When it comes to building a new home, one of the biggest challenges you might face is scope creep. This is when a project begins to expand beyond its original parameters, leading to an increase in both time and cost. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to minimize the risk of scope creep and ensure that your project stays on track.
First and foremost, it’s important to work with a builder that you trust. Look for someone who has a reputation for being reliable, communicative, and transparent. This will help you to avoid surprises down the line and ensure that everyone is on the same page from the outset. Many of our clients come to us as referrals. Getting referrals from friends and families will help you find a builder that has a proven track record of creating happy clients.
Another key step is to go through the design process in detail. This means taking the time to map out every aspect of your project with your builder and designer, from the layout of each room to the specific materials you want to use. By taking our time during this process, we can identify potential issues early on and make changes before construction begins.
Finally, it’s important to know what you want before you start. This means having a clear idea of your budget, your timeline, and your priorities. To make matters easier, it is important that everyone who has an investment in building the home has their say. Sometimes disagreements can come up about details you least expected. Make sure you are all on the same page about the “non-negotiables” before getting too far into the process. Every Habitat Studio build starts with a blank piece of paper where we can capture everything you want your home to do and be for you. We will guide you through the entire process and ask you the right questions to really determine how we can accurately build your vision.
Although we at Habitat Studio always try to obtain, and provide, as much information as possible from the start by following the above steps, sometimes people do change their mind during the building process and decide to make changes or additions along the way. This is often a normal part of the process (particularly with renovations!), and we always try to be as flexible as possible with accommodating requests for changes. That’s the beauty of custom!