Having had several projects, and watching friends doing theirs,
I have seen a few things to watch out for:
-Picking a design that promises too much. There have been some
airplanes for which kits or plans have been sold well before adequate
test flying has been done, some before any prototype was built. Not a
good bet. Some of those airplanes never flew at all, and some flew
poorly or dangerously. Older homebuilders can spot those a mile away,
and the airplane seeker needs to listen those those guys.
-Picking a design that is way beyond the builder's financial or
time capabilities. Somehow, we think we will be able to afford it, but
we're not taking into account the kids' needs as they grow up and the
needs of the spouse. You gotta maintain the marriage and the
relationship with your family. Seen some homebuilders lose it all
because they spent too much money and time on something that will
rust/rot/corrode away anyway. Suddenly the builder can resent the
airplane and what it did to him. A family is worth more than an
airplane any day. Keep the desires within reason. I have friends who
have spent 30+ years on airplanes (while properly balancing family and
homebuilding) that aren't finished yet, and now age and/or loss of
medical means that it was mostly for nothing.
-Time-to-build estimates can be reasonable or can be too rosy.
Talk to the builders who have finished that model and see how long it
took. 2000 hours sounds achievable until you realize that 2000 hours is
a full-time 8-hour-a-day job for one year. How many of us can afford
that sort of time and still get an airplane built in two or three
years? And keeping motivated is a problem. To come home after a hard
day's work and still get in a few hours of building is hard to maintain
for years on end, especially considering the family's needs.
This isn't intended to be negative, only that a prospective
builder needs to be realistic. Homebuilding is really rewarding,
espcially if the builder can get the family involved. The quick-build
stuff can be a boon to those who can afford it, especially those with
too few spare hours. And homebuilts often outperform the factory spam
stuff, some are fantastic works of art. Some are so uniquely ugly they
appeal to some. Some can get into and out of tiny places so we can get
away from it all. Only in homebuilding is there so much variety, and
there's a real cameraderie among builders. Too bad most of us have to
work for a living...

Dan