Semi-Custom Building: The simple route to a custom home

For some in the market for a new-construction home, the appeal of the personalized experience of building a fully custom home can be tempered by the knowledge that building a custom home often involves a considerable amount of time and involvement on the part of the buyer. Often, buyers can be intimidated by the prospect of what comes with starting from scratch to design and build a home – from obtaining a lot and securing financing to the design and construction process itself. I’ve even heard buyers liken the process to having a second job! 

But today, some builders are making the experience easier by offering a hybrid of the tailored homebuilding process of a custom builder and the streamlined practices of a large-scale builder. This “semi-custom” process is exactly what we at Meritus Homes offer at The Reserve of St. Charles, where we collaborate with buyers to build both semi-custom and custom homes. As president of Meritus Homes, I can tell you firsthand some of the many reasons this type of experience resonates with so many buyers.

Easy Upfront

Rather than having to do the legwork to find and purchase a stand-alone lot in a location you like, a semi-custom community gives you a broad choice of home sites in a desirable area. Financing is also a big component of any custom-build project, but for example at The Reserve of St. Charles, Meritus Homes already owns all the land and therefore we can sell our homes as a full package, including the cost of the home site. That means our buyers don’t have to negotiate the price of a lot or secure separate construction financing – it’s as simple as obtaining a traditional end loan.

Design Guidance

Many buyers love the idea of a custom home, but can be overwhelmed by starting the design process with a blank sheet of paper! But with a semi-custom home, you typically utilize the builder’s proven designs and most popular features as the basis for your own personalized floor plan. In fact at Meritus Homes, our collaborative approach gives you as much input and flexibility in the design process as you want – whether you choose to build a floor plan straight from our portfolio, draw inspiration from the customizations we’ve made for past clients, or come to us with your own ideas to be incorporated into a brand-new design. Likewise, we partner with architects who specialize in designing homes in the municipalities where we build, so the entire homebuilding process – from design and permitting to building and inspection – is as smooth as possible.

Proven Construction Processes

Some buyers are more comfortable than others being closely involved in the new-home construction process. Working with a semi-custom builder gives you the security that there are streamlined processes and efficient practices already in place, so there will be very few surprises and the builder can give you a pretty accurate timeline. At the same time, you’ll want to stay tuned in to the construction process, particularly if you’ve chosen significant customizations and special features for your home. At Meritus, we believe keeping in contact with our buyers throughout construction is imperative, so we check in with you at key points to ensure we are building to your exact needs and specifications. This ensures a high level of predictability for you, and also gives us the ability to make adjustments, if necessary, as you see your new home coming together.

Building a home you love can – and should – be enjoyable. Find a builder with practices in place that will make the process easy and efficient, and who will collaborate to give you as much involvement as you want. If you do, your experience is sure to be a great one!