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Friday, 11/21/2008 Is
Building Your Own Home For You
Why on
earth would someone want to take on the construction of a house by
himself? There are many reasons, but, to me, the most powerful
motivator is money.
After we
completed our present home, we had a couple over for dinner. They are
realtors, who own one of the top brokerage firms in our area. After
they had seen the house throughout, I casually asked what they thought
it was worth. Both agreed immediately that (with a little more finish
work) it would bring about $220,000. I was pleasantly shocked. Our
total investment (not including blood, sweat and tears) was a modest
$66,000, including the 2.5 acres it was sitting on.
Currently, 10 years later, it is worth around $260,000. Not all who
build will see that cost to value ratio, but, it is possible. I doubt
anybody has ever built his own home to find it valued at less than his
investment.
Consider
that approximately half the cost of a home is labor, and that the
builder makes, and deserves, a 10 to 15 percent mark-up. Simple math
would put your cost at 35-40 percent of having someone else do
everything. Once again, your results may vary, but I have found
similar figures interviewing others who have built.
But (Of Course) There are Other Things to
Consider
Just
dealing with local building inspectors can be maddening. Answer this
question; If a building inspector is actually good enough to build a
home, then why doesn't he/she do that for a living instead of
inspecting them? There is a far greater profit potential to building
verses inspecting. So you will be up against ridiculous and
unnecessary change requests from inspectors that might know less
about the project than you. In some cases, a lot less.
I
personally witnessed one inspector that demanded all screws be removed
from a new deck and replaced with nails. Now really, how much sense
does that make, especially when every other deck in the area was built with
screws and passed final inspection. Unreal. Be sure you can handle
this type of lunar logic.
Plan on
delays that will extend the expected completion time. Depending on
weather, material shortages, people that don't show up for work (this
happens a lot), slow and/or incompetent workers (this happens a lot,
too), and other unknowns, it can take 50% longer than
expected. This is a fact of building your own home. If you are doing
most (all) of the work yourself, then weather, material problems, and
building inspectors will be your primary concerns. If you are also
holding down a job while doing the work yourself, there will be delays
due to work-related issues. So plan your time, but don't be too rigid
or you'll end up getting discouraged when delays occur.
So there
you have it. Plan everything in detail, get quotes on work and
materials, setup a schedule, prepare for mistakes and delays. Be sure
your financing is secure and flexible. Be sure you are mentally and
physically up to the task. And don't hesitate to ask others for help
when needed. With patience, you'll complete the project. |