For most of my adult life I had thought about someday building my Dream Home. Several years ago I finally got the chance. I had purchased a lake front lot with a small cottage on it. My initial intention was to use the property "as is", and someday raze the old cottage and build a new home in its place. After a couple of weekends in the musty old camp I came to the conclusion that I needed to speed up my timetable.
Part of the dream in building my own home was to act as the General Contractor and to personally supply a great deal of sweat equity. I accomplished both of these goals, however it was not easy. There were many roadblocks and bends in the road along the way. In the subsequent parts of this chronology, I will review my experiences in hopes that others may gain from my experiences.
Determining the Home Style and Size
After making the decision to raze the cottage and build a new home, I had to first determine what type and size of home to build. My lot was limited in size and required careful planning to ensure that I would meet all of the setbacks governed by the town I lived in. Although I had these concerns, I decided to forgo the Architect route. I deemed it too expensive and probably not necessary for the style of home I wanted to build. Instead I picked up a handful of Home Plan magazines and surfed the internet for home designs. I also picked up an inexpensive software package for designing homes and floorplans. After a week of reviewing home plans, I found one that met most of my requirements in terms of a floorplan. The footprint was smaller than I wanted, but I concluded that I could redraw the floor plan accordingly using my newly purchased Home Design Software Package.
The Home Design Software package was not as simple to use as the instruction manual implied, however after a couple of weeks I had a floorplan with all the dimensional information.
Assuming the role as the General Contractor
As I had indicated earlier, one of my goals was to assume the role as General Contractor on this project. I quickly learned that banks frown upon lending construction mortgages to everyday homeowners and to folks who have little professional building experience. I got around this issue by deciding not to use the banks for financing. However, from what I learned later, it may have been possible for me to assume a construction mortgage if I had quit my day job and applied for the loan as a "full time General Contractor". Indeed, I would have needed to complete a full proposal to the bank with all costs and subcontractors identified, but this is necessary anyways.
As the General Contractor I developed a build schedule and task list. Some of the top items included: Identifying subcontractors, pulling permits, and having a septic design approved.
Carefully Pick your Sub-Contractors
Identifying the right subcontractors is the most important task a General Contractor performs. Poor selection of subcontractors can lead to delays in schedules, cost overruns, poor workmanship and strife between the various subcontractors on the job. Prior to hiring subcontractors, it is important to visit their current jobsites. Review their work on existing jobsites and mingle with the other subs to judge the working relationship. In addition get two or three reference checks on the subcontractors. If there are poor workmanship, personality issues, or references move on. Do not settle for second rate subs, even if it means slipping your schedule or costs goals, as you will more than likely suffer even larger schedule slips or higher costs by hiring the wrong people.
Pulling Permits
Once you have selected and hired your excavator, chief framer, and foundation company, review with them your plans. Make sure you walk the site with them, and carefully stake out the house footprint, paying careful attention to lot setbacks, septic tanks, leach fields and well location. Once all are agreed upon with the house plans and the location of the home, contact the building inspector and review with him/her your plans. You will need to submit a very thorough package to the building inspector prior to getting approval. There are frequently town and state forms that need to be filled out regarding wetlands, and home thermal analysis. In addition, detailed engineering drawings of the proposed home may be required. In my case the Framer was able to assist in developing additional sketches of the house plan to ensure structural compliance to local, state and federal building codes. If I had used the initial home plans I had obtained, those would have been sufficient. I also could have contacted an architect with my selected plans to provide additional details, however it was not necessary in my case.
After about a week and several hundred dollars later I had the permit to build a new home.
Septic Design
My home required its own septic system on site. As a result, I required a septic design and an associated permit for the new home. I recommend pursuing this as early as possible in any new home project as this can take up to 2-3 months to complete as both town and state approvals are required, not to mention site and engineering work.
Without knowing exactly where the septic system and tank will reside, it may be difficult to locate the exact position of the home and in many cases the building inspector may not approve the building permit until the septic design permit has been obtained. I was fortunate in that the property already had a small septic system on the lot, so the building inspector gave me approval. I was at financial risk, however, in the event the new septic design was not approved or needed to be repositioned from the proposed location. Fortunately that was not the case and I was able to move forward on razing the cottage and beginning site work.
To Be Continued ?.
In Part 2 of "Building Your Dream House", I will cover razing an existing building, performing site prep work, and pouring foundation walls. Stay tuned?????
me_donovan@comcast.net
http://homeadditionplus.com
http://homeaddition.blogspot.com
Over the past 20+ years Mr. Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. Mr. Donovan's formal education and profession has been as an Electrical Engineer and Marketing Manager.
Turning your house into the home of a buyer's dreams... Read More
For the first time "want-to-be" homeowner, purchasing an unfinished new... Read More
When selling your home, you'll want to fetch the best... Read More
My husband and I were eating breakfast at the Good... Read More
Sometimes when we are very busy professionals and very rich... Read More
As a successful Boston real estate agent, it always puzzled... Read More
GOLF GRABS BULGARIA!At the present time there are only three... Read More
As the buy to let market continues to go from... Read More
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina's wide path of destruction,... Read More
It is possible to save £1,000s selling your home privately... Read More
Why you should Rent a place to live in and... Read More
Purchasing Florida Investment PropertyConsidering researching the purchase of Florida Investment... Read More
Since you are a business oriented person, you might be... Read More
Finding a lotPlanning for your new home is a very... Read More
Repairing a rental home (or your own home) use to... Read More
When buying and selling homes, the property purchase is often... Read More
Here to stay and firmly established in the U.S. mortgage... Read More
If you are anything like me, you are always looking... Read More
Estate planning can enable you to control your property while... Read More
I really believe in getting an education in real estate... Read More
The Murcia region in Spain benefits from some of the... Read More
Do you realize that you might be prevented from renting... Read More
When is the best time to buy? When is the... Read More
Money in escrow is "dead money". It doesn't earn interest... Read More
Boston real estate is a hot topic. Daily newspaper articles... Read More
Most people in America rent a personal dwelling!Just think how... Read More
Many experts say you can't lose if you put your... Read More
The Internet is a powerful marketing tool, but just how... Read More
European tax haven Andorra enjoys the same fiscal benefits as... Read More
In addition to finding the right property, one of the... Read More
The Rental Experience in South FloridaReaders: This is based on... Read More
As sure as the spring flows at The Fountain of... Read More
"CMA" is an abbreviation real estate agents use for a... Read More
Property Investing Secrets:How to Sell to 100% of the Market... Read More
The Escrow ProcessBoth Buyer and Seller deserve the assurance that... Read More
If your home has just come off the market and... Read More
Seller's Showing Instructions1. When the agent arrives with the potential... Read More
There is an increasing trend in South Africa that is... Read More
Who are you preparing your home to sell to?You, as... Read More
It can be very frustrating to put your home on... Read More
If you're looking for the 'real' Spain where the culture,... Read More
These real questions on new home starts and interest rates... Read More
Description: Even in uncertain economic times like these, history shows... Read More
The art of using high-leveraged activities.Here I would like to... Read More
Congratulations! You've decided to purchase a home. We all know... Read More
We probably answer this question for someone a couple times... Read More
I might upset some folks with this one, but that's... Read More
For most of my adult life I had thought about... Read More
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to... Read More
Changing social trends point to a huge rise in demand... Read More
Learn how to sell your property faster and at the... Read More
For the first time "want-to-be" homeowner, purchasing an unfinished new... Read More
What if you want better cash flow from your rental... Read More
There are a great many books and web sites devoted... Read More
Being a real estate investor is not really that hard,... Read More
Most people who complete a self build will go on... Read More
Any Sally and Sam Homebuyer can look at a home... Read More
I saw the ads in our small-town newspaper for years... Read More
Why should you invest in real estate? Well, investing in... Read More
This info is very important for both new and experienced... Read More
Curb appeal is the most important challenge you'll face when... Read More
Many real estate investors enjoy "flipping houses," or buying and... Read More
The physical senses of buyers respond to a home's design,... Read More
There is a relatively new and not always well understood... Read More
As the second largest city geographically in Florida, this beautiful... Read More
These real questions on 'How To' build are answered by... Read More
Real Estate |