Anyone built a home in Philly? (real estate, credit, houses)

[ionlyused59]

I'm talking CC or close to CC...what was the process like? Would you recommend? There's a beautiful home that someone built at 19th and Christian and the custom materials are just gorgeous and it got me thinking how cool it would be to find a lot and build my own and do whatever I wanted with it. most lots I'm finding are like way out there... strawberry mansion (ugh yeah no thanks) or point breeze (no thanks).... CC areas are already so developed but I'm sure there are lots to be found somewhere?? I've checked out real estate sites but not much luck. Probably best to just walk around and keep an eye out.

[AJNEOA]

A close friend of mine builds houses here. It is not an easy thing and not at all comparable to buying a suburban lot and building a house with a national contractor. There are challenges with buying the lot, getting the permits, dealing with L&I, and ensuring everything goes as planned.

While you would be building just your own home, you'd want to be sure to work with someone who has a portfolio of COMPLETED projects in the neighborhood you'd plan to build in. And you'd want to ensure they are financially stable, because I've seen many mid-project bankruptcies where people lose a lot of money (more powerful creditors usually eat the meal and the crumbs of what's left over from a developer bankruptcy, leaving the homeowner out of luck).

In other words, if you have the money and can protect yourself properly, go for it. If you're not experienced with a process like this and you're not really passionate about building, just buy something that's already built (new or old). That's my 2 cents.