Building a house... Builder vs sub it urself

[BucksandDucks]

Was wanting to get the braintrust's opinion on building a house. Have the lot located and a place to stay, so no rush really. I don't want to prolong it and let it drag on and on either though. So what's y'all's thoughts on handing it over to a builder or subin it out yourself. How much time will I have to devote to doing it myself. Is there a significant cost savings to doing it yourself? Is there more liability on me for any of the contractors ect.?

Y'all let me know the pros and cons, what to do and not to do.

[landscaper]

Yep. There is money to be saved if you build it yourself. A significant amount....if you have some experience building homes. I'm in the brick business and see it every day, though. Folks try to do it themselves and inevitably wind up costing themselves more than they could have saved. My advice would be to either choose a plan from a plan catalog or online plan house, interview CUSTOM home builders and choose one who is willing to work with you all along the way and is open to your whims, tastes, changes, etc (many want you to hand them a plan and then go away till payday) and then turn it over to him and trust his experience. Or, find a really good contractor who is willing to get it out of the ground and in the dry, and then hold your hand the rest of the way. Without a contractor in your camp it will be tough to get your subs (plumber, electrician, sheetrock guy, painter, etc) to make you a priority since it is a one time job. They're going to put the contractors that keep them in business ahead of you. Also, no offense to the architects out there, but if you buy a plan as I mentioned, as opposed to hiring an architect to draw one, you will cut out another guy to write a check to. And, in my experience (largely commercial) an architect will do his best to override your tastes and preferences and impose his own.


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[BucksandDucks]

[landscaper]

Time wasted waiting on subs, "things I forgot", contractor gets a better rate from subs, contractor knows which subs give you the most bang for your buck, did abc first when it should have come after xyz so had to undo abc in order to do xyz then redo abc. That sort of thing. There are a blue million decisions to make as the home owner and a blue million things to coordinate as the contractor.


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[mallardchaser]

You can probably save some $ but not as much as you think. Builder a builds 25 a year, he pays way less than the builder b who builds 5 and certainly less than someone that builds only 1.
Builder a or b need something done ASAP it happens, such as a late inspection on slab to beat the rain. Mr. Self build not so sure.

You may could hire a builder as consultant for a smaller fee. You need to know real pricing. Framer $3.50 or $4.00. On a total under roof of 4000' that's $2000. 4-5 of those add up.

I'd talk to 2-3 builders get a quote and go from there.

[country_20boy]

An important question to ask yourself is how much time do you have and how much is your time worth? Can you take off work at a moment's notice to meet a delivery truck or sub contractor? Can you do this 3 times a week for 4 months? I wrestled with the same decision and hired a contractor. It was definitely the best decision for me but your situation may be different. He was paid a flat fee and then I paid all subs amd all materials directly. Glad I went that route. There were a million things I never would have thought about. I'd probably feel a lot more confident doing it myself next time but I have a long list. f contacts now and have seen it first hand.
You'll have a LOT of time invested just picking out materials, colors, fixtures, etc. I took multiple quotes and got sub names from friends and used that to basically price shop most of my builder's subs. He was fine with that and he ended up making some new contacts that he continues to use today.

[landscaper]

Price shopping subs is a good idea. You should ask to see their work though. Quite often, in my neck of the woods anyway, you REALLY get what pay for. Or, maybe more accurately, don't get what you don't pay for.


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[MudHog]

Whether it is your time or their time, time equals money.


If you have the time, you can save the money. If you do not have to be moved in by a certain date, then building yourself is an option. If you need to be moved in by a certain date, then sub it out. I think most construction loans from banks require the home to be built in a certain timeframe. Building yourself may not be soon enough, especially if you would be only working on it in the evenings and on weekends.

Another option is to build as you save. There are a couple homes in my area where it took them a 2-3 years to build. You would see progress, then it would stop for a couple months. Both families built as they saved up money. in the end, their homes were paid for. Both families had a place to live while they built their homes, so that was the biggest plus of their method.

[BAY KINGFISHER]

Contractors will get better pricing for concrete, lumber packages, HVAC, sheetrock, electrical, plumbing, etc etc. I had two friends that each thought they could beat the game by contracting themselves, but they both had huge overages and their houses seemed to take forever to finish ( both had constuction loans; therefore payed several months of interest more than they would have with a contractor) Also, the finish work on both these homes were not as nice as they should have been. Now, the thing is, these guys had no connection to the construction world, and they both make plenty of money in their everyday jobs. If both of them would have concentrated in making more money at what they do daily then they could have easily payed a contractor, been in the house sooner, and had a nicer "finished house".

Personally, I contracted my own home (Im in the construction business but Im not a builder). I did stuggle some with subs, because it was "post- katrina". Material was expensive, and some of my finish could have been better ( another post Katrina deal) However, I was able to save money and build a more custom home!! In my opinion, when building one on your own, it is imperative that you have some knowledge of construction and/or dealing with subs. I say, if your opportuniy cost is to high to build your own home, than dont!! Its not worth the headache!!

Also, the "pay me now, or pay me latter" statement rings louder in home construction than any other industry. If you can afford to not take shortcuts or use a lessor material than do it!! In the long run, all of that money saved from cheap componets (Lowes / Internet closeouts/ cheap labor!!) will haunt you!!

[deltadukman]

I like the cost plus approach to building. Seems to me the best way to go about it.

[BAY KINGFISHER]

Cost Plus is great for big custom stuff, but you must have a very reputable, trustworthy builder!!

[country_20boy]

[Hole Hunter]

You will also have to find a bank willing to do an owner built construction loan. That might be tougher than you think. Most banks are shying away from such given the tighter lending laws etc. I am a loan officer and I tend to suggest folks go the contractor route. You might save a little money on an owner build, you might not. I will tell you this for sure though the time spent, headaches, frustration with coordinating of subs etc will very rarly out weigh the cost savings. Not to even mention strain on a marriage.

[Deltaquack]

A lot of good info above. You'll definitely need a builder's risk policy. How much do you know about building? Subs will cut corners if you don't know what you are doing. It saves them time and money. It'll blow your mind how dangerous some things are that subs will do if they can get away with it.

[SB]

I've enjoyed this topic. I'm looking at building a house in the near future. It has helped reaffirm my thought of having someone else build it. I have low tolerance of someone not keeping their word. It sounds like that is common with subs. Specifically them not being on the job when they said they would be.

I've always heard it would test a marriage. It has to be true based on the number of people I've heard say it. I've only heard men say it though???