Building a house for penny pinchers.

[timberland]

FInd a place to store stuff, and start shopping for the larger ticket items like cabinets and windows, outlet stores, lumber discount stores and time can be a great allie for saving money

 

[Jon Boy]

FInd a place to store stuff, and start shopping for the larger ticket items like cabinets and windows, outlet stores, lumber discount stores and time can be a great allie for saving money

Another great idea. Lowe’s and Home Depot have great sales on appliances and cabinets. I signed up for both their 0% cards for discounts and also comboed those discounts with existing sales. Maxed both of those cards out and paid them off before the interest hit


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ddowning]

This. We were fortunate (after lengthy vetting process) to find a reliable, honest contractor, AND have a 1500 sq ft addition built for $115 sq. ft.

My advice is to play GC, this alone will cut costs almost in half. However, you could also have the honest contractor act as GC once you build rapport (after he frames and dries it in) he may accept the gig to finish it off with his trusted subs.

What part of the country are you in? I would love to make a 50% mark-up on new homes. In my neck of the woods, standard markup on spec homes is 10%. High end custom stuff is 25-30% markup as is middle of the road remodeling. High end remodeling with handholding and kumbaya singing is 40-50% markup.

 

[Forestryguy]

I did the 1970s remodel project right before building my final forever home. Bought the place for $225k and thought I overpaid at the time. This was a larger home at 3100 sq ft though and had a little bit of land with it. When we sold the place, that project was well worth the effort of the remodel. I think it's a great option if you can find the right house to do it on.

The 240K of the neighbors house represents the local pricing for homes, but I think this area is over priced for the time being. It is roughly a 1500 sq ft home with unfinished basement. There would have to be a lot of penciling out the return on a home that price knowing it would pretty much be a gut and remodel. It does have a nice .5 acre lot though.

 

[ddowning]

What part of the country is this addition being built?

There’s a lot of false information about being your own GC and saving a ton of money. Majority of gcs are marking up labor, subs and material 10%. Some are as high as 15% but I’ve never heard of higher. So at best you’re saving yourself 15%. However, if you’re in a hustle and bustle area of the country good luck getting any of the better subs. Most of the company’s work for a few gcs that keep them busy year round and they’re not wanting to have to deal with a harry home owner.

Also, building materials are very low right now compared to the peak we saw a few years ago. Take a look at the lumber futures.

At the end of the day, if you build it yourself you’ll save a ton of money. The more labor you hire out, the more it’s going to cost you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This guy is right. I have a carpentry company and a gc company. My carpentry company works for my gc company as well as others. When we get hired by Joe Homeowner, or some gcs that are the same talent level as Joe Homeowner, we add on the gc fee to our scope of work. EVERY Tom, Dick, and Harry think the only skills needed to be a GC is the skill to set up an email address and dial a telephone. It is RARE that a homeowner can gc a job and supply the correct materials, in the correct quantities, and make sure the previous trades have left the site in a manner that allows the next trade to effectively compete their job without delays. People, gcs included, expect the tradesmen to take care of coordinating with other tradesman, do a material takeoff for their scope, make multiple extra trips due to their poor coordination skills, and they want to reap the benefits of having "done the gc work." Most tradesmen have caught on and charge for all of the above unless you are an actual credible and competent gc.

When we were only doing carpentry work for other gcs, the skill level of the gc could double the length of a simple project, or cut it in half. Many residential gcs think the markup is their sales commission and offer no support beyond the sale except making a few calls. They don't do any on-site coordination or qc. For this reason I understand the hesitancy to hire one.

It is the experience of working for both the good and the bad that also causes tradesmen to raise their price when they know there is a high likelihood of doing the gc portion for their scope. There is no way around it unless you simply tell the customer that they agreed to do it, and they are wasting your time and money. This does nothing but upset the customer, so the only way to be protected is to charge it on the front end and happily save them when they are incompetent at saving themselves.

Getting something "close enough" is a recipe for disaster either now or later and many tradesmen that ould work on a homeowner gc job without charging for the additional headache just "make do" with the situation instead of doing the best job possible. As with anything, you get what you pay for.

Building materials are down right now. The best way to build a house for cheap is to do the labor yourself. You're still buying equity, it's just that you are buying it with sweat instead of cash. The only real savings is that you don't have overhead and marketing expense to pay for as you would if you hired real companies to perform the labor.

 

[ShortMountain91]

The 240K of the neighbors house represents the local pricing for homes, but I think this area is over priced for the time being. It is roughly a 1500 sq ft home with unfinished basement. There would have to be a lot of penciling out the return on a home that price knowing it would pretty much be a gut and remodel. It does have a nice .5 acre lot though.

Yeah sounds like it would be harder to make that kind of remodel work. But I think the right remodel can be super lucrative because the things people value are aesthetic things that don't cost near as much as getting into the guts of the home. The house we did just got floors, paint, a bathroom remodel, some HVAC work, and I ran a lot of fencing on it. All cheap stuff and did it all myself besides the HVAC. Also I think the 70s house remodel can be a great option vs buying a new home or building because you can get a lot of bang for your buck. I would have kept my remodel house if it was where I wanted to be.

 

[akcabin]

We are building our own home. Fortunately I have been able to learn the skills needed to do most of the work. Me n my family cleared the land. Hired out the cement pour for the foundation. I did septic. Had well drilled. I installed the water line. We installed in floor hydronic heating. Because we live in AK. Extra insulation under and around the slab. And extra heat tubes in the cement floor. Simple 28x40 ranch. With scissor trusses. We are adding extra insulation in the walls. 2" of pinkboard ridgid insulation. Along with the 6" of rockwool. And extra insulation in the attic. R 65-7 0. By doing this ourselves I believe that we can do better quality work. I can take the extra time. And we can design it for our needs. Beautiful wife may need a wheel chair some day. So things like a larger shower with wheel chair access. Receptacles will be higher up on the walls. More light switches. Beautiful wife has saved us a lot of money by buying materials like light fixtures and kitchen cabinets at reduced prices. And getting quality stuff. We can pretty much build to our exact needs. We will probably have 100 grand in materials and end up with a 300 grand custom house.
We're penny pinchers building our retirement home. Will be bartering a couple guns for getting the sheetrock installed on the cieling. That I won from gun auctions. Have 20 bucks into them. Along with 400 cash. And hopefully be able to barter some older vehicles that I will restore for drywall finishing.
And me and my beautiful wife still love each other

 

[mt terry d]

At times you can negotiate down costs by offering to pay in Benjamins.
Only build as big as you need, not as big as you’d like The bigger the more it will cost to heat, cool and then there’s government rent (AKA property tax) which will always increase

Do your best to stay out of debt. It’s a trap.

 

[woods89]

My line has always been that a good GC earns every penny he charges, and he can charge quite a bit before this isn't true anymore.

Building systems are continually getting more complex. What you get with a good GC is good subs, efficient scheduling, and quality control. Most homeowners struggle to even get the really good subs, and then don't have a good handle on efficient scheduling. On the quality control front, most homeowners can't tell if the windows were flashed correctly or if the tile sub did his diligence with the waterproofing system. Both of those will cause issues within the first 10 years of the homes life, but likely won't be readily apparent on completion.

It's like anything in life, there is no free lunch. If you want peace of mind, timeliness, and the details done right get out your checkbook. If you're willing for some compromises, you can probably save some money.

 

[Balderdash]

In this area, it's going to be difficult to build a pole building of any size with living quarters for under 100k. I just priced materials for one on my property. 30x80, 2' overhangs, 1/2 room in attic trusses. Was just under $70k for materials alone; no site prep, no utilities, no concrete, no labor, etc.

A good friend of mine built a pole building and then bought a tiny house that he put inside the pole building to live in while he built the home. Came out well when he sold the tiny house because it was still like new. Same could be done with a camper, as has been mentioned. Just watch the heater ventilation in winter.

If you're handy, you can maybe labor trade with guys. If you're mechanically inclined and hard working but don't really know your way around framing and other required building knowledge, you can try to find a carpentry mentor that will consult on best practices and lend a hand on an as needed basis for an hourly fee or some other arrangement. I've done this for friends. I know of retired carpenters who have done this, and of smaller, 1 man operators who are very good mechanics but have gotten tired of running big crews, and are open to more flexible labor arrangements than you'd find in hiring a larger general contractor to do the whole thing. There's generally firemen and/or other shift workers who can be good at carpentry and looking to pick up some side hustle cash.

 

[def90]

Living out of a pole barn is going to depend heavily on the local zoning dept.

Most people upgrade themselves to death when building a house. The whatever tile is only $1 more per sqft, these cabinets are only $X more per door, the door hardware is only $X more for the bronze finish... and so on.

Spend money with an architect and come up with a solid well thought out plan. Choose your finishes before you start and stick to them. That will go a long way to ending up with a home that stays within budget.

 

[Amos Keeto]

We started with a 4 horse slant load trailer with living quarters.
Small?
Yes!
But at the butt crack of dawn we were up, working on the house. We ate a lot of meals at local restaurants and out of coolers, depending on our needs.
I had a black plastic horse trough. Fill with water in the morning. Toasty warm for a bath at the end of the day.

Started in August. Fortunately, we were able to get it dried in before it got cold.
Metal roof, metal siding.
Our home isn't large, about 1100 sq/ft. But it's paid for! Clear and free.

Building your own home isn't easy, unless you have a lot of overhead.
We didn't have a lot, but we had enough.
We built our home for approximately $35K.
We paid very little on labor. 0

 

[Killerhiller40]

My line has always been that a good GC earns every penny he charges, and he can charge quite a bit before this isn't true anymore.

Building systems are continually getting more complex. What you get with a good GC is good subs, efficient scheduling, and quality control. Most homeowners struggle to even get the really good subs, and then don't have a good handle on efficient scheduling. On the quality control front, most homeowners can't tell if the windows were flashed correctly or if the tile sub did his diligence with the waterproofing system. Both of those will cause issues within the first 10 years of the homes life, but likely won't be readily apparent on completion.

It's like anything in life, there is no free lunch. If you want peace of mind, timeliness, and the details done right get out your checkbook. If you're willing for some compromises, you can probably save some money.

Some really good points made here. The QC and efficient scheduling you’re gonna get from a quality GC will save you more money than you might realize. As a sub, I know any time there’s a question as to who’s going to get the priority on scheduling or the best crews, our best GCs are going to be at the top of the list every time.

Months can get added on to your build schedule in a hurry without a pro managing the work/subs. This can cost you a lot of money in the form of interest on your construction loan and rent/mortgage on wherever you’re living during the build.

That being said, there’s plenty of money to be saved by doing it yourself. Just know that there’s other additional costs you’ll likely incur by saving on the GC markup.

 

[squirrel]

Lots of maybe good advice on here and lots of highly probable BS.

Two questions will supersede all others, where are you building and how lenient are the politics of it.

What skills do you bring to the table.

Sweat equity is just that, most generals dont sweat too much, they are just coordinators and cheerleaders for the subs. You aren't going to be living in a free house by being your own general.

Otoh if you can run a skid steer, a dump trailer, pour flat and structural concrete, and plumb, frame, and electrical, with a side of roofing you are in the game! Throw in some classes at Home Depot for cabinets and tile, the list is endless.

Temporarily living in privation as described by the horse trailer living guy above would certainly help as well.

Ive just gotten done with 2 winter/springs of doing just what you are describing. (1 to go) I did it in 2005-2007 as winter work as well. Can you live in a tent for 5-6 months and stay married and sane? Can you look at a hole in the fence row with a concrete form over top of it as a damn fine toilet then celebrate civilised living when you get a lid to end the splinters?

My current project is coming nicely with a current cost of $26/sq ft, with not much left to buy (10K tops) with a 4200 sq ft barn with a 12x36 apt in it. I've no illusions of the costs for the castle which is to follow, but that is tomorrows fight.

All my life Ive been told "so/so will build it for $xyz... YOU CANT BUILD IT YOURSELF FOR THAT. Yes you can actually build it yourself for that, and likey less than that.

But you have to actually do the work. Last spring pouring 55 yards of flat concrete with only one dog for help and the birthday count @ >60 there were more than a few mornings when signing a check looked almost painless.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Subed out concrete, rough in plumbing.
Also contracted the metal roofing and the HVAC.
I allowed a past employer to rough in the wiring.
Everything else was pretty much me and the wife.

 

[riversidejeep]

I am lucky in the sense that I've done most of the trades as a career all my life. It took me 2 1/2 years to build my current home working by myself.I have a mini excavator and a dump trailer and all the tools. Hired a few guys on concrete days to help and subbed out the insulation and drywall, everything else I did, Plumbing , electrical,framing,siding,flooring ,utilities etc. I don't know how much per s.f. but it was not much.I just want to point out that unless you have the skillset, extra time and the drive it ends up being more than most guys can chew. That said I think you can find a happy medium by doing what you can but don't be afraid to get the subs for the bigger things.