Questions about building a house

[dtbingle]

I'm reaching the point where I plan to move into a house within the next 2 years, but starting the research process now. The general cities/locations and budget have been established, however having some difficulty finding area specific information without committing (pre-approved mortgage, etc).

I'm in a position living with a relative where I can stay as long as desired, meaning that I have the option of having a house shell and a few major items like plumbing contracted out - leaving finishing work, roughed in electrical, kitchen cabinetry, etc to slowly do in free time outside of work over the 1-1.5 years after the shell is built (keeping in mind that if it runs longer than 1-1.5 years, it's not a big deal). Now the questions:

1) Who do I talk to in order to get a rough estimation for new home construction? Do you talk to a realtor regarding the land pricing and then reach out to a contractor for an estimate on the house construction?
-I would imagine that a realtor would be able to help provide info on lot prices in the desired area, but wouldn't be able to help too much in terms of getting the build estimate from a contractor.

2) How much of a new home construction can you realistically do yourself within 1-2 years assuming work can only really be done on weekends/holidays (starting from a home shell)?
-On paper, it seems like it can be done, but as we all know, just about every project in the world has taken longer than estimated at the start.

3) What's the best way to estimate the per sq ft cost of a BUYING a house in a desired vs. BUILDING new in that same area?

 

[red61cj5]

don't know much about # 1 and #3, but as far as # 2 is concerned, once the shell is up, there isn't much of anything you cant do yourself if you have the knowledge. Plumbing, electrical, and especially HVAC require some professional help, but a lot of grunt work can be done with those especially if you know somebody. drywall, flooring, trim, paint cabinets an counters all have a learning curve, but are not brain surgery and aren't inspected by anyone but you. Its mostly a matter of willingness to learn, you said theres no timetable on this, soo....

 

[Firebrick43]

A lot of construction loans have time limits, some permits have time limits, and if you are around HOA they definitely have time limits.

In the process of building a second house(actually large addition) in my life. You need to be close to the house. Every day you need to be there, not just weekends. In fact you need to take a day off on every other weekend or so to keep from getting burned out. If you work on the house every day, even if its just for an hour or two, you will be better off. But you need to either stay at the house or drive past it on the way home. Consider the house work in place of your TV time or Internet

Also consider roughing in the pressure pipe for the plumbing, if not even the drains. Get help from a plumber to layout the drain/vent system but pex pressure system is easy for a diy, especially propex. If you do the plumbing, electrical, and hvac you will save the most money. Even HVAC is within the realm of a lot of DIY now if you take careful consideration of the floor plan and use multiple minisplits. Could save 10K or more for each of these trades.

Insulation contractors is one that you will likely save NO money at all. Drywall is best done by a pro as they can do it in only two or three days, for not much more than you can buy materials for at home cheepo, and do a great job. And nothing shows a house like the drywall/Trimwork

 

[Voi]

A lot of construction loans have time limits, some permits have time limits, and if you are around HOA they definitely have time limits.

This. One of my friends is finishing up new construction and the another one is starting. In both of their cases they bought the land and did some preliminary site and septic work out of pocket. But once they have draw on their construction loan they had one year from that point.

If you need to finance the land as well you can get a loan on that and then roll it and the construction loan into a mortgage when you're done. Buying the land does not start the one year clock necessarily unless there is a local covenant.

As far as the specific questions:

1) In some cases you can get lot and building package through a builder but these generally aren't the type of deals where the builder/developer is willing to let the homeowner take over after the shell is up. It's possible but I can't recall seeing it happen beyond the homeowner finishing the basement themselves.

I would recommend talking to both realtors and builders.

2) I've known numerous people who built their own homes within a year with varying amount of sub-contractor help. It always amazes me but it can be done.

3) So hard to estimate without knowing your local market.

 

[kd3pc]

given the information provided, your first stop would be a bank, unless you own the property or you have the cash to do everything.

the bank will have a construction loan department, or find one that does....and they can get you answers.

Builders and realtors will both look out for their own best interests. You want to, or have someone - look out for your interests.

They say you will build three houses before you get close to what you are actually happy with.

1. create a specs/plans for what you want, and shop that spec to builders not realtors or subs...this way you get a price for a lot of specifics, not a "kitchen allowance" or "flooring allowance". Even lowes/HD can get you a range of prices for framing, dried in, builder grade, etc, etc.

2. You can do it all yourself, but there will be time constraints by those with the money and the permits. It MAY be more cost effective to contract out some parts. May not, if you want perfection and you can provide it.

3. Builders and Realtors can give you a range, and there are numerous internet sites to do the same thing. NONE will be accurate, unless a person does some work/research and so on. You can do it yourself - visit some new construction neighborhood, model homes and so on and ASK. IF you put a location in your profile, some members here are up to date on prices per square...but again you have to know what you are comparing....marble foyers just don't compare to laminate.

Best of luck and I hope your relationship is strong with your SO. This will test it like nothing else you do.

 

[rsanter]

What was said about construction loans having time limits is very true.

I helped my dad build the house they are still in. My dad was the GC on that house and he hired out the foundation, framing, roofing, electrical, drywall....etc.
We did a lot of the work to save some money and the house was completed to the minimum level to pass inspection and get an occupancy permit.
That means there were things that were not done that were not needed to pass inspection.
Not all the trimmwork was done and the fancy trim was not done. Kitchen was bare concrete, bar was not even started, and a lot of other misc stuff.
We moved in and got the kitchen completed first.
Building and installing the custom bar, added cabinetry, extra trim mouldings and all that other stuff took another year before the house was 'finished'

Bob

 

[cvairwerks]

Quickest way to get an approximation on cost, is look at what has sold within the last 90 days, within 1/2 mile radius of where you want to build. Take the selling price and divide by the square footage of the home.You should be within +/- 10% of the cost. This does make the assumption that you are on a city lot and not acreage. Where I am at, everything is selling right now between 97$ and 112$ per square foot. There is a new subdivision going in around us that homes are going to be in the 110$ to 120$ a square foot. Obviously, choices of finishes, styles, flooring ect. are all going to factor into the numbers.

 

[theoldwizard1]

You would have to get a building loan instead of a mortgage. These are usually fairly short term (<2 years) and I doubt anyone would give you one if you do NOT have at least a GC license (actually not that hard to get).

The biggest area for saving money is probably sheet rocking and mudding. You can learn to do a reasonable job quickly, but it takes years of experience to FLY like those guys do.

Doing all your plumbing and electrical might save you $5,000-$15,000. Rough plumbing and electrical for a whole house can be a nightmare depending on how complicated you get.

Doing only finish plumbing and electrical won't save you more than a couple grand because a lot of what you save will go into better fixtures.

 

[Iwearcrocs]

We just finished building our house this past July. We were lucky enough to have a family member build for us, then we purchased it straight from them with a loan. I can't really speak to the financing aspects since we didn't go that route.

If you aren't in a hurry and are flexible, you can save ALOT of money. We craigslisted, yard sales, Ebayed, scratch and dented our way to savings.

Example, we had started drawing up plans and then walking at HD one day found an 8' sliding glass door that was a return for new construction. It had been sitting for a year and we ended up getting it for $200. It wasn't exactly what we wanted but just like that, we already saved 1,000.

The most money you will save is if the loan will let you act as the GC. It will take a lot of time but in the end, it's probably what will save you the most.

We had ours separated out quite a bit. 1 contractor did the slab and framing, that was the most any one person did.

We were able to use a draftsmen and not an architect for our plans. This saved us a couple thousand and made it only slightly more expensive then buying cookie cutter plans.

Our initial budget before we even drew plans and took bids was $350k. We closed at 357k. The main reason for our overage was, we initially didn't plan on building a shop.

Depending on where you live I highly recommend solar and making that part of your building plan.

Would be happy to answer any specific questions you might have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dtbingle]

IF you put a location in your profile, some members here are up to date on prices per square...but again you have to know what you are comparing....marble foyers just don't compare to laminate.

Looking at Farmington Hills, Farmington, and Canton (in that order, and all Michigan cities) - if anyone may be familiar with the areas.

What was said about construction loans having time limits is very true.

We did a lot of the work to save some money and the house was completed to the minimum level to pass inspection and get an occupancy permit.

Bob

I realize this probably varies case-to-case based on location, part of a HOA, permit conditions, etc, but what was considered the minimum to pass as occupancy?


So if pricing is listed as $110 or $120 per sq ft, I'm assuming this applies to a complete house construction, which includes basement excavation, utility hook ups like plumbing out to the main sewage lines, and most of the finishing work. Then the cost of the lot and cost of leveling that lot if necessary is an additional cost outside of that $110/120 per sq ft.

If a lot is listed for $75k, and research shows that new construction cost in the area is $110/sq ft, a rough estimate for a fully finished 2000 sq ft home would be:
$75k + $110 * 2000 sq ft = $295k.

Seems like it's a lot lower than expected. I would think $300k'ish would be what you could expect if you take on a bunch of the work yourself, not fully finished. What other significant costs would come into play here?


Applying some of the points from above to our situation:
-Although drywall is probably within our capabilities, the building time restriction probably means it would be better off contracted out - at least the main levels to pass occupancy. If time permits, some of this can be tackled.
-Plumbing (out to main sewage and inside the house) would be hired out.
-Furnace and HVAC system would be hired out. Willing to do the roughed in ducting, but not sure if it's plausible or worthwhile to do the ducting myself and then have the furnace install and HVAC finishing hired out.
-I can do most of the electrical, but have to double check with city regulations on what a "non-licensed electrician" can complete. Wiring outlets, light fixtures, 240v out to the garage, etc isn't bad.
-Flooring can be done DIY.
-Kitchen cabinets, trim, and other finish work can also be done DIY.
-Tiling for bathroom floor or around shower can be done DIY.
-Sounds like insulation may also be something more worthwhile to be hired out.

 

[Capt Crash]

I am also in this boat. My wife and I have been looking to buy a new home, but we are not finding what we want. We are now starting to look into building it ourselves. My father in law is a builder, and he would give us some help, but not a lot due to his location. We have friends who could help us with the plumbing and the hvac.

In my research, our credit union and our mortgage company wont loan on land only, or building loans. The one local bank that I spoke with will do land only in either 1, 3, or 5 year loans. They also will do construction loans, but they required work estimates and would only pay the approved contractors. Sounded like it would be a pain if you had to switch contractors and didn't want to have the homeowner do any work.

I have started to look into home kits with SIP's on my father in laws advice, and I like the idea, but have just started to contact the companies with questions.
Brian

 

[Voi]

What other significant costs would come into play here?

Septic/well if not on city sewer and water. Possibly anything beyond the most basic landscaping.

Building plans if you're not getting one or a choice of one from a builder.

 

[mikegt4]

When I built my house (mid 1990s) banks would not give construction loans for DIY projects. You had to have a contractor build it to get financing. It was best if you already owned the land free and clear. The time line for permits was 6 months start to finish or you had to buy new permits if not finished yet (they want to start taxing you ASAP).

Building a house customized to your requirements is very rewarding, no compromises to the market or next owner. I hope you are successful with your project.

 

[bczygan]

I'm reaching the point where I plan to move into a house within the next 2 years, but starting the research process now. The general cities/locations and budget have been established, however having some difficulty finding area specific information without committing (pre-approved mortgage, etc).

I'm in a position living with a relative where I can stay as long as desired, meaning that I have the option of having a house shell and a few major items like plumbing contracted out - leaving finishing work, roughed in electrical, kitchen cabinetry, etc to slowly do in free time outside of work over the 1-1.5 years after the shell is built (keeping in mind that if it runs longer than 1-1.5 years, it's not a big deal). Now the questions:

1) Who do I talk to in order to get a rough estimation for new home construction? Do you talk to a realtor regarding the land pricing and then reach out to a contractor for an estimate on the house construction?
-I would imagine that a realtor would be able to help provide info on lot prices in the desired area, but wouldn't be able to help too much in terms of getting the build estimate from a contractor.

2) How much of a new home construction can you realistically do yourself within 1-2 years assuming work can only really be done on weekends/holidays (starting from a home shell)?
-On paper, it seems like it can be done, but as we all know, just about every project in the world has taken longer than estimated at the start.

3) What's the best way to estimate the per sq ft cost of a BUYING a house in a desired vs. BUILDING new in that same area?

What are your skills and knowledge?

It sounds like you are young and lack any knowledge, which is OK, but means you have a long steep learning curve ahead of you.

Bill

 

[TurnipTruck]

I am on month 18 of a major remodel, working mostly by myself on evenings/weekends/vacations, with friends and family very occasionally helping with roofing. I am doing everything except countertops and siding, including an utter and total rewire, significant plumbing changes, and every bit of Sheetrock replaced. I expect to be done in another ten months.

 

[matt_i]

Just being the General Contractor is going to save you 20%. That's a classic target for pure profit by the licensed builder on a house construction. Granted a GC is likely to have a variety of jobs and be able to negotiate a better rate per-job and possibly get breaks on material prices. So its going to be tough to get all of that savings.

I tend to want to spec the better-best materials when doing my own work as compensation for my "free" labor, also the idea that its going to last longer that way.

I also hate to pay subs to do stuff but cut corners, I hate trying to decide who does good work and who is prone to cut corners, so I'm also firmly planted in the "DIY" corner. I try to do good work but its slow. Some of the time is researching, acquiring materials, planning or designing, drawing up sketches so the actual work proceeds more efficiently.

The project can take over your life and not completely be worth the savings. If you are married there will be complaints.

 

[Richard Cranium]

my wife and I built our own home, Our relationship really suffered. So many decisions. We also was our own contractors. We were not in a hurry, We had a mobile home on the property so we were not paying any rent. We owned the land and had saved money to build it. We discovered we had underestimated our costs from the beginning. But at the end we were only 4 thousand over. Almost half of that was upgraded carpeting. Good luck. Richard

 

[stikman56]

Don't know about how much you can get done by yourself in the time frame mentioned,but, do your research, loans have time limits,on ours we needed to go over the limit one month,it cost about 240 dollars more to do so. We used a build on your prepared site builder, did many upgrades, got bids on the other work needed that the builder doesn't do ,like excavating, concrete, paint, electric to the house and shop,and I did as much of that as possible It worked almost to the dollar amount they loaned us.

Part of the loan was "owner to do items", you write checks when you buy supplies,or have work done. It's very time consuming and you'd better be there every day to watch them too.

If you do it that way you can have some equity when you're finished. We've been here a year and the tax assessor has the place at $140,000 more than we spent to do all of it.

 

[Playwme]

Did a major renovation a couple years ago. Got the builders in and got it done. 3 months start to finish, with us living upstairs in the bedrooms. Made some savings along the way, but labor wise the contractor and his sunbird all worked great together. No getting in each other's way, no redo work, and everyone took responsibility.

I did the flooring myself , and have spent the last 2 years doing the garage, decks, carport , courtyard and landscaping. When I finish a days work outside I come inside, have a nice shower in my nice ensuite , sit down in my nice lounge room and relax while the wife cooks dinner in her nice big new kitchen.

You gotta be headstrong and dedicated to do it all yourself. Watch a few episodes of Grand Designs. I often wonder how many projects they start filming that end up breaking relationships or sending the owners broke.

 

[SH7mi]

My wife and I built our home from 1996-1998. Our process was;
Buy a 1 acre plot and sat on that for @ 2 yrs. We used the land as down payment for a construction loan, 140,000. We did 65% of the work ourselves. That is, working on it nights and weekends (I don't have many family memories thru those two years).
I would say we went over budget by 10,000.00. The house is 3000 sq'. It was appraised this year for 350,000. All wood work was done by us and half of the siding (cedar).
We lived with my parents thru the process. I hope this helps you and good luck!

 

[ard]

Being the general is fine- wonderful saving money. HOWEVER, you need to know how to build a house.

I'd grown up around the trades since I was 14. My first DIY was a home that needed a massive remodel.... Comparatively it was a snap. No clock, bit off what you can chew. Money, time...you can control that with a remodel. It is FAR more difficult and challenging to build new as compared to remodel. A lot of money up front; massive level of commitment to get it rolling. After you spring for the lot, $xxxk...then you will need to pay an architect $x a square foot, and design a home...and only then will you get an idea of what the real cost will be....

After our marriage survived the remodel, I built our home in 1994. 4200 sq ft, custom, California

I hired a builder, but I was on site and I did electric, finish carpentry, paint and stain. And built a barn/shop. While working full time in an field quite removed from building. Got it done in a year, except the barn (foundation only). About killed me.

We lived in a 600 sqft mobile home the last 5 months- wife, two kids, dog, two cats....

Times may have changed, BUT... You needed to own the property free and clear. Construction loan had a 1 year limit, then converted to a conventional. (BTW, the loan was a major reason I hired a builder. While he was the general as far as the bank was concerned, he gave me 'cover' for the items I was doing.)


Looking at sale prices as a way to guess about building costs is a non-starter.

Land prices are land prices
Permit fees can be researched at the local county/city offices.
Building costs range from $60 a sq ft to $500+. Are you building a utilitarian box, or a multi room, custom designed, highly engineered structure with slate roof, 12' ceilings, clad wood Windows???

Fine Homebuilding would be a good place to do some research- they quote build costs from time to time. Also a good resource for building ideas, construction and design methods/approaches.

Good Luck. You will need it!

 

[rct]

If you want to consider DIY part of the house, find a builder that participates in that type of program. The first house my wife and I built used a local Barden Homes owner-builder program. Every major step of the house had a price from their regular subcontractors attached and you could pay or chose to do it yourself. That said, for our second house it was easier to wait for it to be done and just move in. (with daily visits to QC the work)

 

[theoldwizard1]

Looking at Farmington Hills, Farmington, and Canton (in that order, and all Michigan cities) - if anyone may be familiar with the areas.

There are VERY few open lots in that area. Good luck in finding one that is not owned by a builder.

I realize this probably varies case-to-case based on location, part of a HOA, permit conditions, etc, but what was considered the minimum to pass as occupancy?

It is likely controlled by the local building department. Likely the only thing they would allow before occupancy is an unfinished "bonus ro" above a garage. Everything else must pass inspection before occupancy.


Seems like it's a lot lower than expected. I would think $300k'ish would be what you could expect if you take on a bunch of the work yourself, not fully finished. What other significant costs would come into play here?

-I can do most of the electrical, but have to double check with city regulations on what a "non-licensed electrician" can complete. Wiring outlets, light fixtures, 240v out to the garage, etc isn't bad.
-Flooring can be done DIY.
-Kitchen cabinets, trim, and other finish work can also be done DIY.
-Tiling for bathroom floor or around shower can be done DIY.
-Sounds like insulation may also be something more worthwhile to be hired out.

So start checking out getting a building loan ! Highly unlikely !!

Also. those areas typically have a maximum amount of time from start to finish.

 

[73RR]

As a retired engineer/general contractor, I'll suggest that you can gain a lot of good information from a similar retired contractor in your area. They have 'been there-done that' and won't be looking to get into you pocket....you can, however, buy them a gift card for a local restaurant for their time....
A lot of ideas have been shared but what do we know about your expertise?