lot is about $500k, 10k pad, 14k lot, going to put 4-5k sqft house on the lot. Any pointers? This is my first time doing something like this.
thanks guys.
thanks guys.
I am considering buying a lot and building a custom house, pointers?
- Thread starter supra2nv
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Ski_Banker
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Most of your posts/threads relate to your personal finances. Why are you such a putz?
Any pointers?
Any pointers?
I'd be speaking to various custom home builders and ask them. Also I'd ask to see some of the prior homes they have done as a reference to the build quality and customer service offered. The homeowner's should be more than willing to share their story.
My sister just finished building on a 2 acre lot and did her research on various builders and architects prior.
As for your pricing who knows...?
My sister just finished building on a 2 acre lot and did her research on various builders and architects prior.
As for your pricing who knows...?
Why do you have two prices for the lot? In general you need to take your total budget price and work backwards.Big questions will be financing are you paying cash for everthing or will you need a construction/bridge loan to a final mortgage.If money is an issue then you should also be checking what the taxes are on similar properties in the area.You then need solid plans to be put out for bids to at least three solid builders.If you really want to save some money go with a turn key builder.He will give you plan books to choose from.The difference between going with a clean sheet architect and a predrawn design can be as much as 50k in fees to get the house to your exact liking.Choose you lot carefuly.It is really important to have the sun rising/setting the way you want it to.Does the lot allow the propper setbacks to be able to support the kind of yard space you need.What are the towns restrictions on new buildings,roof height ect.You need all that info from your towns office.
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And then add 30% overbudget and additional 30% past scheduled completion. It never fails. :biggrin:
Assuming the 10K and 14K numbers relate to the size of the lot, you may not be able to build a 4000-5000 sq ft house. In some/many California communities the design standards for the FAR or floor area ratio (the ratio of the size of the builable lot to the floor area of the building), setbacks, etc. would limit the max size of your house to about 3,000 sq ft and that would include covered porches, patios, crawl spaces over 3 feet high, etc. If the lot is on a slope, then the rules are further restrictive. Budget $200k or more for the required environmental, earthquake and drainage studies and all of the time/cost to get thru the various review processes.
I am in the process of completing a project of this type feel free to PM for some help.
Get all full house communiations installed during construction and add an extra conduit as a spare, go for the highest thermal efficiency windows,doors, central cooling/heating, heated floors, solar pool heating, etc. Go with eficient lighting systems. With raw land and the space to do it I would also consider constructing a geo-thermal system.
In the long run it wil save you SSSSS's in operating costs and add to the ease of resale should the time come.
In the long run it wil save you SSSSS's in operating costs and add to the ease of resale should the time come.
Do lots of research about the city codes and requirements for builiding new construction - don't just take the builders word for it - find out yourself. For example, what will the city require you to do so you can build - will they require you to pay for pathways (sidewalks), street lighting, street widening, etc. Will the city bring services to the pad, to the lot, to the curb - what will you have to pay for? My parents were planning on buidling on a 2 ac. parcel and ended up selling the lot instead due to all of the city requirements for street widening, lighting, etc. Some municipalities are trending in this direction depending on where your lot is located.
Some good advice here.Knowing only that you are already in the hole for 500k on the lot,if you plan on a traditional stick built house,and want upgraded finishes and want 4000 sq/ft....after all is said and done with landscaping ect figure you are in the 1.5-2 million range,that assumes you are not the GC/project manager.
wtf is your problem?
Thanks for all your input guys (except for one obviously).
I called a couple of builders, looks like $200 per sqft is about what I should expect to build. so 4k sqft house, + ~700sqft for the garage...give or take $900k to build.
What is concerning me is all the misc fees I have to pay, and any potential surprises. I hear all the fees could be in the $100k neighborhood. I gotta figure out what to bid on the lot and then take my time building I guess. Sounds like a big headache, but the satisfaction in the end should be amazing.
research continues. Thank you for the PM's btw. Leveraging off your experience is the exact help I needed.
I called a couple of builders, looks like $200 per sqft is about what I should expect to build. so 4k sqft house, + ~700sqft for the garage...give or take $900k to build.
What is concerning me is all the misc fees I have to pay, and any potential surprises. I hear all the fees could be in the $100k neighborhood. I gotta figure out what to bid on the lot and then take my time building I guess. Sounds like a big headache, but the satisfaction in the end should be amazing.
research continues. Thank you for the PM's btw. Leveraging off your experience is the exact help I needed.
200/sq is a pretty good place to start.I can tell you though when you start breaking out the allowances for everthing,have the builder show you what the actual materials look and feel like.If the builder is leaving it up to you to pick anything within his allowance you may be surprised/dismayed that the stuff you really want is all at the next rung up the cost ladder.Thus you get stuck in the spiral of overspending because the "house" deserves it.At the least the things you should not cheap out on are the windows and HVAC/plumbing/electrical. Fixtures you can do quite nicely by shopping on line.
I called a builder who is 90% complete on a house in the neighborhood. I basically asked "what did that one cost?"...and we went from there. My wife seems to be losing interest in the idea quickly, but I still want to look into it. the lots are owned by a Co in Chapter 11, so that complicates things a bit as well.
Well it is a journey!If you choose to make it ,I hope you and your wife have a good relationship and you can both workout your disagreements.This can be a worthwhile endeavor if you both are commited and plan on living in it for the long haul.We are very happy with our custom home,but looking back ,there were many sleepless nights.Endless meetings with the zoning and permit boards,shouting and cursing fits with whomever,,but we got what we payed for.:smile:
Instead of talking to the builder, try to talk to the owners. Maybe you might get lucky and catch them there checking up on the progress.
They will provide you much more information than the builder. It's the builders job to sell himself and make the process seem easy, hassle free, and a "good deal".
They will provide you much more information than the builder. It's the builders job to sell himself and make the process seem easy, hassle free, and a "good deal".
19 lots, only 1 house built, and it's vacant
agreed with your logic, but I cannot seem to get a hold of the owner.
Make sure your marriage is on solid ground before attempting a big project like a custom home. I didn't believe it when others before me warned of the strain it will have on my relationship (especially when two adults are trying to make a decision). Ultimately, we're still married today because she realized that I was the alpha dog (or the one with the checkbook).
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as a guy who has more than a few years experiance in what your looking at...$200 per foot seems high...especially on 4K sf...
15 lots, 1 built...chap 11 on the rest....be carefull, you dont know what or when you neighbors are coming....may be 10 years and you have dirt firlds around you forever....hell if *could* have a zoning change and now yo have a duplex for a neighbor....
find out as much as you can about the other lots, before you buy yours
I did not freaking think of this...19 lots actually, but yeah only 1 built. rest of the lots are still available. you make very very good points. supposedly my bid on the lot i want will go into the court this week...but this makes me think twice. i need to figure out a little more tomorrow.
p.s. $200 p sqft was on higher quality materials, stucco, etc. not track quality. if I can do it cheaper that would be huge fore me. at 200 per foot, it's getting on the pricier side for me where it makes it hard for me..
Why not pre-fab?
The house will look like a collection of standard-sized containers, because that's how it'll be transported to the lot.
But in return you get well -executed interiors, and spend most of your money on making sure the environmental issues your lot presents will be dealt with properly.
The house will look like a collection of standard-sized containers, because that's how it'll be transported to the lot.
But in return you get well -executed interiors, and spend most of your money on making sure the environmental issues your lot presents will be dealt with properly.
Ski_Banker's point was exactly that: it seems you don't have the money to play in this league yet, so why are you trying? You are living beyond your means.
It's much better to have a lot of money in a brokerage account that you're constantly growing via wise investments, than to sink a lot of money in a house you live in and little to no money in a brokerage account. Remember what Andy Capp said: "you need money to make money!"
lol, how do you know what is or isnt within my means?
Because you said $200/sq.ft. is getting hard for you.
If your net worth is not at least US$30M, you should not be doing this.
just to clarify, are you saying I need net worth of $30,000? or $30,000,000 to build a ~$1.5mm house? I understand the difference between M and MM, but just asking the dumb question lol...
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