Technical > Home Improvement > Looking at maybe building a house, what should I know or ask

Looking at maybe building a house, what should I know or ask

My Suggestions.
Use a turn-key contractor
Member of the Home Builders Association is a plus.
Follows all local building codes.
He must have a track record of quality builds
Gives a list of homes he has built so you can check the quality of his work.
Select the grade of finishes before construction Tile/carpet, etc.
He must be fully insured.
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Getting it Done.

reply to rbnice1
Turn-key turn-key turn-key.

Being a financial advisor (Mortgage expertise) I can tell you that NOT using a turn-key developer will be a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR PAIN IN THE A**. Not just for the construction, but for the financing.

Most banks won't finance anything else and the banks that would finance you will hold a tight leash on the cash disbursements, meaning you will end up using a lot of your own cash in between disbursements as the bank won't give out a penny without you first having spent it AND done something with it. So even if you bought a lot of material, if it's not installed, they won't give you anything.

Don't look for anything else than turn-key. I've seen couples almost split apart and make people break down and burn out. I've handled only a few of those, and only because they were sure-things (Very rich and good clients, intelligent above all), and the BEST case scenario I've had is that the clients didn't hate me at the end (But hated me very very much quite a few times).

reply to rbnice1
In the greater St. Louis area, it almost makes no sense at all to have a home built.
There is a major glut of better quality existing housing on the market.

New homes in the St. Louis area are typically poorly built of the lowest cost materials, labor, and building methods unless you can afford to build "custom".

It always costs more to have a home built than to buy an existing or new spec home. The owner of an existing or new spec home has incentive to sell. They have invested money that they need to get back as soon as possible.

When building a new home, the GC has no vested interest in completing the job on time or under budget. In fact, it's just the opposite.
If you do decide to build, choose your GC carefully. There are a lot of scoundrels in this region. Get a clear contract with a payment / completion schedule, and make the GC get a performance bond. GC's around here are still dropping like flies. A PB will ensure you are not left holding the bag to complete your project or pay off sub-contractor / material liens. Any GC who balks at a performance bond should be disqualified.

There is no state oversight of GC's in Missouri, so it's pretty much every man for himself.
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...because I care.

reply to rbnice1
I dont know what turn key means but I assume you mean use someone that will build the whole house then you pay for it.

There are 2 places we are considering both are developers that are building large neighborhoods. They are not small contractors or anything like that. Both follow code, but in my opinion code is the smallest amount someone can get by with. I am looking for better then that. I will need to do some research on them to see what kind of complaints they have gotten. We looked at the display homes last week and they were fantastic.

reply to rbnice1
Cookie Cutter GC's do a fantastic job of making a house look nice from outward appearances. They are very adept at "sugar-coating". That's how they make money. They cut corners on the things most people don't care about - all the systems and construction that you don't see in a finished product. Out of sight, out of mind.
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...because I care.

reply to nunya

reply to nunya

reply to rbnice1
My sister is in that same situation now. They've been locked up for months now. She has a contingent contract to buy a house, but can't sell hers. So far, the seller hasn't received any other offers, so she haven't had to firm up (not that they could afford to).

It's certainly a buyers market. I know the value of my house has dropped at least 30% since 2006. I'm glad I don't have a McMansion. Those have taken the biggest hit.

I wish I could afford a new house right now. I'd probably keep this one and rent it out.
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...because I care.

reply to rbnice1

Hey old chum----!

What nunya said is spot-on. While I realize the show is loaded with dramatic appeal, Mike Holmes' "Holmes Inspection" really does bring to light the problems with cookie-cutter developments. There have been many episodes with almost-new homes that are just pieces of shit, to get right down to it.

Beautiful finishes, nice layouts, etc., but everything out of sight is substandard, at best. It's a bad trend, and I'm sure rooted in economic troubles that have caused contractors to turn out shoddy work in order to make a bigger buck and toss ethics out the window in the process.

I grew up with a local GC here in town, and he has been so frustrated by the issue, even in our small rural area. He builds custom-only, and he has lost many jobs to the cookie-cutter folks that are 40-60 miles from here yet lowball him on price. In more than one instance, he has been hired to come in and "make it right"... (sorry, couldn't resist).

The word is getting out, but slowly. The things he has found are really bordering on criminal.

Watch your back and listen to your conscience!

reply to rbnice1
I'm in a similar situation where we were unsuccessful in finding a home that met our needs. It seemed that every home that we could have be interested in, required tens of thousands of dollars in immediate maintenance, use older utilities/appliances and/or had other issues.

I understand that home ownership means I have to pay for the unexpected out of pocket, but when every single home I was looking at had tens of thousands of expected expenses to be made within the first five years, it just didn't add up.

We're in a situation where trust/reputation with a home builder isn't an issue. We're familiar with his company's work and we're familiar with his company's reputation. We're still trying to figure out what we want to do yet. We'll probably get some more details in the next two weeks.

It turns out though that total cost of ownership puts us in the same ballpark as buying an existing home, even in this market. Yeah, we still need to have a buffer for the unexpected, but we can put in the more eco-friendly utilities that will lower our energy bills each month. We can put in the latest stuff that has the higher up-front costs, but will cost us less over the next 10-15 years.

Unlike other builders, we can get an education and get to put input on every component that we want installed. As far as financing goes, it would be just like any other house. They bankroll the build with a builder loan and we then get financing from the bank when it's done. They sell the house to us, rather than them coming back with more and more demands. They fail to deliver a finished house within budget, they're stuck paying the bill.

Although, I don't know if I could entertain the idea if I didn't have absolute trust in the builder. If I wasn't fortunate enough to know one, I don't think I could trust an absolute stranger, even with reference checks.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK

reply to rbnice1
Read this book, THEN decide what you want to do:

»www.amazon.com/What-Your-Contrac···9&sr=8-1

Seriously, with the amount of money you're about to spend isn't it worth a weekend of your time to read some real non-internet advice?
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»www.FlightSimWorld.com
Remember, there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots.
Flight Simulator

reply to mattmag

reply to IIIBradIII
ops dbl post

reply to IIIBradIII

reply to rbnice1
Add 20% to what you budget for overruns. They happen no matter how carefully you plan. So if you start out at the top of your budget, your hosed. Build a house that is 15-20% less than you can afford.

reply to rbnice1

quote:

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Normally a "turn-key" property refers to the property virtually ready for you to just bring your furniture and move in. Landscaping, driveway, patio or deck, is all done. If it is brand new, many times all the appliances are in, carpeting, paint, etc.
It can be very appealing for people who don't have the time, or don't want to deal with making all the decisions on their own.

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reply to herdfan

reply to rbnice1
Almost everyone I know who's ever had a house built for them swears they would never do it again. The only exception that I can recall was a guy who was playing the "build-it and flip-it" game, back when that was still working - build a house, live it in for a while (whatever the IRS regulations say), then sell it for the gain and build something bigger. After several flips he ended up in a McMansion, but last I heard he'd had to downsize dramatically since then. Financially I'm not sure whether or not he actually came out ahead of the game in the end.