Who here has had a house built? Need a little advice please

General Lee · 03-04-07, 07:12

I will be looking to build a house (hopefully this year) and was wondering if it is best to get a construction loan to where I am in charge of the money to be paid out to the contractors each step of the way, Or have the builder finance the home.

I kinda like the idea of being in charge of the money because it lets me be in charge of the project and I can make sure things are done right. On the other hand, If the builder takes charge the project, it can roll right along and possibly be a little less stressful on me.

Anyone have any advice in this area?

Surfer · 03-04-07, 07:56

I'm part owner of a lending company, just like you said, it depends, do you wanna be the GC on the house, or let somebody else handle it? Usually you'd have to be a licensed and bonded GC, but some lenders will still allow you to be w/o it, I believe FL is a state where you don't have to be if it's your own home etc, don't recall Marylands laws but that is a very strict state. Considered "self GC" or "owner-builder" depending on the lender. Sometimes they may require a site supervisor though if you don't have experience being a GC.

Lincoln79 · 03-04-07, 08:16

General Lee, I've been building for over 30 years now as a general contractor and I would advise that you hire a GC to take care of everything for you. Let him be responsible for the coordination of trades and all of the other headaches. It's not as easy as one would think. I would advise that you make sure that everything that you want is on the plans to avoid changes later and that you get competitive quotes from a minimum of three REPUTABLE GC's and obtain references from the low bidder. You can also obtain a contract form from your local construction association which you should use. Also make sure you maintain a holdback in accordance with the regulations in your area.

TXredEDGE · 03-04-07, 08:27

We didn't have that option here in TX. You can't be your own GC here.

My advice if you do hire a GC, watch them like a hawk. If they do something you don't like, make them redo it then, not later.

Also watch out for them cutting every corner that they can. They will try to get away with anything they can.

We built ours 7 years ago this summer and had a pretty good custom home builder. My MIL/FIL just built a big house with a very good GC. Both cut corners where they could. We (FIL/MIL and I) all had them redo things as it was being built.

There are some pretty good books available for first time home builders/buyers that tell you what to look out for. We bought ours at Home Depot or Lowes (I can't remember now).

Good luck, and you will love it. There is nothing like living in a house that is built the way you want it!

Brian

General Lee · 03-05-07, 08:22

Thanks for the replies guys, I really appreciate it. This will be new to me so I can use all the advice I can get

The thing that worries me is GC's cutting corners. I know they do it and that I kind of thing I can't tolerate. Got a lot of research to do.................

Surfer · 03-05-07, 11:49

I'll say this, its a a lot harder then most think. In FL, the ones I've done where people were owner-builder as their own GC would eventually call me and tell me how stressful and time consuming it is. Reason why most lenders now require a site supervisor if you don't have much experience.

Personally I would let a real GC do it, and then handle it with them for any issues that may arise etc. Depends on how much time etc you have available for bs if you know what I mean.

The ones I've done for people who didn't have issues were actually GC's before and had their own companies, one became a doctor after etc. So they flowed fairly smoothly as they knew what to do.

BlueZero · 03-05-07, 12:44

Hire a GC you can trust and let them handle it. I've been in the business for 12 years now. There is a lot more to it than most people think. General contractors have more power than you will also, when it comes to getting things done. Our subcontractors called us a "drop everything" contractor. Because when we called, they left their other jobs to do ours. You don't want to be those other jobs. Good luck with what ever you chose! And for gosh sake, look over the plans good and make sure that is what you want. It's a lot cheaper to remodel on paper.