It’s a decision you will need to make as you progress towards home ownership: Should you build a house or buy one? Popular opinion will have you believe that the latter’s a cheaper and less stressful route. In reality, though, home shopping can be an agonizing experience — you’ll (likely) end up compromising between what you need to fit your lifestyle, and what’s available on the market at the time.

That’s not to say that a custom home build will be any less involving. Rather, the point here is that a home will be the single biggest investment you’ll ever make in life. As such, you want to examine both options from all angles before making your decision.

Customization

A custom build will give you the opportunity to shape your house as you see fit. You want a large, open living room with a tall ceiling and plenty of windows? Or perhaps you want a free-flowing kitchen with a dining area and plenty of storage? Whatever your needs are, you have the power to design a home that accommodates them.

Of course, you could also purchase an existing house and renovate it to fit your lifestyle. But as highlighted earlier, your options will be limited by its architectural design Toronto. Not to mention that this will be an additional expense on top of the sticker price. Which prompts the next variable in the equation…

Money

A resale home will give you plenty of room to negotiate on the price, the same of which can’t be said of a custom build. Even so, the savings realized here may be cancelled out by renovation costs. That’s before you factor in maintenance.

You see, the thing with resale properties is that you can’t really tell what’s hiding behind the facade. From outdated appliances to broken plumbing, unexpected repairs can come in all manner of ways. Building your own home means you’ll be able to avoid such pitfalls.

Time

The biggest downside to building is the longer timeframe — it could take up to a year to complete a new build. This may very well rule out the option if you’re pressed for time, or planning to sell your current home in order to fund the construction. At best, it’ll necessitate renting out a temporary abode as you build yours.

That being said, a custom build is the way to go if you feel that you’ve already wasted too much time searching for a unicorn in the existing homes market. A bit of planning upfront will help you avoid setbacks and cost overruns. Above all, be sure to look for and hire an experienced custom home builder.