Build the Home of Your Dreams

If purchasing one of our existing Speculative Homes is not your style and you would prefer to build a custom home, we welcome the opportunity to discuss your project. People often ask how the process works or how to get started, so this overview is designed to introduce the custom homebuilding process. Please recognize that this is simply an overview. We will work with you to define the process that best meets your needs

Perhaps the best reason to hire a custom homebuilder is because you can have the floorplan and design any way you want it (within the laws of physics and building codes, of course!). Creating the plan that best fits your needs, lifestyle, and budget takes some effort. Fortunately, we seldom need to start from scratch. There are influences all around us to draw from. For one, there are the plans we have built in the past. We can tell you what worked well and what we would change based on your project. Also, there are many pre-drawn plans from where ideas can be pulled. These plan books offer good ideas, maybe for a room or two, or for the front elevation. There are also the thousands of existing homes to draw elevation ideas from throughout Chicagoland.

We'll help you through this idea-generation process. Sometimes it moves very quickly. Sometimes it can take a few weeks and a few cups of Starbucks to work through all the ideas until there's a clear concept to work with. At this point, that's what we've developed together...a concept.

At this point, we will begin working with an architect. Also at this point one of the three checks you will need to write is due. During the custom homebuilding process, three checks will need to be written. Based on a 3,500 square foot home, the checks are: $10,000 when we begin working with an architect, then a deposit which brings your total to 5% of the contract price when we either acquire land or break ground, and the rest is due when the home is complete. That's it!

As an example, if the total price was $600,000, a client would make an intial $10,000 deposit, followed by a $20,000 deposit at groundbreaking, for a total of $30,000 which is 5% of the total price, then the remaining $570,000 at closing.

For the $10,000, the architect will develop the floor plans and front elevation that meet your approval. This is typically handled in 3 meetings: an introductory meeting where we present the concept, a second meeting to review the architect's preliminary drawings, and the third meeting to receive the revisions from the previous meeting. We have architects that we would recommend, or we can work with an architect of your choosing.

Once we have the floorplan and front elevation, Burnham Custom Homes will work with you to develop an allowance schedule based on the types of finishings you desire. For instance, do you envision a Viking/Thermador type kitchen, or a Kithen-Aid/GE Profile type? We will also take the floorplans to obtain bids from relevant subcontractors. Together with the subcontractor bids and allowance schedule, we can create a budget for your project.

Step 1 of the project is complete when we have created an acceptable floor plan and front elevation, plus defined the project budget. For the $10,000 you will receive the overall project budget, detailed specifications, and the floorplans/elevation from the architect.

On to Step 2...Choosing the Lot