You have made money and bought a piece of land. It is time to develop the land into a beautiful house. It has always been your dream and now you are more than excited about it. What are the necessary preparations? How do you build that dream house with the correct specification and avoid mistakes which will only cost you more money?

Below are the common mistakes a lot of Ghanaians make when planning their houses and the various steps to avoid these.

General contractors will spend my money

People building houses are determined to cut down cost right from the planning stages. Instead of contracting the services of professionals, they prefer their family members who will have minimal or no idea about houses. Hiring family members to act as contractors is not the best practice; rather, you should hire the services of a professional.

They have a wealth of experience with the added advantage of knowing other qualified sub-contractors like plumbers and concrete finishers, who will ensure that your house is completed on time and built to the right specification. The general contractor ensures sub-contractors do not use inferior products for your house, which will reduce costs in the long run.

The best way to select a contractor is by referrals – let people recommend contractors to you. Check their previous works and hold interviews before you agree to have them develop your property.

A good house plan is expensive

A number of individuals choose to develop their properties without house plans. A few others have sketches of how they want their house to look but do not have real plans. It is, however, advisable to spend money on a very good house plan. This enables a contractor to determine the number of materials needed for the building project. It provides you and the builder with an estimated amount of money that is likely to be used.

The house plan also enables the sub-contractors to have a fair idea of what to do at the various stages of the building project. It is in your best interest to hand over the plan to a contractor who is adept at interpreting it better.

Leave the entire project to the contractor

After you have handed the project over to a contractor, ensure you keep up to date with the progress, especially at the foundation level. Anything that goes wrong at that stage will affect the structure of the house. Make sure the slabs are dry enough and the concrete is the right grade. The contractor can ensure this is done on time but it is your duty to confirm all is done accurately.

I want to make money by building the largest house

A lot of people building houses would like to build the largest property with the notion of making more money through sales, but that is not always the case. The size of the property will not make it the most sought after in the vicinity, neither will it make you richer when you sell it. You are likely to lose money if you put up a huge building in a neighbourhood where all the buildings are smaller. It makes more economic sense to build a smaller house in an area with huge buildings. Your property stands a higher chance of being bought when you are ready to put it on the market.

I do not really have a budget

Another mistake made by most house builders is not having a budget for the entire project. Make sure you plan and discuss costs with your contractor and team, and work out how much money you will need from start to finish so that you are prepared for all eventualities. Do not start when you do not have enough money.