The cost of the soils test is a wise investment, before spending the full amount on the lot purchase. Island Custom Homes' priority is to ensure that it is a build-able lot, in every sense of the word.
It is a good idea to roll the purchase of the lot into the overall construction loan, since the value of the lot can be used as a down payment on the construction loan (depending on the loan program). The only other up front cost is the architectural fees to design your home plans, which are necessary to get accurate bids for the budget. The cost of the architectural fees depend on whether we started with an existing plan and modified it, versus starting a plan from scratch. Island Custom Homes' partner architect has many years experience, and many beautiful home plans on file that we can use as a starting point. After all the bid and design work is completed, the deposit money would be applied towards Island Custom Homes' first month's management fee. We would have a complete budget, to include the upgrades specified for the finishes, before we started construction.
Island Custom Homes always provides a current budget during the construction, which allows you to see exactly where you are in regards to the initial budget. That way, if you decide to add something during construction, you can either make a change to reduce the budget elsewhere, or know what the corresponding increase is for. Island Custom Homes helps manage the budget so there aren't any surprises when your changes are made.
If you are interested in building a home with Island Custom Homes, please fill out our new build request form to let the builder know more about your dream home.
The button below will take you to the form. Once submitted, you will be contacted in a timely manner to discuss your answers.