Successful Owner Builder Story

[@JamesLandolt-m1e]

We did owner builder twice - the principal thing we learned is that builders build for money and owners build for love. Although we did not even know which end of the hammer was the operational part when we started out - we ended up with much, much better quality builds both times than any builder would have done - this is for our family and not just some piece of meat. In regards to the budget - this video hits the nail on the head - especially, for Pete's sake, stay the hell away from upgrades - you can always do this later. And figure out exactly what you want up front re structure and consider any changes in flight to be verboten. What "budget" for most people means is the total amount of the loan. Remember 2 things about a construction loan - the amount is fixed up front and its ONLY GOOD FOR A LIMITED TIME - says 6 or 9 months. So both speed and accuracy are important. You may think that the more labor you do, the more you will save - but you also have to balance this against the amount of work you can do yourself in the time allowed.

[@kevinhornbuckle]

Wise words.

[@michigandersea3485]

The system is designed to eliminate owner-building as a feasible route unless you can do everything cash. Even then, many jurisdictions get on you if you aren't done within one year.

[@stevepailet8258]

Glad to know that someone actually controlled where the money went.. With the spike in lumber prices am sure that a lot of upgrades had to be forgone temporarity. Seems that even the price of sheet goods has returned to planet earth. sorta. I have not seen a lot of drop in costs for appliances yet. So imagine that contractor grade needed to be added to this build. I am of the opinion that building the shell first and building it where it can get you near net zero build is the first consideration. Beyond that it is easy enough to add ideas to a home.

[@itsHeatherKay]

For a future builder/dreamer: would you make a video tour of one of these homes, finished? Like, what can be done to finish out the basement storage, under the stairs and the attic? What does a lived-in garage look like? Thanks!

[@KipringPayne]

Been building my home for the past 4 years. Tracking almost all costs, from tools to even staples, and I'm sitting at $192 dollars a square foot. Factors - ICF home, contracted only the pours, joist/truss installations, sprayfoam, large window (3), sliding door and metal roof install. I will still have to contract out the exterior, drywall, mudding, and painting. Potentially negotiating on doing half the tile and half the floors. Everything else has been me. Hoping to complete in another 9 months...

[@baptistlion4060]

Planning on something similar. Does a loan allow for slow build time to save money and do things yourself? Or how does that work

[@KipringPayne]

@@baptistlion4060 I'm sorry, I don't have any good news on this. My brother and I (in progress) have built our own homes. We both separately went looking for funding - we both came to only one regional lender that would even look at our proposal. Most banks/lenders required us to have a GC license and complete the home in a timeline that varied between 12 and 18 months (usually this can be extended). These construction loans are then shifted into a standard mortgage. The lender we found allowed us to extend almost indefinitely - provided progress is being made. Did not require a GC license. The catch? The loan is the loan - meaning the rate was higher than most mortgages and you do have to have some cash to get started (skin in the game) - usually a certain percentage of value relative to the home and property.

[@KipringPayne]

@@baptistlion4060 hey I posted a reply here, but it was removed by YT. Not sure why, wasn't anything controversial. Will try again after this.

[@KipringPayne]

@@baptistlion4060 Most lenders will require you to have a GC license and complete the build within a "standard" time limit of 12 - 18 months. You can get extensions on this. My brother and I (in progress) built our homes - we separately looked for lenders and found the same regional lender. There are a few out there but you have search to find a lender that will work with you - if you don't have your GC. A standard construction loan gets converted into a mortgage - usually but not always you don't have to pay the principle just the interest during construction. The loan we found from a regional lender, did require us to start paying the full principle the moment money was withdrawn - but interest was only applied to outlays by the lender. You also had to have some collateral level, either the land you are building on or cash. With this financial product, you can theoretically take as long as you want - I just past 4 years.

[@KipringPayne]

@baptistlion4060 wow, even deleted my comment to contact me via other means.. pos site

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Material cost per square foot is one thing. The amount of time and labor is another. I am building a cottage. Block piers I dug and built myself. Going with a timber frame. With lumber prices crashing now. Some timber came off the property. I played around with the skillion design to make it cheaper. Insulation and windows cost the most per square foot.

[@OpenBookBuild]

If you were to look at the story in Finehomebuilding, you’d see this guy built a very high quality home for much less. Yes, he put in a ton of sweat equity…but nonetheless the quality of materials was quite high

[@collin9085]

I went and looked at the article this video references. Obviously, the biggest thing is that he estimates 3,000 hours of his labor. This is easily worth 100-200k if you are a skilled individual and can build your own home. Likely he spent even more hours traveling and other time he lost track of. But most important thing to consider as an owner builder is, do you really have time for this!? Furthermore, Lots of costs I don't see such as the driveway, architectural drawings, dumpster rentals, tool rentals or purchases, gas/travel, etc. Additionally, He built the home from 2019-2021 I believe. Thus there was no lumber savings I wouldn't think. I also don't see any finished photos. Especially curious about the interior of the home and the self made cabinets. Will it be up to a typical home-owners expectation of new construction? Lastly, this guy works for a construction company, and even then he says, " I am often asked, “Would you do it again?” There were certainly times when stress levels were through the roof, money was tight, and our patience was shot. At those times, I would have answered, “No way, not a chance." Building your own home, and doing it on a shoe-string budget has it's own emotional costs and implications. Especially if you are not knowledgeable.

[@mauriceevans6546]

Building my own home now with cash. Framing roof now because I couldn't find contractor to frame roof. I plan on doing most everything except shingles and drywall. No mortgage

[@mcchupka9718]

Thank you Michael. I am hoping to keep my building cost for a high-end custom home under $150 per square foot (excluding land, and a bunch of prepaid costs, like septic, water well, and property cost.). I know that I am going to have to do a lion’s share of the work and only hire out what I judge as more cost effective based on cost versus time I have to carve out of my life or livelihood to do. Sometimes, it just makes sense to pay a sub to get the work done ahead of when you can do it. Plan is to get everything “dried-in” then that will buy me time to get a few select subs and specialists in to do the “easy” work.

[@AnnaAliciaTx]

What about building on to an existing older brick home? Worth it or not?

[@L.J.01]

Do you have info for folks who want to do much of the work themselves? Especially wondering what areas are the greatest savings and best for dyi, versus what's best to sub out?

[@phil1954]

Does the $100/sqft include holding costs, to include utilities, closing costs for the loan and interest payments during the build? I always consider those costs.

[@doscoronitas]

Where can i get a rough frame package in Southern California? I looked at Menards but its in the middle of the country... i would like to pick out a simple build for my first one. Thanks

[@alexiscruel4009]

Can you price out infill lots in inner city or brick 2-3 story infill lot square lot 1500-2000 sq ft lot rectangle

[@collin9085]

Lumber prices don't really matter that much. Even when lumber skyrocketed, it probably would have been like a $6k difference on his home from a couple of years prior. Don't be fooled, There are tons of videos on youtube showing people acting as owner builder and the price they paid. Even for very basic frugal homes where the person puts in lots of sweat equity, the home costs over $200/ft. The way to get your home build under $200/ft is to: 1.) do MOST if not virtually all of the labor. 2.) cut every single corner, that means having very few windows that are of very cheap quality. Using crappy vinyl siding. Having very basic kitchens. Baths and showers that are acrylic (forget tile). The cheapest flooring you can get. Cheapest doors (and very few doors). Minimum insulation. Cheapest WRB. Cheap fixtures and appliances. Basic HVAC. The whole point of building your own home is to have something that is built to higher quality than spec builders.

[@Blingem14]

What are you talking about. Literally everything you typed is incorrect. I am in the process of speaking to builders now. You can get stemwall foundation, hardee board siding, tile in the kitchens and baths, granite countertops for sub $150/sq cost.

[@collin9085]

@@Blingem14 Here's a super basic home with large garage he did owner builder and it was 300-375k depending on if he included costs for his labor or not. Basically $200 a square foot and this house has below average siding, kitchen, finishes, appliances, fixtures, gravel driveway, etc, etc. kzbin.info/www/bejne/goDHfmmcpq6fgrM Here's another video from a guy who did 100% of the labor HIMSELF and it still cost him about 200/ft to build his air BNB. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4iVooCcmNykfM0 I did a significant addition 1-2 years ago and it also came out to be about 150/sq foot, but I also did LOTS of the labor myself, and it didn't include a kitchen which is a pricy item. I also work in the construction industry and have overseen dozens of homes get built. $200/sq foot gets you a VERY basic home. Below that, you are cutting corners, or you are not including everything that is involved in a home that people expect. There's dozens of other videos that show the same experience.

[@collin9085]

​@@Blingem14 Also, I went and looked at the article this video references. Biggest thing is that he estimates 3,000 hours of his labor. This is easily worth 100-200k if you are a skilled individual and can build your own home. Likely he spent even more hours traveling and other time he lost track of. Furthermore, Lots of costs I don't see such as the driveway, architectural drawings, dumpster rentals, tool rentals or purchases, gas/travel, etc. Additionally, He built the home from 2019-2021 I believe. Thus there was no lumber savings I wouldn't think. Lastly, this guy works for a construction company, and even then he says, " I am often asked, “Would you do it again?” There were certainly times when stress levels were through the roof, money was tight, and our patience was shot. At those times, I would have answered, “No way, not a chance." Building your own home, and doing it on a shoe-string budget has it's own emotional costs and implications. Especially if you are not knowledgeable.

[@JuancoPRoFlow]

​@@Blingem14exactly 💯

[@Blingem14]

@@collin9085 which is the point of building it yourself to save on labor. 100-200k?? Where are you coming up with these numbers? The typical custom home builder will take 15-25% profit. On a $300k home @ 20% this is $70k and I didn’t even need a calculator for that. Are you literally just throwing out numbers to get a reaction or do you really not know this basic information? If you’re taking $100-200k on a $300k home you’re are likely not getting that job because literally everyone is beating out your bid.