Even though the Great Recession is just a memory, one real estate trend that hasn’t faded away is the multi-generational household. Instead of hunting for a home with an in-law suite or partially finished basement, consider a custom home builder in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas. A new home builder will create a space that perfectly accommodates two, three or four generations living together. According to a report by Huffington Post, there are 57 million people in the U.S. living in multi-generational households. Before getting started with the process of building a new construction home, work out a few of the details with relatives.

• Hammering out the financing

The first matter of business is to agree on a budget. Sometimes it’s the eldest member of the extended family that takes out a mortgage or pays cash for a home. In other cases, the other relatives co-sign on a mortgage and share the down payment and closing costs. Keep in mind, lenders evaluate the credit score and credit history of everyone on the mortgage. You may also want to consult with a lawyer about who to put on the title for estate planning purposes.

• Making the home elder-friendly

According to Huffington Post, a growing trend in real estate is for senior citizens to age in place instead of going into nursing homes. Building an elder-friendly new construction home is critical with some of the considerations including wide hallways, levers on doors instead of knobs that are difficult to grab, non-slip flooring and accessible bathrooms. Unless you intend to add a stair lift, create a space for the oldest members of the household on the main floor.

• Creating privacy and separation

A custom builder who builds on your lot in Ohio and Kentucky will likely recommend a finished basement for accommodating different generations. Boomerang children or young adults who are trying to save up money or pay off college loans often enjoy the privacy of having an entire finished basement to themselves. Your builder can include separate entrances as well as a 3-car garage.

At J. Schmidt Homes, we understand the needs of multi-generational households to have unique space carved out just for them. We can build you the perfect home on your lot in the Greater Cincinnati area and Northern Kentucky areas. For more information about our different elevation, floor plans and finished basement plans, please contact us.

Have a baby on the way and looking to buy a home? Then a new construction home might be just what your family needs. They’re well-loved by growing families, and you’ll soon see why from all of the reasons below.

Open Floor Plans

With a youngster in the house, you’ll want the ability to keep a close eye on him at all times. Even while you are preparing a snack for your little one, you’ll still want to know that he’s successfully staying out of harm’s way. That’s why it’s so important that your new home includes an open floor plan that will allow you to see most of the other areas of your home right from the kitchen.  

Just the Right Number of Bedrooms

Adjusting the number of bedrooms in a house that’s already built isn’t exactly impossible, but it’s most certainly not the easiest thing to do. So spare yourself the trouble and get a house built with just the right number of bedrooms for you and your family. Everyone will be happier because of it.

All the Right Options

Your house should reflect your family’s lifestyle. If you plan on cooking a lot for your family, you’ll want a big kitchen. Want the kids to spend lots of time reading books? Have a home library or a cozy nook for them to read in. This and more is easily done when you contact us to build a new house with a floor plan that matches the needs of your growing family.

J. Schmidt Homes can help you build a new home to fit your growing family’s lifestyle, budget and location.

If you are planning new home construction, you have the opportunity to choose a green home incorporating energy-saving and ethical, environmentally conscious options. You can begin by choosing a design that features maximum natural light and ventilation. You can use more environmentally conscious materials and keep your design within a sustainable size and footprint range.

Green Design: Plans with simple exterior walls with fewer corners, bays and protrusions use less construction materials. Smaller homes use less energy for heating and cooling and require fewer resources to build and maintain.

Floor plans that can accommodate later expansion will eliminate the need to move as your household changes. If the master bedroom is on the first floor, the house may be more livable as you age. Large walls and windows can take advantage of passive solar heating. Well designed roof overheads can provide shade.

Green Materials: You can choose recycled or sustainable materials in the construction of the home. Roofing materials made of recycled materials are popular. Tiles made of recycled rubber, plastic or wood fiber are available. Some products come from clean, re-used materials from homes, others from post-industrial factory waste. These recycled materials can be amazingly durable and attractive. Slate and clay tiles can last hundreds of years. These are made of natural earthen materials that do not pollute or dilute natural elements. Recycled slate tiles are available as well. Metal roofing is at least partially recyclable. Metal tiles are exceptionally durable and fire-resistant. Metal roofing is ideal for water and snow runoff and can be integrated into a drainage system for rainwater collection. Aluminum tiles made largely of recycles beverage cans can resemble wood shakes or slate tiles, in many colors. Reinforced rubber shingles made from discarded steel-be lted tires are available coated with ground slate for texture.

Choices for the Interior:

Insulation is important to reduce heating costs and wasted energy. Insulation materials made of sustainable shredded denim, hemp, or sheep’s wool using less energy to manufacture than conventional fiberglass. Insulating spray foam made of soybean is also available.

The home should be designed with windows carefully set to avoid drafts. Use multi-layered glass in windows and carefully designed doors that block air flow. Choose low flow toilets to reduce water use. Many homes include waterless toilets as well.

For some homes, solar panels can be installed to generate electricity which contributes to the grid. Solar systems can also heat water for use in the home using a fraction of water-heating fuel.

If you are planning to build a new green home, J. Schmidt Homes will help you construct a home with environmentally conscious materials. 

Many millennials delayed their entrance into the real estate market due to the economy. Now young people in their 20s and 30s can’t easily find the starter homes they want in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area as investors buy up smaller homes to turn into rentals. One option that is becoming increasingly more attractive to young buyers is working with a custom home builder to create a dream home. If you have heard horror stories from friends or family who have bought foreclosures in disrepair, you may welcome the idea of skipping the fixer upper and going straight for the step-up type home. Buying a new construction home can save you money and headaches in the long run. According to an article by bankrate.com, first-time home buyers compete with investors flipping homes for a profit as well as sellers who still don’t have enough equity in their homes to sell.

• Save money compared to rent

A recent real estate article by Business News Network points out that millennials in the U.S. are now shifting to home ownership as rent costs soar. In 2014, millennials made up 32 percent of the housing sales in the U.S. If you are a renter, talk to your landlord about the timeline for when your new construction home will be ready and you’ll be moving out. Many landlords offer shorter leases such as 6 months.

• Make more choices

While it’s not good to feel overwhelmed by too many choices, it’s also disappointing when you don’t get to choose what you want in a new home. By working with a reputable Cincinnati custom home builder, you can choose your flooring, cabinetry, counter tops, layout and other details. Because more millennials waited to purchase a home, they have had time to tour model homes, watch real estate television programs and visit design centers. Most young buyers have definite preferences when it comes to the layout and style of a home.

• Choose your location

When you work with a custom builder who partners with Realtors licensed and certified in Ohio, you can get the help you need picking a great location. Location is still the No. 1 selling point for a home whether it’s an older or a new construction build. Experienced Realtors will help you find a neighborhood where homes appreciate in value and families feel safe. In addition, you can choose a site that has the view you want as well as the land for outdoor living.

If you are making your first real estate purchase, you could be eligible for special first-time home buyers programs. Talk to a lender about the possibilities. At J. Schmidt Homes, we dedicate ourselves to clients in the Greater Cincinnati area and Northern Kentucky. Today’s “starter home” is as large and luxurious as you want. Just consider it the start to a great life.

Many baby boomers want the elevated lifestyle in retirement that comes with living in a new construction home. According to a survey by Better Homes and Gardens cited by thestreet.com, 70 percent of baby boomers in their 50s and 60s believe their retirement home will be the best home they’ve ever had. When it comes to buying real estate in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas, there are several advantages to new construction. Experienced craftsmen with a Cincinnati home builder can create a custom-designed home featuring greater energy efficiency, modern finishes and fixtures as well as the architectural style you love. An article by U.S. News & World Report outlines several advantages of buying newly built properties. Most baby boomers feel relieved when they walk away from foreclosures or short sales to pursue a new home instead.

• Customized space

Personalizing your space is paramount for retirees. You can include aging-in-place features such as non-slip flooring or easy-to-grab levers on doors instead of knobs. Also, you can choose brushed nickel instead of gold or stainless steel instead of black appliances. U.S. News & World Report points out custom builders let you have input and tailor a home to your taste. While you may have made choices in the past based on resale value, your home in retirement is all about what you want.

• Lower utility and maintenance costs

Most baby boomers rely on Social Security and a fixed amount of money from investments. With a new construction home, you are less likely to have unexpected costs related to home maintenance and repairs. Also, the new appliances, water heaters, furnaces, windows and doors are more energy-efficient, reducing a major monthly expense.

• A feeling of safety and security

Security and safety factors come into play in different ways with new construction. Experts say new homes have updated fire safety features. Also, your builder will accommodate your requests for elder-friendly choices. If you aren’t sure whether you want to sell your home, you can ask a Greater Cincinnati area builder about options for renovating an existing home to make it safe and secure for the retirement years.

At J. Schmidt Homes, we dedicate ourselves to meeting our customers high expectations for custom-built homes and renovations in the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether you are a hard-working baby boomer who is ready to retire or a young person just starting out, we will design you a home that makes you feel like you have arrived in life.

Many of us would like to own our dream home. However, we are discouraged by the notion that custom built homes are more expensive than buying already built homes or building from blue prints. However this isn’t always the case.

Any Cincinnati home builder will tell you that there are many benefits to building a custom designed home as opposed to ordinary homes. The biggest benefit being that you get exactly what you want. 

There are many people who wrongly argue that the cost of blue prints and building a custom house is much more than buying an already built home. But think about it for a minute. You decide what goes into the custom house. That means you have complete control over the design before the final draft is made and approved. You can therefore control just how much it will cost to build your home.

Many families that move into new homes Cincinnati that are not custom built end up renovating the homes to suit their needs and preferences. If the cost of these renovations is factored into the cost of the purchase of the homes, these homes would often end up costing much more than it would cost to build a custom house.

In addition to this, if you engage a good custom home builder right from the planning stages, they can guide you on various cost saving factors to consider in the planning and design of your custom home. You may for example consider energy saving features that will help you save a bundle in utility costs and possible tax credits in the long run.

Building custom homes not only gives you control over the design of the home but also over the budget. Contrary to what many people believe, custom homes are  probably the best choice for families looking for their dream home.

Talk to J. Schmidt Homes today and get your home exactly the way you want it!