Surprise parties are often fun. Finding a twenty-dollar bill in your coat pocket from last year you had forgotten about is definitely a good time. But not all surprises are like that. For example, when your ornery brother buys your kid a drum set for Christmas, just smiling is a task as you think about revenge. (Definitely go with the puppy for his kid next Christmas). Unfortunately, there are unexpected expenses when building a custom home and that’s what we at Babb Custom Homes want to address. With as

Surprise parties are often fun. Finding a twenty-dollar bill in your coat pocket from last year you had forgotten about is definitely a good time. But not all surprises are like that. For example, when your ornery brother buys your kid a drum set for Christmas, just smiling is a task as you think about revenge. (Definitely go with the puppy for his kid next Christmas). Unfortunately, there are unexpected expenses when building a custom home and that’s what we at Babb Custom Homes want to address. With as large of an investment your dream home can be, you want...

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There aren’t many things in life we get to control as much as the design of a custom home. Maybe that’s why we at Babb Custom Homes and our happy customers have been drawn to it (Did you see the accidental pun? We’re leaving it. It’s a Friday.) You can pick the model and color of a car, you can pick the personality and appearance of a mate, but ultimately you’re choosing between things that are already made. With a custom home, you can design the size, shape, color, materials, features, floor plan,

There aren’t many things in life we get to control as much as the design of a custom home. Maybe that’s why we at Babb Custom Homes and our happy customers have been drawn to it (Did you see the accidental pun? We’re leaving it. It’s a Friday.) You can pick the model and color of a car, you can pick the personality and appearance of a mate, but ultimately you’re choosing between things that are already made. With a custom home, you can design the size, shape, color, materials, features, floor plan, and what kind of screws go in...

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You could buy a home anywhere. From the mountains to the plains to the deserts to the tropics, just throw a dart on a map and there are properties there. So, why would we begin to propose Myrtle Beach as a fantastic location for building a vacation home? That’s easy. Where else can you find the ocean, top notch beaches, world class dining, spectacular topography, vibrant cultural activities, a thriving economy, an excellent return on investment for real estate, mighty nice people, and affordable living?

You could buy a home anywhere. From the mountains to the plains to the deserts to the tropics, just throw a dart on a map and there are properties there. So, why would we begin to propose Myrtle Beach as a fantastic location for building a vacation home? That’s easy. Where else can you find the ocean, top notch beaches, world class dining, spectacular topography, vibrant cultural activities, a thriving economy, an excellent return on investment for real estate, mighty nice people, and affordable living? That’s a small list.  A truer post about the qualities of the Myrtle Beach area...

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We’re big fans of custom built homes in general, in case you haven’t noticed. However, the fact that you can choose where to build is among many other reasons that we love custom building. You don’t have to settle for whatever has already been plotted and designed with someone else’s vision. So if you can choose where to build, it begs the question: Why South Carolina? So many ideas come to mind when someone mentions South Carolina: college football, world class golfing, wonderful beaches, pralines,

We’re big fans of custom built homes in general, in case you haven’t noticed. However, the fact that you can choose where to build is among many other reasons that we love custom building. You don’t have to settle for whatever has already been plotted and designed with someone else’s vision. So if you can choose where to build, it begs the question: Why South Carolina? So many ideas come to mind when someone mentions South Carolina: college football, world class golfing, wonderful beaches, pralines, palm trees, and many more. Plus, especially along the Grand Strand region, many people think...

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Welcome to the exciting world of making custom home plans. There aren’t many times in life when you get to start from scratch when building one of your most significant dreams. You’ll get to decide everything from the width of the driveway, to the cabinet handles, to the TV location, to the towel racks, and everything in between. This may seem overwhelming to some of you, but rest easy, Babb’s Custom Homes is ready to walk you through this. In this blog post, let’s talk about the pros and cons of

Welcome to the exciting world of making custom home plans. There aren’t many times in life when you get to start from scratch when building one of your most significant dreams. You’ll get to decide everything from the width of the driveway, to the cabinet handles, to the TV location, to the towel racks, and everything in between. This may seem overwhelming to some of you, but rest easy, Babb’s Custom Homes is ready to walk you through this. In this blog post, let’s talk about the pros and cons of single story vs two story homes.  We have so...

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At Babb Custom Homes, we love discussing material and design options with our customers. Well, one of the most debate-worthy and critical topics concerns the many types of flooring. From the common to the exotic, if you want to find a material that accomplishes your goals and completes your vision, it’s out there. We’re going to provide a flooring guide to help narrow your research and also give real world advice from people with first hand experience.  Since there are so many different flooring

At Babb Custom Homes, we love discussing material and design options with our customers. Well, one of the most debate-worthy and critical topics concerns the many types of flooring. From the common to the exotic, if you want to find a material that accomplishes your goals and completes your vision, it’s out there. We’re going to provide a flooring guide to help narrow your research and also give real world advice from people with first hand experience.  Since there are so many different flooring types for different applications, the best starting point is to figure out your goals and criteria....

The post Flooring Types for Your Custom Home: What You Need to Know appeared first on Babb Custom Homes.

There are a couple ways to look at the endeavor of developing home design plans for a custom home. Some people think of the hundreds of decisions as tedious, yet others look at this as a blank slate with which they can be as creative and specific as they want. At Babb Custom Homes, we’re used to both mindsets and we’ll walk each party through the process in whatever way they need.  Building a forever home is even more involved. Forever home design plans are usually a product of wishes. “I wish

There are a couple ways to look at the endeavor of developing home design plans for a custom home. Some people think of the hundreds of decisions as tedious, yet others look at this as a blank slate with which they can be as creative and specific as they want. At Babb Custom Homes, we’re used to both mindsets and we’ll walk each party through the process in whatever way they need.  Building a forever home is even more involved. Forever home design plans are usually a product of wishes. “I wish this kitchen was bigger;” “I wish there was...

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We understand how big of a commitment and investment building a new custom home is. And we also know that our customers want to keep the new home looking and feeling new. But where does one start? There are daily duties that affect the appearance and overall enjoyment of the home – like how it makes the homeowner feel. Then there are preventative measures to keep the home a safe and sound sanctuary for years to come. Whether it’s a return on investment (ROI) consideration or just the desire for a

We understand how big of a commitment and investment building a new custom home is. And we also know that our customers want to keep the new home looking and feeling new. But where does one start? There are daily duties that affect the appearance and overall enjoyment of the home – like how it makes the homeowner feel. Then there are preventative measures to keep the home a safe and sound sanctuary for years to come. Whether it’s a return on investment (ROI) consideration or just the desire for a quality home, homeowners are looking for answers on how...

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For most people, building a home is one of the biggest decisions in their lives. They drive around and look at homes, look at pictures on the Internet and magazines, talk to friends, study blueprints like they are going to rob a casino, and then get around to hiring a builder. Since most builders are booked up for many months and it’s such a huge part of the process, homeowners should consider making finding a builder a top priority. So how do you do that? Well, there are many criteria and strategies, but

For most people, building a home is one of the biggest decisions in their lives. They drive around and look at homes, look at pictures on the Internet and magazines, talk to friends, study blueprints like they are going to rob a casino, and then get around to hiring a builder. Since most builders are booked up for many months and it’s such a huge part of the process, homeowners should consider making finding a builder a top priority. So how do you do that? Well, there are many criteria and strategies, but for the sake of time let’s just...

The post Let’s Play 20 Questions to Ask a Custom Home Builder appeared first on Babb Custom Homes.

Garage? Check. Bathrooms? Check. Closets? Check. These fundamental pieces seem obvious in custom home planning. But some things aren’t as obvious. Extra outlets in the kitchen for appliances on the counter? Not check. Babb Custom Homes wants you to have the home you love, love, love. This will require experience and also knowledge of current trends and anticipated expectations – all of which we have. Custom home planning is what we do, and walking homeowners through must-haves and probably-should-haves

Garage? Check. Bathrooms? Check. Closets? Check. These fundamental pieces seem obvious in custom home planning. But some things aren’t as obvious. Extra outlets in the kitchen for appliances on the counter? Not check. Babb Custom Homes wants you to have the home you love, love, love. This will require experience and also knowledge of current trends and anticipated expectations – all of which we have. Custom home planning is what we do, and walking homeowners through must-haves and probably-should-haves and ooh-I-hadn’t-thought-of-that-haves makes us happy.  In addition to the basic components of a home – like windows, bedrooms, and kitchens –...

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By the time people get around to building a custom home, they’ve usually lived in enough places to know what they want in a house and what they definitely do not want. They also usually know what they’re willing to pay to make those desires a reality. It’s so hard, though, isn’t it? We want it all when it comes to our custom home – the pool and the four-car garage and our cake to eat too. And then…reality raises his hand and reminds us that we don’t have money for everything. Tough decisions

By the time people get around to building a custom home, they’ve usually lived in enough places to know what they want in a house and what they definitely do not want. They also usually know what they’re willing to pay to make those desires a reality. It’s so hard, though, isn’t it? We want it all when it comes to our custom home – the pool and the four-car garage and our cake to eat too. And then…reality raises his hand and reminds us that we don’t have money for everything. Tough decisions are made, some negotiations among members...

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One of the many reasons at Babb Custom Homes we love building a custom home, as opposed to a Production home or Spec home, is that we can personalize each house to the homeowner’s wants. For example, a humidor is difficult to incorporate into a home that was built without one. Not quite as hard as a basement, though. Sure you can dig out under the floor like a prisoner with nothing to lose, but it’s better to put the basement in as part of the home plan. You get the idea.  Well, with a custom home

One of the many reasons at Babb Custom Homes we love building a custom home, as opposed to a Production home or Spec home, is that we can personalize each house to the homeowner’s wants. For example, a humidor is difficult to incorporate into a home that was built without one. Not quite as hard as a basement, though. Sure you can dig out under the floor like a prisoner with nothing to lose, but it’s better to put the basement in as part of the home plan. You get the idea.  Well, with a custom home there’s a blank...

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Trying to find the right home location for your new custom home is a little like trying to find the right spouse. In both cases we see thousands of options, most of which are already taken; friends make lots of suggestions, most of which are terrible; we go through the 5 stages of grief, most of which are unnecessary in hindsight; and then we find one we want to spend all of our days with, most of which are spent mowing lawns. Goodness, that was dark. Hmm. If only there was someone to help in this process.

Trying to find the right home location for your new custom home is a little like trying to find the right spouse. In both cases we see thousands of options, most of which are already taken; friends make lots of suggestions, most of which are terrible; we go through the 5 stages of grief, most of which are unnecessary in hindsight; and then we find one we want to spend all of our days with, most of which are spent mowing lawns. Goodness, that was dark. Hmm. If only there was someone to help in this process. How about Babb...

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When someone thinks of the homebuilding process, their first thoughts are rarely about the paperwork, resourcing, and meetings. That’s actually a good thing. As you’ll see in a moment, dreaming about the visible parts of the homebuilding process is essential and we recommend doing it first. It’s easier to talk to a banker if you have a vision to motivate you. We seldom dream about the hoops to jump through and certainly not a timeline of when requirements need to be met. Thankfully some of the dreaming

When someone thinks of the homebuilding process, their first thoughts are rarely about the paperwork, resourcing, and meetings. That’s actually a good thing. As you’ll see in a moment, dreaming about the visible parts of the homebuilding process is essential and we recommend doing it first. It’s easier to talk to a banker if you have a vision to motivate you. We seldom dream about the hoops to jump through and certainly not a timeline of when requirements need to be met. Thankfully some of the dreaming and fun can happen before the physical build, but certainly there’s so much...

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