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They quote ~$85-95/sq ft to build in Asheville. If you type in that "builder"'s name the top hits are thousands of customers that got hosed by this company. They use the worst of the worst materials, laborers and everything else. Unfinished houses, failing houses, or worse.
I found a list of what looks like reputable Asheville area builders, but not many of them have any of their build-able plans online.
If you are interested, go online for Donald Gardner Home Plans. Many of the better builders here build from those plans. (I know for a fact that Shumacher also uses those plans, but you're right, the quality is just not there. It's all façade.)
Wow, thank you! I could quickly get lost digging through all of those plans. I have to admit, I have considered the prospect of taking plans and coordinating the job myself as GC. Not sure if you've ever seen this site before, but it's fantastic and comprehensive:
Honestly, that probably won't happen due to working liking a maniac and not being able to commit the time to do this right. My dad built his house as GC and is pushing me to do it, but I'm not sure.
The more immediate plan is to come up next month with 5 properties in mind and meet a realtor/builder to have them give an honest opinion about it's build-ability (if you will) and other expert opinions. Nothing can be decided until that happens so I'm going to try not to get ahead of myself. So far there are 2 lots in Black Mountain, 2 in Fairview, and 1 in Weaverville that we are locked onto.
Thanks again to everyone here. It has really been a learning experience, and more than anything else actually fun!
It's hard to say. When my dad built his house in Florida as GC, he saved about 15% of the total price of the construction. That's pretty significant, but I'm sure that varies wildly from one region to another. I've heard people saving anywhere from 10-25%.
Honestly, that GC cost is worth every penny. The buck stops with them and they are responsible for the build every step of the way. If I truly believed I had the time to do it, I would attempt it.
Be careful with the Gardner plans - they generally involve foundations with many corners, angles and bump outs (read as $$$) and complex roof lines with nested gables, convoluted valleys and pork chop gable returns that are nearly impossible to flash properly (again read as $$$ and maintenance nightmare). The old KISS is the best way to keep housing costs down and you can find logical, less costly ways to dress it up.
Wow, thank you! I could quickly get lost digging through all of those plans. I have to admit, I have considered the prospect of taking plans and coordinating the job myself as GC. Not sure if you've ever seen this site before, but it's fantastic and comprehensive:
Honestly, that probably won't happen due to working liking a maniac and not being able to commit the time to do this right. My dad built his house as GC and is pushing me to do it, but I'm not sure.
The more immediate plan is to come up next month with 5 properties in mind and meet a realtor/builder to have them give an honest opinion about it's build-ability (if you will) and other expert opinions. Nothing can be decided until that happens so I'm going to try not to get ahead of myself. So far there are 2 lots in Black Mountain, 2 in Fairview, and 1 in Weaverville that we are locked onto.
Thanks again to everyone here. It has really been a learning experience, and more than anything else actually fun!
You've heard the Abraham Lincoln quoted expression I'm sure, "He [and even a lawyer] who represents himself truly has a fool of a client!" Even more so if you want to represent yourself finding and buying land, and building a house in an area you have little knowledge of; and don't know who or where to get subs. Fuggeddaboudit ...
While I agree it would be a difficult task, it wouldn't be impossible. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. Even if I did, I would still consult an RE about the land. As far as sub-contractors, this is the main clearinghouse:
You need to have a elephantine hide and very low blood pressure if you decide to act as your own GC on any WNC building project, and if you aren't going to be there to crack the whip in person every day then may the Almighty help you. The building trades there generally have a (shall we say) laid-back attitude and they know that you are a "one and done" job and they don't have to cultivate you for future employment.
But the area isn't really growing that fast at all really. Cities in Northern GA (like mentioned above) have experienced far more growth, and I agree, same topography which can definitely make things more expensive. I would rather have a CBS home than a wood frame with vinyl siding (very popular in WNC), but thats just me. And you know the folks in FL (on the labor side) get paid higher than they do in WNC. And I bet the owners are making quite a bit more $$$ than they do in WNC. It has to be that the cost to making a lot buildable has to account for a HUGE part of the cost.
It is still "demand" in the sense that most of the homes are sold to people who can afford higher prices than the locals used to pay. There were far fewer newcomers in 1992 for instance to drive up the prices.
North Georgia hasn't grown at a faster rate than the Asheville area. The fact that we don't have a draw like the city of Asheville has kept our demand (and prices) less than the areas surrounding Asheville.
However, North Georgia, though less expensive than the Asheville area, is still more expensive than it used to be because newcomers drove the prices up. Most of the houses here are paid for in CASH because they are retirees who can now live mortgage-free.
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