Planning your new home: where to start

Start with how you will live

Before square footage, think about days. Who lives in the house, and who visits? Where do the vehicles, the gear and the boots go in winter? Do you work from home? A page of honest answers does more for a floor plan than a stack of photos.

• Who will live there now, and in ten years
• What you need close to the door: garage, shop, mudroom
• The rooms you would give up, and the ones you would not

Get to a rough budget

You do not need a number to the dollar. You need a range you are comfortable with, including the part that is not the house: land, site work, utilities, and a cushion. The range decides how big, how finished and how complicated the home can be, so it is worth settling before you fall in love with a plan.

Know where you stand on land

If you own land, we want to hear about it. If you are shopping, talk to a builder before you close, because water, sewer, power and the driveway can change what the lot is worth to you. We cover that in the next stage, Land and site.

Decide what is flexible

When do you want to be in, and how firm is that date? What matters more, the size of the house or the finish inside it? Knowing which way you would bend makes the later choices faster.

What our first call covers

We start with an overview call. You tell us about the land, what you want to build and a rough budget. We tell you honestly whether it sounds like a fit. If it does, we come see the site. Budget comes before drawings, and once work starts every change is written down before it happens.

What to have ready

None of this has to be polished. A few things make the call go further.

• The lot address or listing, if you have one
• A few photos of homes you like
• Your rough budget range
• When you would like to be in