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Build Your Own House
A Guide on Building Your Own House
By: Mark J. Donovan
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So you want to build your own house
and you’re not a general contractor. Without a doubt building your own house is
a great way to save a small fortune on owning a home. I can personally vouch for
the cost savings as I have done it while maintaining my fulltime day job. To be
upfront, however, building your own house is not easy and requires a lot of
work, and there will be problems that crop up that will cause schedule slips and
cost overruns. Ultimately how you plan ahead will determine how successful
you’ll be in building your own home.
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To build your own house takes a
special type of person, particularly if you plan on being your own general
contractor. Building your own house involves making thousands of decisions and
dealing with a lot of people. Consequently it takes a special person who is a
planner by nature, detailed orientated, communicates effectively, and can work
with all types of people.
Building your own house and acting as your own general contractor can save you
up to 25%, compared to buying a custom house from a builder.
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This said, the cost of building your
own house is a major investment. Typical costs per square foot for home
construction can run anywhere from $100 to 130 depending upon where you live,
and that’s for a moderately featured home. High end custom homes can cost
upwards of $200 to $400 per square foot. And remember, these prices do not
include the land costs. In regards to the general breakdown in costs associated
with building your own house, if you are acting as your own general contractor a
good rule of thumb is that the cost of labor, material and land should be about
the same for each.
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Selecting Land for
Building Your Own Home
Choosing the right piece of land for your home is essential. It’s important that
you buy a lot that you can legally and functionally build on. Before buying any
piece of land check with the local building and zoning boards to see if there
are any issues with the property that would prevent you from building on it. In
particular check that there are no easements, liens or restrictions on it that
will prevent you from building the home of your dreams. Also, if the property
will require a septic system check with a septic designer to see if he sees any
concerns with the property. There are many rules and restrictions on where the
septic tank and leach field can go relative to the home, a well, and standing
water. Likewise the size of the septic system is dependent upon the number of
bedrooms and bathrooms in the home.
Also, if you already have a set of house plans it’s important to make sure you
buy a building lot that will meet its unique requirements. You may want to talk
with an architect before actually buying the building lot.
House Plans – Building Your Own
House
A complete set of house plans are required to properly cost out the project,
even if you are building your own house. The more detailed the house plans the
more accurate your home building cost estimates. In addition, even if you are
building your own house, you will most likely be hiring many subcontractors. In
some cases you don’t even have a choice unless you are already a licensed
plumber or electrician for example.
Make sure when designing your house plans you consider all of your family’s
needs, both now and in the not-so-distant future.
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Often people build a home that they
outgrow after just a few years and end up either putting on a home addition
afterwards or living with the cramped space.
After generating a complete set of house plans you can then begin to find your
subcontractors and obtain quotes for their respective portions of the job. This
is where planning and attention to detail really come into play. Make sure to
use spreadsheet tools to keep track of cost proposals and separating out
material and labor costs. Also put together a timeline for the entire project to
determine when you will need to bring in each particular subcontractor. Always
include money and time contingencies for unexpected issues that will inevitably
crop up. See my
New Home Construction Bid Sheet to help you plan, manage and
hire the right contractors for your home building project.
Once your plans are complete and you
have an accurate assessment on the total cost of building your own house, visit
your local building inspector, and zoning board if necessary, and pull your
permits. Where necessary have the subcontractors pull their respective permits.
Financing the
Building of your Own House
Unless you have deep pockets you will need to obtain some financing. With house
plans and estimated costs in hand visit your local banks to see what they can
provide for you in terms of a construction loan. If possible find a construction
loan that is convertible over to a conventional loan upon the home’s completion.
With a construction loan disbursements are made after set milestones are
completed on the project. The interest charged on the loan is based upon the
amount and size of the disbursements made.
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Construction Phase
of Building Your Own House
During the actual construction of your home make sure to visit the job site
regularly, preferably daily if you are acting as the general contractor. It’s
important to make sure the home is being constructed to the house plans so that
you pass inspections and you get the home you planned for. Don’t hesitate to
bring up problems when you see them. Delaying the conversation with a
subcontractor will only cost you more money and frustration in the end.
Also, make sure you schedule inspections well in advance so that you don’t miss
a beat in the construction of the home. Ask the local building inspector what
specific inspections he will require so that you can plan accordingly.
Make sure to order all long lead items well in advance so that you don’t end up
having to slow down the job to wait for windows, cabinets or other expensive
special order items to arrive on the jobsite.
To conclude, the decision to build your own house is a major one, so think long
and hard before going down this path. It can be very rewarding from both
financial and self-accomplishment standpoints, but it’s a lot of work and there
will be headaches. If after some self-reflection you can honestly say you have
the right personality and time to be your own general contractor then forge
ahead and build your own house. Otherwise, invest in a general contractor and
let him manage the construction of your home.
Want to Build Your Own Home, see HomeAdditionPlus.com's
Home
Addition Bid Sheets.
Our
Home
Addition Bid Sheets
provide you with the knowledge and information on how to plan a home building
project, and what to look for when hiring contractors. They also include
detailed cost breakdown tables and spreadsheets for estimating your own new home
construction building costs.
How to Finance your Home Building Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required.
Related Information on How to Build Your Own Home
Design Software for Developing your own Home
Building Plans from Amazon.com
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Fill out our 3-5 minute quick and easy form, and receive a free price quote
on custom home building from one of our prescreened and licensed custom home
builders. This process is free and there is no obligation to continue once you
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