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What's on your "must have" list when you consider a new home?

Lots of closet space - check.

Great kitchen layout - check.

Formal dining room - nah, can I have an office instead?

It's certainly not the case in every situation, but we have been asked more than once to convert a formal dining room into an office.  In a plan like this one, this could mean making these simple changes:

• Add French Doors between the Dining Room and the Foyer.

Wall off the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room.

Add cable and phone outlets in the dining room. 

And there you go, a great downstairs office in a smaller floor plan. 

Breakfast rooms are getting larger.  They're right next to the kitchen, and informal dining seems to be gaining in popularity.

Rather than set up two separate dining areas, some homebuyers are opting for a convenient downstairs office instead.

But what about resale value? 

If homebuyers are set on having that dining room converted, there is more than one way to have a great office - without turning off future homebuyers who love to have the formal table set up and ready to go.

To make the home appealing to a wider audience:

• Instead of walling off the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen, add a door.  You may never actually open it, but it will be easy to removed by a future homeowner, leaving the framed doorway.
• Go ahead and add the cable and phone jacks.  Usually asking for phone and cable jacks before construction begins can mean a charge of $50-100 each - but it will be much harder to run wiring for extra jacks once the home is finished, which of course means more expensive. 

  

• Consider adding a butler's pantry or wall of built-in cabinets, if room allows.  Your builder may be able to suggest ways to gain room to do this.  These cabinets will be very useful whether the room is used as an office or as a dining room.  For an extra splurge, consider clear or frosted glass on the upper cabinets. 

The example shown is very specific to a dining room - a wine rack and a built-in wine cooler are great for entertaining. 

But even a basic set of cabinets is very helpful - in the office, store all your office supplies out of site.  Convert to a dining room, and there's a wonderful place for table linens, the good china, and more.

No matter what choice you make, think about versatility, and work with your builder to incorporate the functions that you need most - without reducing the ability to sell your home in the future. 

An Informal Survey -

Assume you're considering homes under 2500 square feet. 

As a homebuyer, what is more important to you, a formal dining room or a downstairs office? 

As a member of the real estate industry, what importance does a homebuyer place on a formal dining room, versus a downstairs office?

Floor plan copyright Frank Betz Associates

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Sometimes there's nothing more fun than looking through floor plans and dreaming about what your new home will look like. 

Whether you're thinking about a one story home for retirement or just need a larger home in the country for the kids, there is an amazing variety of floor plans available.

Most home plan websites have some search options to help narrow down the choices.  Here's an easy guide to the Top 10 Things To Look For when searching for your new home plan.

Square Footage

Most home plan catalogs start with this option.  You probably have at least an idea of how many square feet you'd like your new home to have.  Larger than your current home?  Or smaller?

You'll get more square footage for the money with a two story floor plan than with one story floor home - here's why.

Number of Floors

Sometimes called levels.  Some guides offer 1, 2, or 3 levels, and some home plan catalogs break this down further - you may see homes with 1.5 floors. 

Number of Bedrooms

Many catalogs will let you select more than one option here.  If you're interested in a home that has 3, 4 or 5 bedrooms, but not 2, simply select all three options at the same time. 

Number of Bathrooms

If it's essential that you have 3 full baths, this may be a good search feature for you.  But not all catalogs have an option for three full baths - your home plan search results may include either 2.5 or 3 baths.  That's ok - if you love the plan, but want a different option on the bath, ask your home builders.  We're often able to expand a bath or reduce costs for the homebuyer by including a half bath instead of a full bath. 

Garage Stalls

If you're looking for a 3 car garage, the options may be limited.  But don't eliminate all 2 car garage plans.  Depending on the builder you're working with, you can probably expand the size of many garages, depending on the roof line and other factors.  Bring your top choices to your builder, and they'll be able to let you know.

Width in Feet:

Very important, especially if your lot is narrow.  If your lot is 60 feet wide, with 10 ft setbacks, your building envelope will be only 40 feet.  Narrow your home selections down to those no wider than 40 feet.

Depth in Feet:

Same idea - depending on how deep your lot is, you may be limited on the length of the home.  You can select both depth and width at the same time when searching for home plans. 

Laundry Room Location:

Many things can be changed fairly easily by a custom home builder.  We can expand or shrink a laundry room with very little cost, but moving a laundry room from one floor to another can be a bit more expensive.  If you're set on having a laundry room on a particular floor, you may want to use this home plan search option.

Type of Kitchen:

This is an option we don't use as much.  Many island kitchens can be converted to breakfast bar kitchens, and vice versa.  And most kitchens can be reworked to add a walk-in pantry.  If you love the home, but aren't thrilled with the kitchen, take the plan to your custom home builder before you give up and move on. 

Style of Home:

If you already know what style of home you love, this is a good place to start.  Or, it can be a good idea to browse through home plans by style to find out what you might be partial too!  Be aware of the requirements for the neighborhood you want to build in - some neighborhoods may not allow Mediterranean homes, or they may require Craftsman style homes.  But again, take the plan to your builder - for instance, Craftsman elements can be incorporated into many different styles of home plans.

Now you've seen the Top 10 Things to Look For when searching for a home plan.  To get started looking for a plan, here's a few of our favorite home plan sites.  Once you narrow down your floor plan choice, ask about getting a free building cost estimate.  All you need to do is send us a link to the home plan you're considering, and let us know a little information about the location you want to build in.  We'll put together a full package for you. 

Or attend one of our Meet the Builder events, and we'll go over any changes you want to make to a home plan.  Good luck, and have fun! 

Houseplans.com

Great photos, fairly easy to navigate, lots of options.  Click on Search by Design Features to search more easily for things like "suited for narrow lot".

DreamHomeSource.com

Another good, easy to search home plan site.  I like the fact that results can be sorted by square footage.  Great options on the Advanced Search screen. 

http://www.frankbetz.com/

Frank Betz designs are known for their style and versatility.  He has terrific use of angles and excellent exterior appeal. 

http://jimwellsplans.com

Atlanta designer with great details and layouts.  Not as easy to search the site, but home plans are "different" enough to make it worth it. 

After looking at thousands of floor plans, this is my favorite.  However, I don't like the exterior.  Can I have this interior, with a different exterior?

As a builder, this is a question we answer fairly often.

You may have looked at many, many floor plans before finding one that really works for you.  But perhaps the exterior of the home just doesn't have the feel that you were thinking of.

There are definitely options to change the exterior look of the home.  

An experienced builder can:

• Change the roof lines - it might be possible to add a dormer, steepen the pitch of the roof, or change the slope.
• Add stone or brick accents.  Sometimes adding just a small touch of stone (one of the most costly exterior finishes) can really change the feel of a home.
• Change the shape of the windows.  A transom, or half round window can add slightly to the overall cost, but can make a big difference in the look. 
• Change the location of the windows.
• Add more windows, or remove some windows.
• Change from a country look to a Craftsman look. 

The options vary widely by plan and by budget. 

The best way to go over the different possibilities is to request a meeting with your builder or general contractor and discuss what you do and don't like about the exterior. 

You'll want to bring a copy of the home plan you're considering.  

Don't worry about purchasing the home plans - a computer screen print out or photocopy from a home plan book is sufficient for an initial evaluation.  

Once you're sure the home plan will work for you, you can work out purchase of the plans with your builder.    

Some changes are more costly than others.   We'll be happy to provide a free consultation and give you a variety of options to change the exterior look on a plan-by-plan basis. 

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5 Steps to Buying a Lot