You probably know someone who has built a custom home. Chances are you heard their stories of construction delays and going over budget. These situations often result from a homeowner not being fully prepared prior to beginning the process. While the thought of the ultimate home with all of your desired features is intriguing, you don’t have to let the actual process of building your dream home be overwhelming.

So, go ahead and come out from hiding and remember this wisdom from Anatole France who once said, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

It is true with a dream home isn’t it? It would not be called a dream home unless it was first a dream. But with all dreams, there is reality. And in the case of building a dream home, the reality is having a sound plan in place. Otherwise, you could be faced with a nightmare situation of delays and budget problems.

Follow these seven rules to get past the hurdles and start on the path to successfully build a custom, dream home:

1. Look at Needs vs. Wants: You typically will not get everything that you want in your dream home. Determine your needs first, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, an office, garage, kitchen, and family room. Then evaluate other features that you want in your home but are willing to forego if they cannot work into the overall plan.

2. Evaluate Costs: Look at the costs for the features you want, such as a pool, media room or a wine cellar. Then prioritize the rankings of your wants. Be prepared to nix some from the list.

3. Determine the Style: Deciding on the style of home you want is very crucial in determining the home you want to build, but keep in mind that the style can affect your budget as well as building and supply costs. Round turrets, multiple elevations and complex roof lines can be costly.

4. Look at C.C. & R.’s: Make sure your home’s style, elevations, exterior finishes, colors and square footage comply with the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC & R’s) for your neighborhood before you finalize your house plans and break ground on your project. Also, be sure to obtain architectural approval if required.

5. Set a Realistic Budget: Accurate budget planning is important to prevent any surprises when it comes time to start building your dream home. Obtain actual quotes with itemized costs and supplies from subcontractors to prepare a detailed budget.

6. Feel Comfortable in Decision-Making Process: Be prepared to make decisions. When building a custom home, you will be picking everything from lighting and plumbing fixtures to appliances and exterior veneer materials, so it is important to feel comfortable in the decision-making process. Do not labor or fret over your decisions. If you like it, go for it and do not second guess yourself after the fact.

7. Get Detailed House Plans: Obtain a set of stock plans or custom design them with a home designer or architect. Make sure the plans provide specific details about the size, specs and dimensions so that you are getting the exact house that you want. Also, be sure to have your plans engineered by a licensed structural engineer.

Although London now ranks above Monte Carlo in terms of property prices, recent figures released by estate agents Rightmove show that London house prices rose at their slowest rate in five months, with the cost of a home falling in more than half of the United Kingdom's capital's boroughs.

While other regions across the country saw the average house price rise by 0.8 per cent in June, property prices in London rose by 0.7 per cent in comparison - half the rate that had been seen in May, prompting experts to predict a drop in property prices over the next few months.

A nationwide property boom, led by demand from rich foreigners and bankers in the city might be reaching its peak as interest rates reach a six-year high deter homebuyers with record debts. With another interest rate increase looming, it is widely expected by property analysts that another increase may crimp price growth.

The slowdown saw the cost of a home fall in seventeen of London's thirty-two boroughs, with Southwark, an area south of London's financial district showing the largest level of decline with prices falling 2.8 per cent. Hounslow, close to Heathrow Airport showed the next biggest decline with a 2.4 per cent drop.

However, property prices within London's upmarket boroughs continued to increase, with property in Kensington and Chelsea, areas popular with bankers, footballers and Hollywood celebrities recording gains of 3.4 per cent on the month and a staggering 73 per cent compared to the previous year with an average price of £1.4 million. Furthermore, the average time a property remained on the market rose to 69 days from 65 days in May. The average asking price in London is still 23 per cent higher than a year ago, with the prices rising from £315,224 to £387,898.

Property prices across the U.K roise by 13.2 percent in June to an average cost of £239,317, climbing in seven out of ten regions. The West Midlands showed the greatest level of gain with a 5.8 per cent increase, while East Anglia, the North-West and Yorkshire and Humberside all recorded negative growth. The increase in property values has highlighted the growing divide between homeowners and those not on the property ladder, with more than four4 million people expecting never to be able to own their own home.

If you’re considering constructing a new home, consider going green.

A lot of green construction initiatives are out there, which advocate building everything from pre- measured, pre-fabricated parts.

The savings for this are two fold – the first savings is in ease of construction. By building everything from pre-measured parts, you save on labor and assembly. You also save on garbage hauling fees.

The second place where you save is avoiding building waste in your local landfill. Most homes are constructed by bringing raw lumber on site and cutting it to fit over the course of construction.

The same (to a lesser extent) is done with flooring, drywall and siding.

Good green construction techniques use the mantra of "measure twice, cut once" to its logical extreme, and can eliminate construction waste (and the attendant fees) by as much as 80%.

Green construction also ties into how the house is designed as a home and living space, and how it uses energy.

A house can be precisely placed to maximize thermal warming in the winter, and shade placement in the summer.

Similarly, green construction helps with energy bills.

By building the houses out of precisely measured prefabricated components, the insulation effects can be greatly improved – most homes, when it comes to insulation, have the equivalent of two full sized doors open in terms of air flow.

Green construction, done right, solves this problem, and a well insulated home is less expensive to heat in the winter, and cool in the summer.

Proper heating and cooling design/installation methods are a major contributor to good green construction practices.

A more recent trend in green construction is photovoltaic cells as an integral component of construction, rather than as an unsightly add on to the home.

These can reduce utility bills (through net-metering) or provide cash flow to the home owner through an offset-tariff, and will, over the course of 20 years or more, pay off the cost of their investment.

Ultimately, doing a green home means doing a completely green home – you can’t do it part way. It doesn’t mean you have to "give up" the life style – but it does mean an initial investment in planning and a commitment to hold on to the home for a while to recoup your investment.

Georgetown is a growing city that has the real estate to fit each resident’s needs. Located about twenty minutes from downtown Austin, Georgetown is a small city with developing real estate. Georgetown continues to benefit from the annual population increases in central Texas. This city has become popular for residents looking to avoid crowded town around the city like Pflugerville and Round Rock. Georgetown real estate ranges from apartments to ranch land to master planned communities. All of these home choices are available in and around the Georgetown area.

There are two master planned communities within Georgetown. One is a master planned active adult community that has strict age restrictions on home buyers in their community. This master planned community has private golf courses and fitness centers to make sure their residents are active adults. The other master planned community is a luxurious community with a private championship golf course and world class fitness facilities. Homes range well into the millions and can be as large as 7,000 sq. ft. This is a resort community that offers residents the best amenities to accompany their world class homes.

Town homes around downtown area of Georgetown are very popular. These homes located along Highway 29 and resemble a farm town community where mail men deliver mail to your doorstep each day. Most of the homes in this area were built in the 70’s and 80’s and provide home owners with a historic living situation. Many of these homes are owned or rented by Southwestern University students. Some of these town homes are smaller and college students benefit from the low cost, close to campus locations.

Apartments and condominiums have become popular in this area. The apartments in the area are located around the downtown area of Georgetown. Apartments in this area give residents a chance to live in a small town, and many tenants are college students. There is one condominium complex within Georgetown. This complex overlooks the San Gabriel River and gives residents the chance to enjoy the environment from their back landing.

Area neighborhoods give Georgetown residents the chance to live within communities and enjoy the communal atmosphere that neighborhoods have. There are many neighborhoods in the Georgetown area. All students are given the chance to attend the public school system and Georgetown High. Georgetown residents understand the history of the town, and the history of the people who built the town. This is why Georgetown has been able to keep its small town atmosphere as the city continues to grow.