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Hi I am a Charleston native who lives in in the Northeast right now and am looking to move back home in a couple years and am trying to start planning and budgeting to build our next home. I have a Uncle who is in the construction business and may possibly be helping with the building of the home so he has given me some very rough estimates on price per sq. ft. but I really need to speak to someone about the entire process(from buying the land, financing-budgeting, architects/plans, "green options/building", etc., etc.) I really need someone to walk me through it. I am a BIG planner so I am trying to get all my ducks in an order to make our dreams a reality. I tried looking up some builders through google but thats overwhelming and I really don't know where to start. I am on a budget but I would like to add some personal touches/upgrades.
If any of you can help me or direct me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you soo much and can't wait to hear from you all!!
The first step is a balance between finding the land and getting the plans you want to fit on the land.
Once you buy the land be sure the house you want will fit on it. You'll do this by doing a site plan with a survey company. The survey company will need to do the initial elevations too. Either buy your plans from a vendor, or use a draftsman/architect to draw the plans. You'll need ~4 copies (one for you, the builder, the bank, and the city). Do some shopping for heaters, plumbing fixtures, windows, door knobs, flooring, cabinets, granite, paint, etc. All of that will go into what you would expect your allowances will be. Then find multiple builders to get bids and tell them what kind of stuff you would want to go into your allowances so they can adjust them accordingly. Be wary of a builder that limits you to only getting your fixtures from a specific plumbing supply store or lighting store.
Submit your plans, if needed, to the neighborhood architecture review board. Try to get any required modifications done now before you finalize the price. Be mindful of landscape impact and water drainage issues in this area. There are a lot of places where the water table is very close to the surface. And I don't care what the builder says... be sure they glue and screw all the flooring.
Once you've got a price in mind, go to a bank and get a Construction to Perm loan, look for one with a single closing. Pay attention to what the interest rate float down options may be if rates change during construction.
Once approved, sign the contract with the builder and make your first draw. Be on site, ask questions, and be sure your builder is giving you plenty of lead time to go out and make your allowance selections.
To add to IsNull's excellent reply, try and spec out as much material beforehand as possible. It helps to get an accurate estimate. Additionally, take plenty of time on the front end planning because change orders are what can really kill the cost in a build. Finally, look over the estimate carefully and be sure that the material charges for some of the finishes is realistic. I've seen this way too many times - the builder estimates a pretty cheap builder grade finish material and then the owner wants something upgraded. The builder complies but now the cost is much more than originally planned. Those extras can add up quick.
Builders tend to offer two kinds of contracts.. fixed price or cost plus %. Fixed price costs more, but the builder has more risk to changing material costs. Cost plus tends to be less, but as building costs change you feel that.
Typically when one hears cost per square foot it is for the building of the house alone. It does not include the land is owned and cleared (ready to build on) plus utilities (water, sewage, gas, electric) are in place and ready to go.
If one knows where they want to be, one could get going on the lot now.
More on land cost. In MA in 2000, my 30 year old, $300K home was valued at $200K for the land and $100K for the house. My $200K home in Mount Pleasant (new build in 2000) the land was valued at $20K and the house valued at $180K.
Had a builder friend building $300K house in a town. He said if could move the houses 300ft (yes 300 feet) into the next town (upmarket type town), he would be selling them for $400K. It would be $70K more for the land but also $30K more for him.
Location...location....location
Last edited by Yac; 02-05-2014 at 03:33 AM..
Reason: 2 posts merged
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