Custom Home.....without a builder????

[ColinR]

I have searched thru some old threads on home building and see that some of you have GC’d your own custom homes. When we build the house we are in now we used a custom builder but half the time I was calling him to tell him to get a hold of the next sub the previous sub is about done. Now granted they know who to use and who not too but short of that I felt like all he did was schedule work, and drive by occasionally to see how things were going. I do a lot of PM at work and am a great scheduler. But that is for pipeline work not home building, but I do have some buddies that used to be in home building that I could reference questions too. My question is how do you get a loan without a builder?? NO paying cash is NOT an option. And if I was to go this route on our next home do you have any advice???

[bowhuntertex]

You will still have to have someone sign as a GC for your loan while building. I had a friend do that and I GC'd my build myself. It can get very frustrating dealing with contractors, but I also had control on the quality and had an inspection schedule that every contractor signed so they couldn't go to far and hide a mistake. I was there every day watching and doing a lot of the work myself as well to save money. Built a $250K house for $100K. It was rough, but worth it in the end.

[Landrover]

I did it easily and have never built anything or repaired anything significant in my life. In other words you seem more qualified than me. My job when we built had me traveling significantly as I felt I lived in airports. I was listed as the GC on the bank loan (you need to have good to great credit as does a builder) but I had a building consultant (relatively cheap), actually located in Magnolia (small world)!!! Absoulutely AWESOME experience and I would even rate it as a 8/9 out of 10 purely based on what I saved!

[mfarmer]

GC just had to be registered with the Texas Real Estate Commission... I paid $500 for my cousing to do it and then built my own house.

[Snakelover]

I'm a commercial subcontractor but plan to hire a builder for my own house. Mainly because when my dad (also a subcontractor) acted as the GC on his own house, I saw that it took a whole lot of time that he would have otherwise used to make money. Additionally, I can tell you that an individual will probably get higher sub bids than a contractor. If a sub thinks a project may be chaotic and disorganized, they will price it as such because that costs them money. A good GC that we've worked with before gets our best pricing. It's nothing personal; just business. There is no way in the world I would price a job for an individual at the same price as where my bread is buttered.

[cj7zrcool]

I'm a commercial subcontractor but plan to hire a builder for my own house. Mainly because when my dad (also a subcontractor) acted as the GC on his own house, I saw that it took a whole lot of time that he would have otherwise used to make money. Additionally, I can tell you that an individual will probably get higher sub bids than a contractor. If a sub thinks a project may be chaotic and disorganized, they will price it as such because that costs them money. A good GC that we've worked with before gets our best pricing. It's nothing personal; just business. There is no way in the world I would price a job for an individual at the same price as where my bread is buttered.

This. Unless you know a good sub in every trade, you're probably better off getting an experienced GC.

[Landrover]

This. Unless you know a good sub in every trade, you're probably better off getting an experienced GC.

Exactly why I hired a consultant company that had all the trades in there roledex! They do about 100 houses per year so the tradesman are chomping at the bit to do there work, expecially when the average home is around $400,000+!

[Bill's Unlimited]

Colin - there used to be a "be your own builder" place on 1488 / 2978. I think they may have re-located to 2978.

One of our neighbors used them to build their house.

[Floor Man]

I'm a commercial subcontractor but plan to hire a builder for my own house. Mainly because when my dad (also a subcontractor) acted as the GC on his own house, I saw that it took a whole lot of time that he would have otherwise used to make money. Additionally, I can tell you that an individual will probably get higher sub bids than a contractor. If a sub thinks a project may be chaotic and disorganized, they will price it as such because that costs them money. A good GC that we've worked with before gets our best pricing. It's nothing personal; just business. There is no way in the world I would price a job for an individual at the same price as where my bread is buttered.

This. Unless I personally knew 90% of the subs myself I would hire a builder. These builders develop a team and can replicate the quality on every house. If you are looking to build a smaller or relatively easy finish out home then I think you might be ok. I knew 99% of the subs when I built mine myself and still almost hired a builder. Pm me for a little insight from the other side.

[Mike D]

Exactly why I hired a consultant company that had all the trades in there roledex! They do about 100 houses per year so the tradesman are chomping at the bit to do there work, expecially when the average home is around $400,000+!

This is the route that I am taking as well.

Unless you have LOTS of time to spend on site, dealing with subs, looking at QC, etc. you need to hire someone to assist.

[ColinR]

Exactly why I hired a consultant company that had all the trades in there roledex! They do about 100 houses per year so the tradesman are chomping at the bit to do there work, expecially when the average home is around $400,000+!

Is this like a "be your own builder company"?

Colin - there used to be a "be your own builder" place on 1488 / 2978. I think they may have re-located to 2978.

One of our neighbors used them to build their house.

Yea we looked in to them last time. Might have to talk again if we decide to do something.

This is the route that I am taking as well.

Unless you have LOTS of time to spend on site, dealing with subs, looking at QC, etc. you need to hire someone to assist.

I have lots of time........well that is if I get off of here some!

[Landrover]

Is this like a "be your own builder company"?



Yea we looked in to them last time. Might have to talk again if we decide to do something.



I have lots of time........well that is if I get off of here some!

1. Yes
2. The company I used have shut down two competetiors and those consultants work for them now.
3. TBH was definitely a rough habit to limit while building!!!

[the-butcher]

I did it with a consultant....i bid all my trades got refrences and bid at least 3 on each one..saved ton of money and was able to do any of the work i wanted to myself .i was nervous at first but would doit again today ,i had a blast

[Landrover]

I did it with a consultant....i bid all my trades got refrences and bid at least 3 on each one..saved ton of money and was able to do any of the work i wanted to myself .i was nervous at first but would doit again today ,i had a blast

sounds like we found the same folks!!!

[Bill's Unlimited]

BTW - way back when I built my house I took a continuing education course from HCCC (now Lone Star) at the original location (recent shooting location) that was taught by a custom builder. This class was great for someone who isn't a home builder to teach them what to look for. Taught you what to look for and things to make sure you get from the builder, and upgrades worth doing...

One of the best parts of the class is the instructor brought in his recent project costs for materials and labor. This information allowed me to spec out my house and put together my own budgets to use as a template for reviewing perspective custom home builder bids. The builder (not around anymore) I used provided me with a similar estimate, including his fee...