Does anyone know anything about new construction? (Cary: for sale, house)

[robandkelly]

Anyone know how this works? I am trying to find websites of good floor plans, that don't cost an arm and a leg, also trying to find a website of land for sale in Cary. I have decided I am going to build my own house, with the help of a good friend of mine who is contractor. He told me to bring him the floor plans and find a plot, and we will go from there. The whole process to me seems pretty scarey, has anyone ever done this.

[daisyboat]

My husband & I got our house's floorplan off of Home plans, house plans, home floor plans. They have a wide variety and have a helpful feature to "show me similar plans" if there is something about one plan you don't like.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Originally Posted by robandkelly

Anyone know how this works? I am trying to find websites of good floor plans, that don't cost an arm and a leg, also trying to find a website of land for sale in Cary. I have decided I am going to build my own house, with the help of a good friend of mine who is contractor. He told me to bring him the floor plans and find a plot, and we will go from there. The whole process to me seems pretty scarey, has anyone ever done this.

Land for sale can be found on the local MLS among other places. I imagine most of the prime land in Cary has been swooped up and subdivided at this point. While bringing in your own builder may be an option, covenants may be attached to the land and will need to be researched. I would strongly consider working with a realtor to help you with your search for the land in Cary. I'm sure there are a few out there with a lot of experience in that area and they can probably answer a lot of your questions. Good Luck!

[Claire_F]

We built our house in 2006. Moved in October 1 of that year. For the year or two prior to that, we researched house plans online, a LOT. The site we frequented the most was Houseplans.com, The best house plans, home plans and floor plans collections to buy at the best prices. We also purchased some house plan software.

If you find a plan you like on the site, you can purchase the plans directly through the site. They'll also do modifications for you. I want to point out that I've never dealt with the site - I mainly used it for inspiration.

We had very specific ideas in mind, especially for the master bath (no bathtub, huge walk-in shower with vertical spa and window) and wanted one large open area for the kitchen, dining and living room. We also wanted a basement foundation with a drive-under garage. We found something pretty close to what we wanted on the web site, then went from there and drew the plan with our modifications on the software we purchased. Our builder took these drawings to an architect, who drew up our house plans for us.

As for the land, we found that on realtor.com.

Hope this helps!

[stinegirl]

You can also go to some architects web sites, such as Frank Betz- Home plans, house plans, home floor plans and Donald Gardner- House Plans, Home Plans and Floor Plans - Search House Plans at Donald Gardner Architects
to search home plans. Some of the local, custom builders use their home plans.
To help you find a piece of land, it would be easier for you to use a Realtor, you can have them search for land or a lot in an existing neighborhood that will let you bring your own builder. I know a few neighborhoods that will off the top of my head, DM me if you want the list...

[leighbhe]

Originally Posted by robandkelly

Anyone know how this works? I am trying to find websites of good floor plans, that don't cost an arm and a leg, also trying to find a website of land for sale in Cary. I have decided I am going to build my own house, with the help of a good friend of mine who is contractor. He told me to bring him the floor plans and find a plot, and we will go from there. The whole process to me seems pretty scarey, has anyone ever done this.

You may have better luck finding a lot (if you are trying to find one in a subdivision) with having your friend who is the contractor try and buy the lot. We were going to build a house and our builder was able to arrange a lot purchase much easier (they didn't want to sell one to a non builder). We went to different neighborhoods that had new construction going on, then looked for plans online.

We ended up buying a spec house instead, but finding the place to build the house was the most difficult.

Leigh

[KGRW]

Try the public library, there are lots of books with different style house plans. They might not offer full blueprints, but a good contractor should be able to decipher room dimensions and customize it to your liking. Good luck!