Calling all the ladies who built their own homes.

Where do you even begin? About how much would it cost to build the house if you already have the land? How exactly do you get the mortgage for a house that isn't built yet? Thanks

Re: Calling all the ladies who built their own homes.

we had bought the land about 2 years prior to building.

We're in FL so it may be a little different in other states. But here is our experience. When we decided to build we went to all the home models and spoke to reps. Each builder is pretty much the same (as far as the type of insulation used, min 3 bed, 2 bath, cinder block walls, roof, amount of coats used for painting, air ducts, etc...)

then their are some builders that include certain things that other builders either do not offer or it is an upgrade. For example the builder we went with and the model had tile floors through out the wet areas (bathrooms, kitchen, laundry room and by the front door). Other builders tile floors are an upgrade that is costly. Our screened in lanai was an ugrade but one of the other builders includes a lanai however it is not screened in. Our home did not come with ceiling fants but some other builders may include ceiling fans.

Our home also came with all major appliances including a washer and dryer. Many other builders came with the appliaces but a hook up for the washer and dryer.

The price of the house varies according to what you are doing. Their is a base price which means price of the house without the land and no upgrades. So if you walk into a model house and they say base price on your land is $169,900 that means the house only and it will go on your land. Now this is good. We used our land as a down payment. The current cost of the land at that time was factored into our totals then deducted.

If you walk into a model and the base price is $169,900 and you do not have land the builder usually has lots available and will add it into the cost. Lets say this lot is $30,100 (make this an even $200,00) So now you are looking at a $200,000 house. Not including any upgrades you may want to do.

The first thing to do is get pre approved on a mortage. This way you know what you can afford. It will help when looking at houses.

After you get your pre approval and have found a house and builder you like your sales rep will go over the mortage info with you. Our rep made us fill out a ton of papers and then when the total cost of the house was calculated and it was under what we were pre approved for the sales rep just faxed over all the paperwork and got everything confirmed. BUT this did not mean we were done for the mortage.

Shortly after the paperwork was approved, the permits were started to get pulled and construction began.

About 2 weeks prior to when construction would be complete we had to get approved again for the mortgage. I dont remember why they do this, but they just have too. We get okayed on the mortgage, and get a date for closing.

If you have any questions feel free to FM me

Re: Calling all the ladies who built their own homes.

I built about 10 years ago. The cost in the end was about $100 per square foot total, including house and land, back then in rural Connecticut. (This price included granite countertops in the kitchen and baths.)

I got pre-approved for a mortgage for the full cost of the house (estimated cost plus a little more for upgrades) before building began. The pre-approval was required by the builder.

I interviewed a few builders in the area. I went with the one who would build a custom house (as opposed to already-planned house). A structural engineer/architect (who the builder recommended) did the house plans. The builder gave an estimate on contract, based on as close as possible to actual of what I wanted. If I added anything (such as upgrades), I would know that the cost would go up.

The builder bought the land that I had scoped out. The city needs to approve the building on the land and house plans.

Message edited 5/14/2007 8:33:42 AM.

Re: Calling all the ladies who built their own homes.

We're building now and it's about $140 per sq ft including the land, granite counters, marble flooring in the bathrooms, hardwood floors & cherry cabinets throughout. We bought the land in 2003 and used it as a downpayment. The land value has basically doubled since 2003 since there were not even any roads in the area at the time of purchase. We got an as finished appraisal done (using the spec sheet) and so far we are coming out 1/3 less than if we had bought the finished house.

We have a construction loan and were required to submit all sorts of documentation as was our builder. The bank not only approves the homeowner but also the builder. In our case the subdivision also had to approve the house plans and the builder.

The bank has the plans and the cost breakdown as well as copies of permits. Everything is on a draw schedule. The builder takes a deposit to get started for "soft costs" (permits and such) and then the builder takes draws from the construction loan as needed to reimburse for the work. The bank sends out inspectors to check the work before releasing funds. A construction loan is a reimbursement loan so the builder will not be paid until work is done.

Just be aware that the bank will send out someone to see if the work is done and the town will send out the inspectors to see if the work is to code.

It's a LONG process and I do not think we will ever do it again. Our house was to be completed on April 17, 2007 and it's been delayed until June 15 as of now.....but that date is also not certain. I just learned moments ago that a truss beam (roof) needs replacing since the load is too heavy for the current beam. It's like 26 x 24 and will take 10 men to install. I'm happy that the inspector caught it but annoyed that the builder put in a beam that is much to small to handle the load. This mistake has delayed the project by at least another few weeks.

Interest payments are due on the amount of the loan disbursed thus far but I added a clause to our contract that the builder would cover those expenses if the delays were his fault. Be sure to cover yourself in such a way since the project will ALWAYS take longer than estimated. Add penalty clauses of some sort. For my job (commerical real estate) we typically add a penalty clause of a certain $ amount per day late.

This is our soon to be house.










You have to picture it in these colors


and with the shutters


This one is reversed and brick but you get the idea for the second floor shutters.

Message edited 5/14/2007 1:30:50 PM.

Re: Calling all the ladies who built their own homes.

A good site to review is gardenweb.com - the Building a House forum

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/build/

Re: Calling all the ladies who built their own homes.

This may be helpful to you in getting bids.
Construction_Budget_and_Cost_Breakdown

Re: Calling all the ladies who built their own homes.

Thank you so much for all of your responses. You have been very helpful!