A spec house is a home built without a specific owner in mind. Its style and product options will be a blend of what the builder believes the market wants. You may be able to choose from a couple of options from provided plan layouts, products, and colors, but otherwise will be limited in your ability to customize. The resulting home can be great — but without being tailored to your wishes and needs, clients often find themselves “wishing” for more. In addition, in many cases, the house will be built to code but without additional thought to comfort, view, or quality (Where do you want your outlets? Do you have enough lights in the right places? Are your windows the right size to take advantage of your view and do they open the way you want? Will your washer and dryer fit the space?)

A custom home is explicitly tailored to you. The process will take you through every decision, from what level of insulation you want at or above code to where your outlets are placed to the proper angles and spacing for your dream kitchen to be optimally functional. Every nuance is designed to fit your specific lifestyle.

Every custom home is different, but anticipate that the process will take at least a year from initial meeting to getting your keys. For larger homes or complicated sites, the build may take as many as 18 months. A variety of factors come into play, including a meticulous design process (in which you will make decisions on each element of your home), permit acquisition, site development, and of course the construction itself.

The good news? Once the build phase for your home begins, Dior Homes will provide you with a timeline so you know what to expect and when—and we have a 100% record for on-time deliveries.

Looking to build next year? The time to begin design is now.

Though construction in some parts of the country grinds to a halt in the winter months, that’s simply not the case here in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. We’re used to the smeltering heat, and we’re used to building in it, so we build year-round. (With minor exceptions for dumping snow or torrential downpours in odd months that might slow us down a little.) Not only do we know how to protect under-construction homes from the weather, we use high-performance products that better handle the elements.

The same elements that make a custom build so special—a one-of-a-kind home on an untouched piece of property—are also what make it a luxury item. Your dream home has never been built before, and your lot likely has no infrastructure or needs connections run from the road. Homebuyers should anticipate a minimum starting point of around $400,000 (all-in with taxes, site development, plans that fit the property, and other costs).

Unfortunately, yes. Because custom homes are brand new and often on a property in or near existing neighborhoods with houses from the ’90s or 2000s, there simply are no accurate comparisons with which to appraise against. Older homes nearby not only have more dated designs, they likely were built to older codes and environmental regulations. Those comparisons also don’t take into account the cost to remodel the older houses. This lack of comps means new custom homes don’t always appraise as high as they should. As such, buyers should be prepared to have more cash toward their new home. (Learn more about the nuances of custom home loans here.)

It’s tempting to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on your property prior to breaking ground on the main house, which would provide a place to live rent-free and then income property after that. But in reality, you’ll technically be building two homes, which means you’re incurring the cost of bringing materials and labor to the site twice. Those costs may be a lot more than what you might spend to rent a place for a year while both units are built simultaneously. Plus, you’ll have to wait even longer to take possession of your dream home. Work with your builder and do the math to see what will be most cost-efficient for you.