Curious to hear thoughts/feedback on the new construction loan and home building process from those of you who have been through it before. We are close to the end of the list of home improvement projects that we wanted to accomplish before selling, and the houses in our area are really selling for some pretty good prices right now. My wife and I are seriously thinking about listing the house in the next 6-12 months and cashing out so that we can go build the house that we both really want. Any advice?
Plan 15% more cost than the bid and 20% more time than quoted. You will walk into rough construction and want to make changes, you will get to finish carpentry and the cost of material may have risen or you are going to see fixtures or hardware you want. These changes take time, and the weather can have an impact as well. If you plan for a budget and time frame and it does not fall within that you will be disappointed. If it falls short you will be happy. Also, go out and talk to cabinet shops and fixture (light and plumbing) to get an idea of the things they can do or provide. Then you will have a more realistic idea of what is out there. Go to jobsites that the contractor has going. Ask questions, lots of questions. Finally, do not be afraid to make changes. This is your home you are talking about, you are the customer.
I had the house I live in now built. I'm not sure I'd do it again. I think I'd find one I really liked and buy it. The one thing that save us is my wife was a teacher and was off the summer ours was built. There is just always something to do or a decision to be made. I would have lost a lot of work time if I would have had to take off work for all the bs. Good luck with it Matt.
Matt, I am listing my house in March next year. I would be building/working with a contractor, but I can get a killer deal on a modular. When it comes time to do the roof, call me. We can save you on that step and whip it out in a weekend.
I can give you LOADS of advice once you begin selecting contractors/equipment.. as far as loans.. not so much. I am surprised however that home sales are doing well in your area.. its not like that in too many places.
I hear you Duke, we are fortunate here in NY. We haven't seen the gas boom that PA has, but NY is MUCH better off than the midwest. My sales territory is IL, WI, MI, and IN and things are deathly slow nearly everywhere except for the pocket between Chicago and Milwaukee. These are the same type of homes that are starting to sell pretty quick in our area. We got lucky with our current house, we picked it up right after the market started heading downhill, got an awesome buy on it, plus it was one of the worst looking homes in a nice middle class neighborhood..........that happened to have the best corner lot. Lots of homes around us now selling for a LOT more than what we have in the place and don't have the amount of work done that we have done, and don't have a big or nice of a lot. I'm thinking it's time to get out when we can make a good profit, before everyone else lists, and still maybe find a home builder for a good price before it skyrockets. I'm not against a modular either Ben. I'm a simple guy........I'd like a 3br/2ba 1200-1400 sq/ft ranch with a full size basement that I can build out in the future. We would love a log home, but not sure it's possible, we will see. If we can't do log, we will likely look at modulars. Most important is to get us out of the suburbs in a nice place where we can live well under our means. After growing up in towns that didn't have any stoplights, and now spending 12+ years in the city and suburbs.......we are looking forward to getting back to a rural area.
It's on my list Mike. I should get on that. Matt. You and I think alike. Kate and I have picked out a 28 X 68 3 BR 2 BA Ranch with full basement with 9 foot walls. It has options for a steeper pitched roof and I will be building a large cathedral ceiling porch off the front as we have an awesome view at the new land. The modular homes dealer in the area is a client of my dad's so he has been great to work with.
Not to get too sidetracked, but I feel our situation is going to be a little different if not only for the precedents set by these previous plays. Hopefully our state government agencies with the backing of well informed landowners pushing for better controls, will be able to keep this play as positive environmentally as possible. Matt, my dad has built 4 homes including the one I grew up in. My sister receny had a modular put in, and my dad said it would be hard to chose between a traditional stick built vs. a modular. You can certainly get a log modular as well. Thinking of building back on the camp land?
28x68.........I bet I know what's going to end up in that basement with those dimensions. I'd love to have a 20 yard range in the basement, but I'm thinking we will get the house first and then maybe a few years down the road build a pole barn for toys and a range. Yes, I've looked quite a bit at modular log homes too, they definitely have my interest. Unfortunately no to the PA thing. I can take my current job remote, but if anything ever happened with it there are NO jobs down there for sales guys with technology background.....lol. With that said, my wife recently got into a position that should be a LOT more secure than what she's been dealing with while trying to get tenured, and she's only about 15 miles from her parents up in the southern Adirondacks. We have a TON of family up there and I get along with all of them, we are seriously thinking about maybe buying a few acres from family or friends and building there. After logging for 35 years, my father in law happens to know a few people with lots they would likely sell for a good price.
You know me. I am having the excavator clear me my pad for the pole barn while he is there and I will build that as time permits. It's going to be 24 X 36.
Couple quick things from a contractor perspective. - Plan Plan Plan. Before you even consider breaking ground, have your blueprints completed, contractor picked and pricing done. - When I bid a house there are things that inevitably going to have allowances - flooring, cabinets, woodworking are the big three. I always seek my clients input as to what to use as allowance because obviously they drive this number. My advice to you is to do your research here. Go see what you like and what it costs because this cost increase could make or break a project if you don't do this ahead of time. I've had plenty of people blame me for not having enough of an allowance for this or that and the cost increases are my fault that I didn't anticipate their tastes. They don't realize that an allowance is just a number to me, in fact I'd love it to be higher, my contractor fee goes up then. - As far as loans go, find a lending institute that will lock in your mortgage interest rate now and hold it for 6 months during construction. Not many do this but some do, you are not obligated to hold this interest rate either, meaning if a better one comes along during that 6 months you can re-lock. If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to help. Jason
