Semi-Custom Homes or Fully Custom: Which is Best for You?

New Year, New HOME? 

Did you find yourself dreaming of a new home during the holiday season? Either you didn’t have enough space for your visiting guests or you’re simply fed up with your outdated kitchen – the start of a new year is a great time to kick off your home building journey! 

This process may be overwhelming. After picking the lot (which is a huge decision in itself), you have to decide how you’d like to build your home. You may have a vision board of what you want your new home to look like or you could have laid out the floor plan on a napkin during dinner one evening. Either way, custom or semi custom homes are both great options and both offer very different processes. 

Let’s discuss the two and how AP Dodson can be a part of the process. But first with both custom and semi custom homes, you’ll need to pick a lot. Good news: AP Dodson has lots available for purchase in Baton Rouge, Central and adding more constantly. If you haven’t found your perfect lot yet, click here.

Fully Custom Homes

A Custom Home is exactly how it sounds, fully customized to your specific style and vision.  Working alongside the builder, you have complete control over what your home will look like from the height of the ceilings to how many kitchen cabinets in your kitchen. Custom homes are great for people who can make decisions quickly, who know what they want and feel little stress when it comes to making a final decision. 

After you find your lot, the team at AP Dodson will work with you to create your dream home step by step. The process will take a little longer to build and can be thrown off track depending on supply of a specific material, something unexpected happens or the weather. 

PRO TIP: Choose patience! Having patience is a key factor when building a custom home. When you build with AP Dodson, you get a quality home built by a team that feels like family. We know the process and will be with you every step of the way.

Here are a few more pros and cons to building a custom home:

PROS

• Live in the exact floor plan you dream up
• You have complete control over every detail
• Finish product is a totally unique home, unlike any other
• It can be fun being involved in the process

 CONS

• Custom homes will take more time to build
• The whole process will be overwhelming with decisions at times. 
• Potentially more costly.

Semi Custom Homes

Semi custom homes are a great option if you have a specific vision of what your home looks like but you’re on a tight timeline. These homes won’t be like every house on the block and you won’t have to start from scratch either. If you don’t have time or patience to make every single decision throughout the home building process but you want to have some say in certain features of the home, going with a semi-custom home build may be perfect for you. 

Usually with a semi custom home, after you purchase your lot, you’ll choose between different floor plans a builder already has made. You can choose any possible add-ons you may want, such as a garage or deck. You can also choose finishes inside the house such as cabinets and counters as well as colors for the outside of your home. The choices are more limited with a semi custom home but you still can make it your own without the hassle and extra stress. They are an affordable way to build a home that is still unique to you.

Take a look through some of AP Dodson’s available floorplans here. 

Here are a few pros and cons of going with Semi-Custom Home: 

PROS

• Quicker to finish building
• Lower budget
• Fewer pressing decisions
• Lower chance for unexpected surprises
• Still gives you the option of custom features and designs

CONS

• Somewhat limited on options for finishes and building material
• You won’t have complete control over everything but you will be consulted.

So What’s Next?

The best choice between a custom and semi custom home depends on a number of things. Your timeline and budget are two major indicators on which would be a better choice for you. Whether you choose to go fully custom or semi-custom, the dedicated and talented team AP Dodson can help make your dream home come to life. Building a home doesn’t have to be full of stress, indecision and worry – with AP Dodson we can ensure a perfectly, well built home and have some fun throughout the process. 

Need some help making a decision? Call us today and we’ll have your dream home built in 2022! https://apdodson.com/contact/