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Thanks, everyone, for the input on car registration - apparently ours has gone up a lot too, so it won't be quite as much sticker shock as I was afraid of.
New Question:
When we move up, we want to build our house. that is to say: we want it built (not doing the work our personal selves ). I've never been involved in house building before and am swamped with basic questions, but right now I'm concerned with one major logistic problem.
We live in MD currently, how the heck can we check on a house being built up there without having to drive up all the time? I don't recall seeing a lot in the way of apartments or rentals in southern NH. What the heck does someone do if they want to move up and build?
^^If you don't follow all contractors around like they are two-year-olds, you will get what you could honestly expect from having unsupervised two-year-olds in charge of everything.
Our experience with contractors in NH is that sometimes they return phone calls. Sometimes they show up when they say they will. And sometimes they do what they say they will do. And that's when you're home.
BE THERE.
Here's a thought, and I know it may be waaaay out there, but.....We live in a digital age - have the contractor send you digital pictures of the progress each day....maybe????? (remember, I said it was waaaay out there! <g>)
I don't have any advice to give you as to how you should track their progress, but I do have a word of advice for you related to Dwatted Wabbit's post. Being there to supervise your contractors' work is great because if they know you're there, they'll show up every day. However, if you are going to make sure they're doing everything you pay them for, you need to have some knowledge as to how a house should be built. A commonly increasing problem is contractors taking advantage of people who are clueless to begin with. Just because you're there watching them, doesn't mean they're doing it right!
Here's the example that made me think of this:
Part of my parents' house burned in a fire, and they had to move out for a few months. My father, who was/is a contractor obviously couldn't put work off to rebuild the house himself, so he hired someone to do it. My mom was there with them everyday to make sure they showed up and weren't slacking off. My dad stopped in one day after work to check on things and had to completely tear apart all the work they had done. They hadn't jacked the sagging floor up from the basement, so nothing was level, but they hid it to make it look good to my mom! If my dad hadn't caught the mistake, the house would've collapsed with time.
If you know what to look for, great! Be there. If you don't, the contractor could be doing a half a** job right in front of you just to get it done fast and you won't even know it. Obviously a new construction is different than a repair, and not all contractors are out to rip you off, but lots of them will take advantage of you just because they can. I won't announce the name, but I know of a big big firm in NH that cuts all kinds of corners building brand new houses just so they can get as many done in a year as humanly possible. PM me if you'd like and I'll tell you this company that you should stay away from.
If I were building a house, I'd make sure that there was someone there who I trust and who knows how to build a house, before I worried about being there personally.
Careful.....if your part of a subdivision, there may be restrictions with regard
to trailers, tents, or temp structures.
It's not part of a subdivision, well not like I think of one, this lot is a big hill with only two other houses on the dead end road. There is, I believe, a restriction on mobile homes and possibly trailers - but that may be as a permanent thing. Frankly, for as long as it takes to build a house, I really don't want to live in a trailer with 2-4 cats a husband and me. <shudder>. but I really don't see a lot in the way of rentals?
I don't have any advice to give you as to how you should track their progress, but I do have a word of advice for you related to Dwatted Wabbit's post. Being there to supervise your contractors' work is great because if they know you're there, they'll show up every day. However, if you are going to make sure they're doing everything you pay them for, you need to have some knowledge as to how a house should be built. A commonly increasing problem is contractors taking advantage of people who are clueless to begin with. Just because you're there watching them, doesn't mean they're doing it right!
Yep, that's one of our concerns. But I also have friends down here that are contractors (and an ex-brother-in-law up there) who really hate when the owner is walking around and getting in the way. so it seems to be a balancing act. My ex-b-i-law was GC for my parents house and my dad was such a pain that he swore never to work for family again! ok, now we're not 'family' but no one has been in touch with him for quite a while.
I have also heard similar horror stories about building from other friends: owner happened to stop by when they were putting in flooring and noticed they hadn't bothered with subflooring. Contracting claimed it wasn't necessary. Debatable, and it may have voided any warranty on the floor since it may not have been installed properly. But if she hadn't have seen they were cutting that corner, they would have charged her $2k for subflooring that wasn't installed.
Unfortunately we have no experience in house building. Hubby has read a lot, and has an ex-boss down here who has built a number of homes & churches... but he's down here, not up there. And I really don't like the idea of being you're own General Contractor - especially when you're not in the business and know how to talk with the builders and how things work.
The main point is that you really have to be nearby to supervise the quality of the work at least every few days. Educate yourselves about the building process and basic structural components. Make sure you know what materials and components are in your quote, and make sure that's what is used. I've heard several experiences from friends and neighbors where the builders took short-cuts to maximize their profit at the homeowner's expense. I once had a neighbor with a beautiful log home. When I complemented her on it, she told me her horror story. She took me on a "tour" for a closer look. Nailheads were poking up through the linoleum everywhere because they used nails instead of screws in the subfloor. There were also various other places where short-cuts had been made, that she and her husband will have to live with for a long time.
Also keep close tabs on costs!!! It's amazing how those can grow out of proportion! We had a garage built that ended up almost twice as much as
the original quote was, partly for really stupid reasons like they had to shovel the snow off the flat second floor before they could work each day, until the roof went up. We paid two guys each $15 an hour to shovel snow! We could have done that if we had known! Seems obvious now, but we were very naive. We had never done anything with a contractor before and got burned big-time. We're still suffering financially because of it. We learned the hard way. GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING and have them sign it before they pound a single nail. If they deviate in any way from the quote or the materials proposed, they will have to get your permission ahead of time, or replace/fix it. There may be a few honest, decent contractors out there, but most want to maximize their profits as much as they can in this tough economy. Be on guard! They can be like car repair people who take advantage of a person's ignorance on the subject. If you do your homework and stay involved, it should go fine. Be sure to get references from your contractor, and check them!
As for housing during the construction phase, you could try advertising that you are building and need a temporary place nearby to stay. If money is offered, a mutually beneficial short-term lease opportunity will probably materialize. Also contact several RE offices and one of them should be able to direct you to a short-term rental opportunity. Sometimes there are unoccupied houses that have been sitting for sale that the sellers wouldn't mind having someone in there while it's on the market, to help cut their losses while waiting for it to sell. The only drawback is that if it sells, you have to leave. But you'd have about a month's notice and you'd probably end up having enough time there until your new house is livable. You may even be able to set up a 2 or 3 month lease if the homeowner is desperate enough. The house we recently bought had short-term tenants in it who were waiting to move into their new construction. They ended up being here all summer and it worked out well for both of us. Hope this is of help, and good luck!!!
I don't know what area you are considering but in the Concord area there are "Executive" rentals. Those are short term rentals for people in transition for a job,house etc. It is a little pricier but saves on aggrevation.
As far as contractors go I would suggest checking on line for those who are licensed by the State and call each one and ask for references. After you have checked references(asking questions about time frame,dependability,workmanship and honesty)and narrowed it down to ones that look good on paper then arrange to meet them and ask about costs. Do the money part last so it does'nt color your decision. Plus you don't want to hire someone you don't feel you can work with.
Just some ideas.....
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). I've never been involved in house building before and am swamped with basic questions, but right now I'm concerned with one major logistic problem.
Building a new house!
