If you’ve ever built a customized home in Central Florida, you know that there are many decisions that must be made and many hurdles that must be cleared before dirt can be moved.

While some of these steps—like selecting your colors and finishes—are exciting, others may be less so, but are no less important in ensuring that you ultimately get the home of your dreams on the property of your dreams.

So what exactly must take place before actual construction can commence? Here’s a snapshot of the upfront production process here at LifeStyle Homes.

1.Contract Signing and Financing Approval. The first order of business is to sign an Agreement of Sale with your LifeStyle sales associate which represents a legal understanding of your project and its base costs. By this point, you should have obtained a pre-approval from one of LifeStyle’s preferred lenders if you’ll be financing your new home.

2.Drafting and Blueprint Finalization. Because LifeStyle is a semi-custom and custom builder, we offer our customers the opportunity to make final tweaks to their home plan before their Design Studio appointment. This is the final chance to make structural changes to your home plan.

3.Vendor and Design Center Appointments. Once your home plan is exactly to your liking, you’ll meet with LifeStyle’s cabinetry, appliance, and (if applicable) fireplace and summer kitchen vendors at their showrooms to make selections. Next, you’ll spend some time in LifeStyle’s Design Studio with our interior design team to personalize your home with items like tile, wood, countertops, paint colors, roof color, fixtures, and much more.

4.Final Pricing. Once you have settled on your colors and design selections, you’ll then move into the final pricing stage. Here, LifeStyle’s pricing department will prepare numbers for your specific selections and customized features for your review and approval.

5.Truss and Structural Engineering. Although this step may be the most time consuming, it is also the most important. Third-party engineers will first design and engineer your home’s trusses. Once complete, your home plans will then move to a structural engineer to determine building specifications and calculations, including electrical loads and HVAC calculations.

6.Permitting and HOA Approvals. While LifeStyle’s permitting team will be working behind the scenes from the moment your contract is signed to collect appropriate surveys and studies, the process of obtaining your building permit takes place once engineered plans are received. The time it takes to obtain a building permit can vary wildly depending on the things such as environmental hinderances, whether your lot requires a septic permit, and much more.

Once your building permit is received, and you have closed on your loan (if applicable), LifeStyle (finally!) has the green light to begin construction on your new home. Our team will be just as anxious as you to begin clearing your lot and prepping the “canvas” of your gorgeous new LifeStyle home.

For more information on the home building process, give LifeStyle a call at (321) 727-8188 or visit BuildingALifeStyle.com.