ethics-challenged contractor, who dosn’t pay his or her subs, then guess who gets stuck with the liens on the property?  The liens (which are essentially debts against the property) then prohibit the buyer from ever actually owning the house they’ve just built, because you cannot ‘close’ on a home that has a cloud on the title (which is what the liens provide).

I’m not a negative person, as any regular reader of this blog knows, but that’s the tough side of building a custom.  And I used to think the biggest headache would be getting the colors right!