When it comes to building your dream home, you want it done right. In today’s world, you have to be cautious of who you trust. Building a mega-mansion requires a team of people who not only know what they are doing but understand the importance of a budget. Just because you’re spending on a home doesn’t mean you’re willing to empty your bank account and often times builders will abuse clients with the assumption that they can go over budget with no problem, and THAT is the problem.
When building a house, you are trusting in someone to create your home. A home is more than a project to fill a portfolio. It is more than something to show off. A home is where you live. It is where you raise your daughter, where you celebrate with your loved ones, where you decompress after a long days work, where you spend the intimate moments of your life, and while you may want a mega-mansion worthy of front page news you CAN do it without going over budget. You just have to be wise.
Luxury homes require full-time maintenance, often requiring a full-time professional staff, and monthly services. You have to be smart, and aware so that your mega-mansion doesn’t bankrupt you. It can happen, but it is absolutely avoidable if you know that the building isn’t the priciest part.
Before diving in, let’s talk about what a mega-mansion entails. What makes a mansion different from a mega-mansion? It starts with the style and branding of the home. When building a mega-mansion it goes beyond the square-footage. Most mega-mansions have greater than 100,000 square feet of floor space and an owner that is as impressive as that number. Having that home requires astronomical monthly upkeep and if you drain your account building, how can you afford to enjoy it?
If you get involved with the wrong company, you can end up with a home created years past the original move-in date, millions over budget, with devastating problems to fix. Take for example what has happened to Ziad Ghandour. Ghandour, the founder of TI Capital, hired a commercial builder with no luxury homebuilding experience and is still dealing with the consequences.
When he began planning the project in 2009, he decided to go with a commercial builder because of the magnitude of his home. The project began in 2012 with an estimated two years completion time. Instead, the home took nearly five years and went $7 million over budget. Not to mention upon moving in, the home had numerous issues that required him and his family to constantly leave for expensive repairs to be done. Not what you want after waiting and spending large sums of money.
That’s the problem with the increase in mega-mansions being built today, more and more builders are claiming to know how it’s done without any actual knowledge or experience. Ghandour is now dealing with a lawsuit trying to get justice for all the trouble he and his family have gone through, not to mention the millions he has lost in the process of building this home. It brings up the question, was it all worth it?
When building your mega-mansion, do your research. Consult numerous contractors. Reach out to owners of mega-mansions and see how they had it done. Calculate your monthly costs. You don’t want to end up in a black hole of never-ending spending and years lost. Be aware, do your research and be savvy. Look out for red flags. Your dream mega-mansion is just around the corner if you do it right!