Owner Builder (Houston: loan, custom home, neighborhood)

[MiniFarmer]

We are looking at building on our land (we already own). After not finding a builder that we liked, we looked into being our own general contractor - owner builder. We’ve also looked into the Owner Builder Network DFW. I think one of these options will likely be our route.

My questions:

Has anyone used OBN? Feedback?

Either with OBN or doing it alone, what did you come in at for price per sqft?

How long did construction take you?

[tcualum]

Your best bet for advice is to visit the Garden Web section of the Houzz forums. When we were planning to build a custom home the best advice I got by far was there. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/building-a-home

[Frihed89]

Does this mean you will do all the sub-contracting? That's the thorn.

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by MiniFarmer

We are looking at building on our land (we already own). After not finding a builder that we liked, we looked into being our own general contractor - owner builder. We’ve also looked into the Owner Builder Network DFW. I think one of these options will likely be our route.

My questions:

Has anyone used OBN? Feedback?

Either with OBN or doing it alone, what did you come in at for price per sqft?

How long did construction take you?

Have you looked into Built Green Custom Homes? We used their program in Houston and can't say enough good things about it. We ended up at about $125 per square foot for a similar trim out that other custom builders were quoting us $175 for.... probably saved about $200k by going this route vs hiring a builder.

I know they have operations in DFW, but I'm not sure they are as established as they are in Houston. Worth looking into though.

[TeamLynn]

Have you looked at Tilson?

One of the risks of doing it yourself is timeline. I see production builders here complaining of not getting certain trades available. Ever seen a neighborhood with 1-20 framed homes and no bricks? So it is something to consider. How do you get the trade to come to your home for a custom job for a one time deal....when the builder can offer 8 houses to brick this week. If you are financing, how long do you have for your interim loan...can it be extended?

Before you decide to go at it alone....see if you can get your trades lined up. See if they will commit to you. See how flexible they are on dates.

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by TeamLynn

Have you looked at Tilson?

One of the risks of doing it yourself is timeline. I see production builders here complaining of not getting certain trades available. Ever seen a neighborhood with 1-20 framed homes and no bricks? So it is something to consider. How do you get the trade to come to your home for a custom job for a one time deal....when the builder can offer 8 houses to brick this week. If you are financing, how long do you have for your interim loan...can it be extended?

Before you decide to go at it alone....see if you can get your trades lined up. See if they will commit to you. See how flexible they are on dates.

I can see this as an issue for truly DIY (and financing is pretty tricky if going that route), but our experience with Built Green didn’t encounter any of those issues. Again, we were in Houston where they “help” build over 100 homes per year, so they have a long list of experienced contractors they recommend (though you’re always free to find your own too).