We have a contract on our house and are really torn on whether to build or buy. The prices on the homes we love are just outrageous and the one's we can afford just aren't quite right, either with location or fitting exact needs. We will have enough money after selling ours to pay cash for a nice piece of land, get it cleared, add utilities, etc. We are now considering renting something for 6 months and building. If I GC this thing myself am I foolish to think that I can build something with some upgrades but nothing crazy for $100-$120/sqft? I know where you're at matters so this would be around Livingston. What does it look like for financing versus getting a traditional mortgage to buy a house? We are going to talk to our local bank today about options but I'm curious how many of you faced the same choice and I'd love to hear anything that will help us understand what we may be looking at should we build instead of buy.
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Will this be your forever home?
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Wish I could answer that. Honestly, I don't know. It could be.Originally posted by Mike D View PostComment
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If you can deal with lots of headaches and subs, then building your own house does give you the advantage of getting exactly what you want.Comment
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Just went through this, we built using a GC, don’t try and do it yourself, I could not imaging not having a GC and dealing with it on my own. The bank requirements make it tough to do yourself if you are borrowing.Comment
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Originally posted by Pineywoods View Post
If you can’t say for certain either way, I’d buy one already built. Building a house, especially if you try to GC it is a PITA. I just did that and finished our house last year.
Unless I missed where you are paying cash, you will have to have a builder of record to get a mortgage on it.
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We built ours but on weekends. Took almost 2 years. No subs. No financing. Budgeted about 65k for it. Lots of hard work and stress but got exactly what we wanted. I have already drawn up the next house. We will contract that one out. The 2 year build worked out great money wise but to do it again no. I'm pushing 60 and still work full time. Don't know your situation.Comment
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I’ve done it twice. You can save a ton. I already had some sub contacts, I also did a lot myself. If you don’t already have the contacts to GC it yourself you can double that 6 month window if not more.Comment
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We were the GC on ours and did a lot of the work ourselves. Saved a ton of money but then again we were not financing any of it so I am not sure how that would affect your situation. Personally I would do it again in a heartbeat.
-johnComment
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Thanks for the replies. After talking with my brother-n-law a few minutes ago, it looks like it isn't worth it to GC it myself anyways. He just had a home and an office building for his business built for cost plus 10-12%. That is a good deal in my mind.Comment
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Be careful of this. Better price check what they are buying for the job and the quantities.Originally posted by Pineywoods View PostComment
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I’ve been the GC on two of my homes and I’d do it again in a heart beat. You’ll need to find a lender who does construction loans and you’ll also need to find a ‘GC’. My dad was my ‘GC’ but all he ever did was sign forms for the bank, I did all the other work.
There are challenges to it, but definitely worth it in the end. Someone asked if it was going to be your forever home, I honestly wouldn’t let that deter you, in fact I’d say the opposite. Homes are a huge investment and building one yourself you can begin with 10s of thousands of dollars in equity from day 1. My first home I built I made about $75k profit, the next I made closer to $220k profit, I lived in each for about 3 years. Time to build was between 3-4 months for each. Main advice I would give to get it completed in time is to plan ahead and keep constant contact with your subs, amazing what good communication can do.Comment
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Second the price check... I did a cost plus and the GC did not care about cost and just gave me the invoices. the more he spent, the more he made....
I had it all bid prior to building and still had to watch every draw. I had the checkbook, not the GC. I would not give the GC the money/checkbook to pay the draws.
I would check each draw request and it was always over bid.. I would hold payment until the invoice matched the bid and kept every cancelled check. Just still have to watch over the project closely with cost plus.Comment
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I did the self GC route two years ago with help from one of the DIY built companies. Unless you have an ongoing relationship with most of the subs you can get into trouble. If they know you are a one trick pony you have no leverage with them. As others have said it’s unlikely you would be able to get a construction loan without a credible builder of record. It’s a demanding undertaking. Pretty much consumes all of your time.Comment
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Honestly its only something you can answer as I think it all boils down to each individual, their background and their temperament. For me GCing my own is actually enjoyable. Do you have construction experience? Do you have sub contacts? Do you enjoy projects and can deal with changes? Can you deal with people fair and willing to pay for a job well done? Do you really have the time to hassle with it? Also need to think about how your wife will feel about it and can she pick out all the finishes or need to be guided?
Different answer for every personComment
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