Five Tips For Building Your New Custom Home Now

It is clear that homebuyers today still love their homes at our beautiful New Jersey shore area.  For those of us that live here year-round, we wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world!  So what exactly is it that draws people to the shore areas like Monmouth and Ocean Counties?  Here are five tips for building your new custom home now.

1)            Our beaches are among the most beautiful in the country.  With amenities to please just about everyone, there are a variety of beach, waterfront, or inland properties available to suit your needs.  Many homebuyers choose to purchase a property with a home in need of demolition.  This allows a blank slate with which to build their new custom home.  There’s a “Renaissance” happening at the New Jersey shore, so don’t wait too long to find your new property and start building. 

2)            Communities in Monmouth and Ocean Counties are close to everything!  There are plenty of shopping, dining, and entertainment venues close by, so there is never a dull moment.  With this in mind, we recommend you enlist the help of a local realtor to help you find the perfect place to build your new custom home.  They are knowledgeable about properties on the market, housing values, school systems, or anything you may need to know about where to build your new custom home.

3)            Timing is everything, and if you are looking to move in and enjoy your new home for Summer 2016, now is the time to start looking for land.  Once you secure the property you are going to build on, the next step is to find your custom homebuilder.  Designing the home, applying for permits, and securing your financing all take time, so starting the process now will ensure your home will be completed with plenty of time to spare.

4)            Many families choose to build their second home at the Jersey Shore and come down every weekend to soak up the sun and spend quality time with their families away from the office.   Others make a permanent move and live here year-round.  Whichever you decide, Monmouth or Ocean counties will make the perfect location for your new home. 

5)            There are plenty of properties to build a new home located along the waterfront areas.  Building a home on the river or oceanfront will provide a whole different experience than a home built inland.  Be sure when you select your waterfront property that you can secure the proper grants and permits for things you may want to build like docks, bulkheads and retaining walls.  Your realtor, engineer or builder can help coordinate the necessary paperwork involved with waterfront amenities, but make sure you research this before you purchase your property.

If you love the Jersey Shore and are thinking of building a custom home in one of our fabulous shore towns, there’s no better time than now to get started!  RBA Homes specializes in custom modular homes in like Spring Lake, Sea Girt, Rumson, Fair Haven and Colts Neck, and most recently in many neighborhoods in Toms River and the Barrier Island that were hard hit by superstorm Sandy, contact us today to find out how we can make your new custom home dreams come true!

Why You Need to Attend A Homebuilding Seminar

Anyone who is on the market to build a new custom home is probably scouring the Internet for advice, information, plans and reputable building companies.  Searching online is a great way to gather some preliminary information for builders in your area and ideas for your new home.  Statistics show that 89% of Internet users who are making a purchase, (whether it’s a floral arrangement, car, or home), search online before making their purchase.  But when it comes to choosing the right builder for your custom home it pays to go beyond the search results from the World Wide Web and get up close and personal with the building company you may do business with. This is exactly why you need to attend a homebuilding seminar!

Two Hours Invested And A Lifetime of Loving Your Home

Many building companies offer homebuilding seminars in their local area to help homeowners who have questions about building a home.  Because these events are conveniently located it’s a great idea to secure your seat and attend.  The opportunity to meet the builder, ask questions and view available home plans can give you a leg-up on the details you need to know before building.  It’s also a great way to get to know the team you will be working with over the next several months of construction.  Overall, the investment of a morning to do some in-person research on the company you may hire, is a minimal amount of time as compared to the size of the purchase, (and probably less than what you would spend sorting through search results on the Internet)!

Get Some Ideas On The Type Of Home You Want

With sample plans and plenty of photos of homes previously built available to view, the homebuilding seminar you attend will most likely help you narrow down the type of home and features you need in your home. You’ll get a great understanding of what they can offer and the materials your builder will use to build your home.

Advantages of Construction Methods Explained

There are many ways to build a home, from traditional stick built methods to custom modular construction.  Depending on the builder hosting the seminar, you will be able to find out what the advantages are of their construction methods and ask questions about costs, financing, and other topics of interest.  If you are thinking about raising your current home this is a perfect opportunity to find out why rebuilding a new home might be more advantageous in the long run.

There May Be Incentives For Those Who Attend

Many builders will offer some sort of incentive to anyone who attends their seminar and later signs a contract to build a new home.  This can mean an upgraded appliance package or something else, depending on the builder’s incentive. The only way to know for sure is to sign up and go!

Don’t rely entirely on online reviews and Internet search results when trying to find the right builder for your new custom home. RBA Homes is a custom homebuilder with extensive experience in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.  Our next homebuilding seminar is being offered on March 28^th from 10am to 12pm.  Ready. Set. Build! Homebuilding 101:  A Seminar for Buyers Looking to Build will explore the advantages of modular construction and discuss the benefits of new construction versus raising your existing home, among other topics.  It’s easy to register, just give us a call at 732-747-3800, click here for registration or contact us through our website at http://RBAhomes.com.

Start Your Custom Home Now and Be In Sooner Than You Think!

They say timing is everything.  And when it comes to building a new, custom home there are many details regarding lot selection, design, technique, building products and finishes that need to be determined pretty soon after the decision to build has been made.  One of the things that many people overlook is a realistic timeframe of when they want to be in their new home.  So, if you’ve got the lot and design, you could theoretically start your custom home now and be in while there’s still time to enjoy the warmer weather at the shore!

Because we specialize in building custom homes at the Jersey Shore, RBA Homes is particularly attuned to construction timeframes and schedules.  We offer modular construction, which can provide a much quicker move-in timeframe than most traditional construction methods.

That’s why it’s extremely important to know that if you are ready to build your shore home  – now is the time to get started.  Most builders constructing homes around the Jersey Shore are providing a 12 to 24 month lead time, which is a long time to wait for your family to have fun in the sun!  RBA Homes can provide about a 6-month build out from permit and that includes some exterior amenities like patios and outdoor kitchens as well. As you can see, it’s critical to get started in these early winter months so that you and your family can start enjoying your new home before next winter sets in.

RBA Homes provides homeowners with all the latest in building materials for shore homes, as well as personalized, hands-on service with our team of construction professionals.  If you are ready to start your new home and are looking for information on building a custom home in Monmouth or Ocean counties, click here for examples of some of our work, or contact us today.

Winter Is Coming: RBA Homes Has Three Good Reasons to Winterize Your Summer Home

With many of the custom homes along the New Jersey shore that we build occupied seasonally, it’s important that when the weather turns cold, our homeowners who batten up the hatches and head south prepare their home for the weather.  So how does one “batten up the hatches” to ensure that the home is properly closed for the colder weather, without worry of the potential freezing or other disasters that can strike an unoccupied home during the cold winter months?  Winter is coming:  RBA Homes has three good reasons to winterize your custom vacation home. 

Reason #1…Homes are not meant to be cold

Homes are like people and need to be kept warm to a certain degree.  Many homeowners turn off their heat before they leave for the season, which is not what we recommend.  By leaving the heat on and turning it down to 50° Fahrenheit you will be keeping the house warm enough to keep it from freezing should the temperature drop to below freezing for a period of time.  Homes are not meant to freeze and keeping your heat on is critical so that it doesn’t sustain damage when the temperatures drop.

Reason #2…Standing water can do immense damage when frozen

Another part of our recommended winterizing process is to drain all the waterlines to prevent ruptures should there be a power failure and the heat does go off for some reason.  This includes waterlines for your clothes washer and dishwasher, as well as your water heater, exterior faucets, toilets, showerheads and spray hoses in sinks.  Don’t forget any other water treatment equipment such as whole house filters, carbon filters, UV light filters, etc.  You may even want to consider a low-heat thermostat, which will help conserve energy when your home is not occupied.

Reason #3…Sheetrock doesn’t like moisture

Not only does sheetrock not respond well to extreme cold, finishes like paint and hardwood flooring are not meant to be exposed to the cold.  Your house has moisture in it naturally from the day-to-day things you do, like taking showers or washing dishes.  The last thing you want to do is let this freeze during the winter, causing damage like buckling of floors and walls.  By keeping your heat set to 50° there is less of a chance that this type of damage will occur during the winter months. 

If you have questions about how to winterize your home for the season, or you are considering building your new custom home in Monmouth or Ocean counties, contact RBA Homes today for details on why we are the builder of choice for custom modular or traditional home construction in New Jersey.

Which is a Better Fit for You: Modular or Traditional Stick-Built Construction?

When it comes to building a new custom home, many families are faced with a multitude of decisions from day one of the process.  From the choice of locations and the style of home to the type of construction, these decisions can weigh heavily on budget and move-in timeframe.  We always get questions on what the best type of construction is, so we decided to put together this list of benefits for both modular homebuilding and traditional stick-built construction so that you can decide what the best process will be for your new home.

Cost Efficiency and Value

The number one concern of every homeowner is that their builder is providing materials and techniques that are cost efficient, and add value to their home.  This can be accomplished in both modular and stick-built construction, but it depends on the home design, lot configuration, features and finishes the homeowner selects.  For some homes, customizing a modular design, having it built in the factory, delivered and set on site can be the most cost efficient way to build their home.  The value per square foot can be incredibly good, while at the same time providing a well constructed, beautiful home.  In other cases, it may be more feasible, from a cost perspective, to stick-build the home on-site, particularly when the features and design of the home are intricate or the homeowners have particular needs.

Design of the Home To Be Built

While we are talking about home designs, some home plans are better built as custom modular and others are definitely more suited for an on-site stick-build plan.  We recommend that if you already have your home plans, consider having them evaluated as a potential modular plan before you make your final decision, as it may be cost and time efficient to go modular.  The more intricate your home design is, the more you may want to consider an on-site stick build.  This will add time to your process, but it will also provide the flexibility you need to construct a home that has a more complex design.

Time Is Of the Essence

Did we mention timeframe?  If you need to build your home faster, then we recommend looking at a modular home, which will shave much-needed time from your construction process.  The home is constructed in sections, in the factory and shipped to the site.  Once it arrives, the sections are put together like a puzzle and voila! – you just built your home!  Of course, all the finishes are completed on site, but this process provides the advantages of building in a controlled factory environment, which is better than exposing your home to the elements while under construction.  The factory turnaround time is much faster than an on-site stick build from foundation up.  But, if time is not an issue, and your plan is more complex, then you may be better off with  stick-built construction on site.

RBA Homes has specialized in the design and construction of custom homes since 1986. During that time, the Company has become the recognized leader in Central New Jersey’s modular home construction industry. We have built hundreds of homes, both modular and stick-built in Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties.

RBA Homes represents numerous top quality modular home manufacturers, as well as architects who provide design services for stick-built plans.  Our emphasis is on custom designed floor plans, quality craftsmanship, full service and dependability.   If you are ready to build your new custom home and need design help, or if you already have plans, we can help make your new home dreams a reality!