Building a house

My wife and I have met with a realtor and a builder and are going to list our house and are close to moving forward with the builder.

We have the price from the builder on the new house (he’s selling us the lot and building the home). He’s came down x amount of dollars on the lot already. I’m basing this question on how much a very comparable “model” home sold for that we really liked but wanted to make a few changes to.

We’re wondering if we treat the building process as we’d treat buying an existing property? Can we come to an estimated price with him and then say, “well, if you install this, upgrade that, give us x amount of dollars for landscaping, window coverings, etc, etc, we have a deal”! Or are we pretty much stuck with “$500 more for this, $1,200 more for that upgrade, no landscaping allowance, etc, etc?

We’ve never built before and don’t know if we have any negotiating (sp?) power.

Thanks for any insight or advise,

Adam

We are in the same process a little ahead of where you are at.When we went thru the model every thing we seen was standard for x amount of dollars when you go to pick out counter tops ,siding, carpet,wood floors, paint, windows etc. We started with the standard then upgraded or had the option to downgrade or go cheaper when we went to pick stuff out. There are an unbelieveable amount of options out there esp upgrades.When we didnt spend the same dollar amount as the standard we applied it to something else for an upgrade. Everything is negotable and money can be moved around.The only thing we had some problems with was how the house sits on the property you want to see how the house sits on the property how the drive way sits with the grade of the lawn front back and side of house where the storm drains and easement are compared to property lines and the house.Look at it all.I wanted to pour a 15 by 30 pad on the side of the 3rd stall she said ok when we went to look at the foundation we noticed there wasnt enfough room we were not very happy look at it all before you agree

Everything is negotiable when building your new home but realize that while home prices for existing homes may have come down, so the house you liked that sold may have come down in price, but prices on new homes are what they are based on current material & labor costs. With that said, I do not believe you can be “too specific” when laying out the contract for your new home. Matter of fact a good home builder would welcome the most detailed deal, that way when it comes to up charges there is no confusion. IMO

Absolutely everything is negotiable. However, be careful if you plan to get cash back at closing to do landscaping etc… Make sure it’s in writing and start documenting everything now. Don’t call the builder and say, we decided we want an additional outlet here. Email them. You want a paper trail for everything.

Having built two homes now with two very interesting builders we’ve learned a few things. One of the cooler ideas my wife had was to put outlets in the softets for Xmas lights. Interior wise, you can’t put enough computer/phone/cable jacks in. Have them run a gas/electric line to your garage for future heat. A floor drain is also a must if your city/county allows. I would also have them put in a smal conduit in the garage so you can run wires from the in ground sprinkler to the controller.

If I think of any other, wish I’d thought of that, I’ll send your way.

During a remodel last year, I also had outlets put in the soffits. To take it a step further, for around $30, I had it wired through a digital timer switch, set it and forget it !!! Works great !!! Now I just need to take the lights down from last year….

big G

We have the souffit outlets on a switch by the front door. Make sure you have one on both ends of the house or garage, it will just lok better and you can do more things. We also found that light fixtures don’t matter. Sure the expensive ones look nice, but the cheaper ones look about the same once they are up and you wont notice a difference, they both give off light. Our original quote for lights was about 4500 and we ended up only spending 2000 for the whole house, that other 2500 bucks got spent somewhere else. We have dark hardwood floors, and we would never go that dark again, they are by no means black, but just a touch of color is probaly best, the dark wood shows everything. Lastly, we would spend more money on carpet and padding for the carpet. its where you spend most of your time and if you have kids they are all over it!
I have lots of ideas, just ask
I drew my own main floor plan and designed everything, my wife and I would do it all again, and probably will someday!
Just my $.02
Good luck, its a fun long process!

Please remember to look at all the heating/cooling options. There are federal rebates on the super high efficiency equipment. Since we heat almost 9 months of the year (or so it seems) get a good high quality furnace. Also remember to purchase the heating from a dealer that SERVICES what they sell and not just what the builder is offering. Talk to several reputable HVAC dealers. You may also have to install an air exchanger depending on your codes.

definitely try to get all of the extras you can think of out in the open and on paper right away before you break ground. the price should be negot. esp. with the economy right now. later on they will all be a fixed price cause then they have you. also if allowed locally try to do some of the work yourselves, like painting staining insulating anything you can a little sweat equity never hurts. in reference to the extra tv/phone jacks, we have always built ranches but I always put a sleeve into the basement from those locations, then you can switch the phone or tv from place to place or upgrade the cabling if needed. I also got material lists from the lumber yards and verified all materials, there was always extra stuff in there that can be deleted or picked up by you for less.

you could also talk to Jay at schuur handy, he could probably help answere a few of your concerns.

I know as a painter, when I had new construction builders, there was a flat price for 1 color on the walls, the same color through out the entire house, then when you added color to the home, it was a $100-$500 upgrade depending on what color it was, size of room, and brand of paint used. there was also an upgrade charge for using the paint that a homeowner baught for their house. also ask for references from your builder and subs, check into them and find out from other homeowners if they where nice to work with or not. the builder might be great to work with but the subs are not. check it out.

shane

Personally, being in the business, I wouldn’t build right now unless the lot location you have is a must have.

An existing home will get you your best deal BY FAR.

As for a new house and the phone/cable lines…….all that is either wireless now or will be wireless by 2010. It would be wasted money.

Just my opinion, but I don’t care for houses newer than 1990 unless it is a true custom. Too many cheap materials and labor since then that the ordinary person has no idea about.

One more thing, make sure you sell your house first. I know a few people in a bind and are losing ALOT of money trying to get rid of a home because they have to.

Some other things to consider are neighbors. Spend an evening at the lot and see if the neighbors have barking dogs, have loud parties, or likes to rev up a race car, etc. Ask the current neighbors how things are in this neighborhood.

Also consider geothermal heating/cooling if the lot is big enough. Building with SIP panels and an ICF basement will save you alot in heating costs in the long run. A 2×6 stick built house can’t compare to energy efficiency with SIPs I.M.O.

I work with a very high-end custom home builder here in WI and have been in the industry for almost 30 years. I have worked both ends of the spectrum from entry level cracker-jack boxes with production builders to over 2 million dollar homes. Shoot me a PM with contact info and I can spend some time walking you through many questions you should be asking your builder. There are way too many things that are “within industry standards” that should be done much better. Problem is too many builders won’t tell you because it helps keep the house cheap and it keeps them competitively priced with the next cheap-o down the street.

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I work with a very high-end custom home builder here in WI and have been in the industry for almost 30 years. I have worked both ends of the spectrum from entry level cracker-jack boxes with production builders to over 2 million dollar homes. Shoot me a PM with contact info and I can spend some time walking you through many questions you should be asking your builder. There are way too many things that are “within industry standards” that should be done much better. Problem is too many builders won’t tell you because it helps keep the house cheap and it keeps them competitively priced with the next cheap-o down the street.

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So true!

Let’s face it, most everyone wants to pay for a Ford Pinto and get a Lamborghini. Truth is, it doesn’t happen. If you got a “great deal”, someone cut corners somewhere. A house that is 1000 square feet can easily be a much better home than a 4000 square foot house. They can also cost the same amount. Materials and labor are the bulk of what you pay for. Don’t go cheap on either.

I’m building one right now. Just spent some time hanging insullation this weekend,, WIthout my window ordering mess up I woulda finished the whole thing from the day we broke ground in 8 weeks.. now looking at about 9-10. call me, I just sent you an email,, I would love to give you some advice with what I found out while going through this.

The one suggestion I would give is go into with a possitive attitude. Too many people I talk to said it was the worst expierence they’ve ever had,,, but somehow with my approach I’m having fun with it!

Heres a few things to think about too. You guys up there usually get more snow then us down here but we get our fair share too. If the eaves are fairly wide go the extra protection and use another course of ice and water shield so when the ice dams are freezing and thawing this will keep them from damageing your roof and leaking and then damageing your ceiling, its just a little more money. Also if theres hips and valleys make them run a course of ice and water shield in each valley, theres alot of snow that settles in valleys. Make them do this instead of running just tarpaper, its worth the extra price and its usually not that much more, a few hundred more.

If you have a slope to your lot maybe have them put in underground wireing then mount a plugin to a post for a water garden/small waterfall combination.

Use vented soffits, thier usually no more expensive then the non-vented to make sure your attic area breaths so your roof is cooler in the summer months and theres no frost buildup in the winter. Continuous roof venting that runs along the peak is a good deal too thats works in combination with the vented soffits, if you let the heat excape from your attic you’ll get more life from the shingles. Roofs often reach 140 degrees on hot days and a few days year after year will dryout shingles making them brittle and substancially shorten thier life.

Heres probably the best suggestion is try to find a couple good carpenters that have been swinging a hammer for 20-25 years and have them build you a house. I know a few carpenters that have been since they got out of highschool and the quality and thier know how is the best. Guys like this are fairly hard to find and if you choose a contractor to do the building make sure theres atleast one of those guys running/working on your job. Theres alot of younger guys who are also good carpenters just try to sense how good they are, it will show right away. Spend alot of time on the jobsite looking at whats been done it may make them show a little more craftsmenship and do a better job.

When it comes to drywall tell the contractor you want a fine sprayed texture on the wall instead of a coarse knock down that hides big blemishes. The walls will come out smoother, when thier done finishing then tell them what you want for a final texture. Too many guys don’t do a good job on the second coat when they know theres a knockdown going to be used for the texture, you’ll see the difference.

Like said above try to enjoy yourself with a positive attitude, you’ll enjoy yourself more and the contractor won’t be so reluctant to talk to you because of his past experiences.