Need help building a house (Asheville, Waynesville: modular homes, neighborhood, construction)

[Pete99]

I need help building a house. Very simple in design, 4 corners, 33x42, poured tuck-under basement, the rest is stick built, with 2 stories above the basement. Locatin is about 25 min. north of downtown Asheville, right outside Marshall city limits. I would like to find an independent, experienced GC who would take me through the construction process and not rip me off. If anyone can recommend such an individual, please let me know.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Pete99

I need help building a house. Very simple in design, 4 corners, 33x42, poured tuck-under basement, the rest is stick built, with 2 stories above the basement. Locatin is about 25 min. north of downtown Asheville, right outside Marshall city limits. I would like to find an independent, experienced GC who would take me through the construction process and not rip me off. If anyone can recommend such an individual, please let me know.

Hi Pete I don't have anyone in particular to recommend, but I do have a suggestion.

People I know are currently building a home that sounds just like the kind of home you want to build (but in southern Virginia, not NC). They found a Mennonite community that are building their home VERY affordably. I have been to see the progress twice and I am very impressed with the quality of their work and how very neat and tidy they keep the whole work site. Since it is a "community effort" the men are teaching the boys great skills and the overhead is much lower than for other builders. The head contractor Mennonite member is licensed and has all the qualifications to do home building. I just thought maybe you could do some research to see if there is such a community near your property. My friends are very satisfied and their home really is coming along beautifully. Best of luck to you!

[Pete99]

Sounds awesome, I'll definitely look into it. Thank you!

[Pete99]

As far as building your own home, has anyone ever thought of bringing construction people in from out of state, i.e. depressed areas work wise, yet good professional workers? Housing them near the home site. I think in the area surrounding Asheville, the builders are way too obnoxious with their prices. Easy money has been coming in from boomers, until recently, but the prices still remain inflated to n-th degree. I know it's fun to make a lot of easy money, specially when they just throw it at you no matter what you call out, but it's time to get back to reality. I would really appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks!

[67walkon]

Pete, we're getting quotes of $125 to $160 per sf in the Waynesville area.

[NCBND]

One other possibility would be to go out to a city on the fringe of the Asheville MSA like Marion and see if you could get someone from there to do your job. The economy in McDowell County is poor, construction activity is down and I'd think that the builders there would be both eager for work and willing to make the ride into Asheville for a good project. I've heard there are some good reasonable builders there although I don't know specific names. Good luck with your project.

[chickenista]

Moderator cut: removed
And as far as hiring from outside.. you are going to have take into consideration the price of gas. There are plenty of builders and carpenters in Madison County. In fact I only knew two husbands that did something besides build.

[Pete99]

Thanks for advice, please keep em coming! Does anyone else have any ideas on getting a relatively simple house built at a controlled cost? Maybe some like minded people can get together and help each other.

[Pete99]

Originally Posted by 67walkon

Pete, we're getting quotes of $125 to $160 per sf in the Waynesville area.

It's 125/ft in Philly area, expensive area.... and that includes a good size lot, in a good neighborhood. Log homes in Asheville were going for 150 a foot minimum last year.... LOG HOMES!!! Are Asheville builders still so busy, considering the downturn, that they dont have to lower prices? Or is it stubbornness? I understand the concept of price stickiness, but eventually they'll have to revert to the mean. If the house is real easy to build on an accessable lot, 70-90/ft leaves plenty of profit margin for the builder. They're pigs though... so eventually they'll become bacon But the gas price is crashing. Here in South Jersey it's under $2 already. Should lessen the impact when bringing builders up from Marion, etc... I guess...

Pete

[PANIC]

Originally Posted by Pete99

It's 125/ft in Philly area, expensive area.... and that includes a good size lot, in a good neighborhood. Log homes in Asheville were going for 150 a foot minimum last year.... LOG HOMES!!! Are Asheville builders still so busy, considering the downturn, that they dont have to lower prices? Or is it stubbornness? I understand the concept of price stickiness, but eventually they'll have to revert to the mean. If the house is real easy to build on an accessable lot, 70-90/ft leaves plenty of profit margin for the builder. They're pigs though... so eventually they'll become bacon But the gas price is crashing. Here in South Jersey it's under $2 already. Should lessen the impact when bringing builders up from Marion, etc... I guess...

Pete

have you ever looked into modular homes ?
Modular Homes Consumers Guide