7 Rules to Follow Before you Build your New House

1. Line up Your Design Team

Before you start building your new house is vital to line up your
design team. We recommend you to ensure that your Design
Team professionals are members of bodies such as CIOB &
RIBA.
Also, your design team should include an Architect, a Civil
Engineer, an Electrical Engineer, a Mechanical Engineer and a
Quantity Surveyor.
Firstly, your Architect will design you new home while your
Civil Engineer will ensure its structural integrity. Secondly, your
Electrical and Mechanical Engineers are required to deal with
the electromagnetical design aspects of your new house (e.g.
electrical connections and palming).  Finally, your Quantity
Surveyor is the key player ensuring that your budget is identified
and secured during the design and construction stage.    
2. Know your Budget
Before you start building your new home, its vital to know your
budget in order to determine whether you can afford to build
your new house. Your budget should include your house's
design and construction costs, tax benefits and funds for the
down payments.
However, don't forget the hidden expenses. You will live to your
new home for more than 60 years, so be sure that you budget is
developed by considering your future utility bills and future
maintenance costs. 
Nevertheless, your Quantity Surveyor should assist you for
developing an accurate budget while ensuring that your house
living costs are kept at minimum.
3. Think Green
Thinking green may slightly increase your Construction
costs. However, your Quantity Surveyor can make cost saving
from other materials by contacting Value Engineering studies.
Also, the slightly increase on you Construction Costs will be
reflected to your future utility bills and make your house over all
house Cost (Construction Costs pulse Living Costs) reduce
dramatically. 
4. Calculate your risks
Once you've determined you can afford to build your new house
is time to identify any potential risks that my affect your budget.
Such risks may include potential design changes during the
construction phase. Such changes may dramatically affect your
budget.  
Nevertheless, your Quantity Surveyor can estimate the cost of
such risks and ensure that your budget is secured. 
5. Ensure your Finance
Once you've identified and mitigated your risks and determined
you can afford to build, is time to plan your spending and
arrange your financing. It is importance to bear in mind that
Contractors are usually receive 10% of the construction cost in
front. However, once the Construction phase began you will be
libel for interim payment to the Contractor in accordance with
the work done to date. 
Nevertheless, your Quantity Surveyor will be in a position to
develop your future cash flow in order to know what you should
pay and when, so you can arrange your finance accordingly.
6. Check the reputation of your Contractors
There are numerous Contractor within the market. However, its
vital to do some research and select the most reliable
Contractors.
We recommend you to ensure that you select Contractors which
are members of the Council for Registration and Control of
Building and Civil Engineering Contractors. Also, its a good
idea to take some opinions and recommendations from other
close relatives or friends which may have some experience with
some Contractors. 
However, your Quantity Surveyors can investigate the
Contractors' financials backgrounds as well as their previous
experience and recommencement to you the most suitable
Contractors.
7. Evaluate your Tenders
Once you select your Contractors it is important to ask them to
Tender four your house. At this point is vital to bear in mind that
the lowest Tender is not always the best option. For example,
some Contractors may give a low Tender for taking the build but
their price make it impossible to do so and this may lead to
major problems (e.g. low quality, disputes, Contractor become
insolvent etc).
We recommend you to make some research and ensure that the
Contractor can build you House on the price of the Tender.
Nevertheless, your Quantity Surveyor will be in a position to
critical evaluating the Tenders and recommencement the most
safe Contractor.