Living in your own home sometimes seems impossible. However, the reality is that one day we will most likely have it. The key lies in having a good roadmap or strategy that allows us to know what to do, when and how to do it. With this, making your dream come true is only a matter of time.
1– Choose the terrain well. Land is always a good investment, because it tends to go up in value over time. That’s why, Buying land is recommended both for those who are going to build and for those who want to save safely.
If you have the capital to buy the land you want, choose one that is in the neighborhood where you would most like to live. But, if your goal is to get together the money to buy yourself something, Aim for an economic lottery, made by a recognized developer, that offers you financing in pesos. Once you have it, you will decide whether to build right there or somewhere else.
Secondly, analyze the location of the lot with respect to attractive sites such as the river and routes or downtown areas, if it is located in a closed or open neighborhood, if it has unevenness or is floodable, what surface area can really be occupied and with what kind of construction and what is in the surroundings. All this will give you indications regarding the real value of the land, how much it can appreciate over time and whether it is likely that it will form a neighborhood of expensive houses, an area of workshops and businesses or a neighborhood of cheap houses.
Choosing the ideal land and its future potential is the first step towards the perfect home.
2- Set your priorities. When designing our home, the limitations imposed by the budget and the available space force us to prioritize various spaces and elements over others. Thus, It is essential to have a clear list of needs and desires, numbered in order of relevance. Thus, whoever advises you will know if it is more important for your bedroom to have a dressing room or a space for a TV rack, if your garage should be covered or can be solved with a nice shed, and if having that extra bedroom is more important to you than the Carrara marble in the bathroom.
To establish these priorities, it is useful to think about what each family member needs, what activities they do at home, what their preferences are, what tasks can be carried out in the same space, how much storage space is required, what changes can be made to be in our lives 5 years from now, if it is important for our house to impress others or it is enough that it be comfortable and functional, and if we want a modern or timeless house.
finance management
3- Analyze your finances. Depending on our particular case, it may be convenient to think about building a house for life or a trampoline house.
If we do not know where we are going to get the money to build, starting by paying an economic lot in installments can be a first step. And, perhaps, it is not convenient for us to think of the ideal house, but of a small, functional, well-built, expandable, beautiful and salable house. The fact is that land tends to appreciate over time and a finished home is worth approximately 30% more than it cost. Then, once the neighborhood has consolidated and we have a new piece of land, some savings or the possibility of accessing a mortgage, we can sell it and make a bigger one or with more expensive materials.
“Having a budget in mind, we will be able to know how many square meters we are talking about and if we need to build in stages or we can build the house in one go.”
If, on the other hand, we already have a base capital, it is advisable to make a realistic calculation of how much money we have and what financing we can get to build our house. Having a budget in mind, we will be able to know how many square meters we are talking about and if we need to build in stages or we can build the house in one go.
4- Plan what you are going to build and establish an action plan. Lowering our ideas, wishes and needs to a specific design is essential to know how many meters our house really has, if it can be built in stages and what its cost is. In addition, it allows us to have a list of realistic materials, with which we can begin to collect, that is, save on materials. We can establish an investment or purchase plan that reaches a certain point, then obtain municipal permits and carry out an investment plan for the remainder of materials and labor.
The finishing details represent 30% of the total work.
Working in this way will allow us to better direct our energies and efforts, we will be able to save for something concrete and affordable, take advantage of offers from the corralones, investigate alternative and cheaper materials, Be attentive to bank credits that may arise, know if it is convenient for us or not to make that trip we want and, if we have space, keep some items.
5-Think outside the box. Until the moment of sticking the first porcelain tile, we spend more or less 70% of what our house is worth. That is the completions represent approximately 30% of the total cost of the work. This is a stage that catches our attention, because we want our home to look beautiful. And it includes materials that have very different prices, such as wall and floor coverings, taps and bathroom sets or paintings.
Consequently, When you approach this instance of the work it is prudent to review or do an interior design. We tend to have very fixed ideas about what we want, which do not always fit our economic reality and which, in turn, limit our ability to see cool alternatives.
Using alternative materials, on floors, walls, countertops and furniture, we can achieve super spaces. chic and, in turn, economic. The key, for this, is that things harmonize by being together and combined and in a certain way. For this, Even if you are on a tight budget, it is ideal to advise you with someone when designing the interiors of your home. A person with a trained eye will be able to help you select and articulate element materials in a magical way.
Dr. Arq. Mijal Orihuela – (Special for Río Negro)
Good living. Architecture and Design / LxArch Ambassador
@mijal.arquitecta