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Old 08-08-2008, 09:13 PM
 
1,832 posts, read 5,073,909 times
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Hi there--I have built, both a custom home on my own lot, and a tract home in a subdivision by a national builder. The national builder was way, way, way easier to deal with, they got the job done on time, and there were no surprises. We also used an agent and she was (is) AMAZING and on top of things--I'd definitely get a good agent to help you negotiate things.

Smaller custom builders do a nice job w/ custom touches and you can usually design more on your own (we designed our last house and though we got exactly what we needed in the end, it was incredibly stressful from start to finish!).

Another option for you might be to buy a spec home--one that's under construction now or nearly finished. Then you get a new home but none of the hassles.

For financing, if you put a deposit down on a new home, you're going to lose it if you don't end up closing the deal. So make sure you can sell your house and can handle the price it will take to sell it in this market. For our custom home, we put our house on the market and it sold in about 3 hours (this was 2003 of course), so we ended up having to rent for almost 18mo while waiting for our house to be built, which dragged on FOREVER.

Anyway, TMI I know, but get an agent, he/she will help you through it. PM me if you have questions!
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Old 08-08-2008, 10:34 PM
 
Location: Wake Forest
2,835 posts, read 7,319,565 times
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Building a home is a great experience and everyone one that wants it should do it at least once. There are a couple of key points to keep in mind IMO.

1. Make sure you know exactly what your various allotments are before you bin so you know what you can afford within your home price for such things as cabinets, counter tops, tile, carpets, paints, electrical and plumbing upgrades, door handles/hinges, alarm systems, multimedia/computer wiring, etc., etc., ect.

2. Know before you start and I recommend you write these down. Your NEEDS on one side and your WANTS on the other. This will help when your trying to decide if you need that whirlpool in the master or cultured marble in the master bath. Try not to confuse your wants with your needs. When and if you do that is one area the drives up your cost.

3. For a $399k home it would not be out of line to add $20k to $30k to the price of the house with NEEDed features, after all its your house that you are building and paying for.

4. Oh yea other areas that easily causes you to go over budget, landscaping, irrigations system, outdoor lighting, detached 2 car garage. $$$$$$

As far as the builder, I would ask to see there current homes under construction, go there when their workers are there and see how thay work and how neat and clean the workplace is, after all your home would be no different. Your potential builder recently changed names, they use to be M&G Builders, may want to ask why they changed names. After researching them you can decide if you want to spend your hard earned money with them or some other builder.

Good luck and with proper planning and knowing your NEEDS from your WANTS will allow you to be well on your way for a successful home building project.
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Old 08-08-2008, 10:39 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
12,475 posts, read 32,134,244 times
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As for the question of needing an Agent...I'd suggest you search back through these threads and read WHY you really benefit from having your own buyer's agent. Once you have read the threads, you can make your own decision. Based on your questions, it seems that you have never done this before so I'd suggest you do have an agent on your side.

One note...if you can buy now...an inventory home is going to be less expensive than a pre sale but sometimes getting EXACTLY what you want is worth the extra money.

I've built 5 houses because I tend to be picky!

Vicki
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Old 08-09-2008, 08:30 AM
 
1,886 posts, read 4,799,245 times
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I have done the following in the last 5 years-
Bought a "spec" home from a large regional tract builder that was 100% done when I saw it.
Built a custom home from the ground up with a HUGE level of OCD applied to EVERY detail on my part. Punchline-We never closed on the home due to the builder/developer's enormous failings. The house sits 90% complete over 2 years since we started, and we are in court as we speak fighting for a substantial down payment that we are 1000% entitled to have returned based on the terms of our agreement.
After walking away from that nightmare we found a custom home by a local builder that was 95% complete. It's not 100% what we would have picked, but we are making small changes as we go along.
So-I've done all three things and ended up happiest in the home we are in now.
Honestly, building from scratch requires a huge emotional investment (at least it did for me given our budget) and a ton of time and energy. In the current market what I would do if I were looking for a home is try to find a completed spec home or at least one that it pretty far along and make SURE of the following-
The floorplan works as well as it can for my needs
and
The lot has no issues (slope, drainage, corner, backs up to something unsightly).
Then I'd grab my buyer's agent and PUSH PUSH PUSH on price. You can make cosmetic changes later, but the floorplan and lot are forever.
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Old 08-09-2008, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Poussan, France
11 posts, read 23,266 times
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Default Having a house built, Yay or Nay?

We are in a similiar position: build or buy? Most of the homes we have seen on the net are just not us: gated communities, cathedral ceilings. jetted bath tubs, wooden kitchen floors, and carpeting everywhere. Before moving to Southern France, we lived in an 1890 row house in DC. By the time we were ready to leave, we had renovated it to suite our style. However, this will definitely be our last move, and I do not want to buy a house and then have to spend energy, time, and money to make it our home.

Thus, the question of designing a home and having it built. First there is the issue of finding a suitable piece of land and then locating a builder who has experience in building Green. Of all the potential places to live, North Carolina seems to be perfect in almost every way. My concern is if we decided to build, how does one go about finding a builder who one can evaluate long distance.
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Old 08-09-2008, 07:17 PM
 
Location: Zebulon, NC
2,275 posts, read 6,287,854 times
Reputation: 3622
It most definitely depends not only on the builder, but on the future homeowner as well.

We've been living in our home for two years now. It's not only the first house we've ever bought, we built it as well.

We found and purchased the land three years before we started building. During those three years, we pored over house plans (there are several sites online where you can find hundreds), and discussed what we wanted and what we didn't want. We finally found a plan that came closest to what we wanted, and modified it to fit our dream.

When the time came to decide on a builder, we interviewed several. When we first met the one we went with, we all clicked immediately. He didn't bat an eye at what we wanted, and actually added to it, so we got more home for the money. For instance, the original plan had a tray ceiling in the living room. (We have an open floor plan, with the living room, kitchen and dining room occupying one large space.) He asked if we were attached to the tray ceiling and when we told him we weren't, he suggested making the ceiling level and adding a 400 sf bonus room above it. (We already had stairs going down to a basement, so all he had to do was add another set of stairs going up.) That was an additional 400 sf for a cost of about $500 (we're finishing the room ourselves). He also made some other simple changes that added so much more than we had planned on, for little or no additional cost.

Another thing we liked about our builder is that he worked on a cost plus fee basis. This means that we paid the cost of the materials and labor ourselves, plus a $25,000 flat fee to him. We had a construction loan, and regularly got together to "pay bills" during the building. This was great for us because any cost savings we could find for materials were ours to keep, rather than him taking shortcuts to make more money on the job.

This was especially helpful for the lighting. We didn't have a large budget, and when we went to his suggested vendor, we realized we would have seriously blown the budget, despite picking some of the lease expensive items there.

We ended up going to Lowe's, armed with a 10% off coupon that they offer for new home buyers, and got lighting for the entire house, inside and out, for around $700. HUGE savings, and we benefited from it, not the builder.

I realize I've gone on about this, but the bottom line is, we had an amazingly easy, stress-free experience building our house. We ran into some problems with the plumber near the end, but that was resolved relatively quickly. Considering that some people we knew who were building at the same time were considering resorting to legal action against their builders, we were extremely happy.

I think the key reason that things went so well for us is that we knew exactly what we wanted going into the process (down to the type of lighting and fixtures), and didn't have unrealistic expectations. We didn't make radical changes along the way. We were also very fortunate to have such a wonderful builder. We went into the process with a few wants that we thought would have to be nixed because of the price, but instead, we were able to get all but one - hardwood floors. We went with a wood laminate instead, and with two dogs, it's actually a much better choice for us.

We've been here almost two years, and I wouldn't change a thing about this house.
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Old 08-09-2008, 08:14 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
1,105 posts, read 2,725,211 times
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My view -- are you planning to make this THE house? And/or, do you actually like dealing with all the things you're going to need to deal with when you build a house? If either of those things is true, then go ahead, and have fun! Otherwise, my advice is to find a house you like and buy it.
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Old 08-09-2008, 09:00 PM
 
1,112 posts, read 2,855,390 times
Reputation: 900
Great post and absolutely spot on the way you analyse peoples personalities and characteristics when it comes to the decisions required in building a new home - maybe someone should run a training course on the processes and procedures and how to be successful in meeting objectives !!

Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyNCGirl View Post
Coocarooch, first of all....what is a Coocarooch?

For 18 years now I've worked with builders - custom builders, production builders, builders big and small. Since the end of 2000, new home sales is my sole focus. In this 18 year time span, I've helped nearly 1000 families with their new home buying/construction process. Over the years, I've observed that there are some personality types who just shouldn't build a house from the ground up. Its way too stressful for some folks to have to make decisions about things they are having to "see" in their heads.

Some people can totally imagine how things will look without having to physically see the item built first. For example, choosing a plan you've only seen on paper is really tough for most people. 9 times out of 10, buyers will choose the model home plan or at least a plan that is built and can be viewed by walking through it.

Even making design decisions can be stressful for some people. They know what they like when they see it, but really don't enjoy trying to put things together. For example, choosing tile and a design for a kitchen backsplash, and choosing matching cabinets and countertops sends some folks over the edge.

Other personality types want to choose every single detail and spend hours giving thought to every aspect of the house. They thrive on the process. Most of us fall somewhere in between the two extremes.

The building process can be full of surprises, both pleasant and not so pleasant. The key to a successful happy ending is to choose a builder you have researched. If the builder has a reputation for quality and customer service after closing, you will likely have a fine experience.

Remember that every home ever built, in any price range, by any builder, has had some type of error or mistake that needed to be corrected. The unexpected happens on a daily basis - after all, the house will be crafted by human beings. So whatever can happen will. The key is that the builder known for a quality finished product will always make whatever is wrong, right again with minimal fuss and bother to you the customer.

Find a builder you trust, then you will be able to contain anxieties that are bound to surface.

Good luck with your endeavor if you decide to proceed forward. Once you've built a home and had a good experience, you might never want to buy a "used" home again.
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Old 08-09-2008, 09:13 PM
 
Location: Michigan
528 posts, read 1,457,985 times
Reputation: 179
Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR View Post
One note...if you can buy now...an inventory home is going to be less expensive than a pre sale but sometimes getting EXACTLY what you want is worth the extra money.
Great thread. But, what is an inventory home as opposed to a pre-sale?
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Old 08-09-2008, 10:22 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
12,475 posts, read 32,134,244 times
Reputation: 9450
An inventory house is a house that the builder built, waiting for potential buyers to purchase it. It could be almost finished or totally finished. Builders call it a spec house. If this house is finished and setting in inventory, it is costing the builder some money each and every month. Sometimes the bank won't loan the builder more money until his inventory is lower so most builder will be willing to negotiate more on this home.

A pre sale is when you contract with a builder to build the house based on how you want it. You are starting from scratch with the builder.

Vicki
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