Wifey and I did in this 1993. I visited the site ever 2 or 3 days and took pictures of every phase of construction, especially of the plumbing and the other in-wall constructions; might save on future repairs and/or remodeling operations. It took about 8 months from ground breaking to final punch list and move-in. Contractor gave us a timeline sheet of the various fixtures (lights, paint colors, wallpaper, carpet, etc.) and things we had to pick out from the vendors. Wifey made a binder of all things we selected; she's an "anal-yst" by profession--that's what she does.

I would agree with everything the others have said about their experiences. Watch the Tom Hanks "Money Pit" movie for an exaggeration of what goes wrong. Good Luck with your endeavors.

As a custom builder for the past 30 plus years I could write a thesis on the subject.

I agree with the comments that you should do your due dillegence and find a smaller builder who will be onsite daily. Also, ask how long he has been using his primary subs. Talk the his major building supplier and ask about his payment history etc.
If your state allows it get a Mechanic Lien Agent (MLA) who will verify that no liens have been placed on your property by unpaid subs/vendors prior to each draw.

I could go on but please feel free to reach out to me via email in my profile and I'll be glad to go into further detail offline.

It can be a very exciting time!

Wife and I bought 6 acres in PA. Built a log home ourselves. Did a log home kit from Lincoln Logs (yes, really). 1650 sq. ft., ranch, 3 bedroom, full basement, lots of covered porch.

Both being teachers we did most of it ourselves. Subcontracted: septic, basement, excavation, heating system. We did the rest, including plumbing and electrical. At the time it took 16 inspections from stakeout to final (coincidentally it took us 16 months as well).

On the other hand, if you are getting a contractor to build it for you, there is a lot of good advice above. I concur on the idea of a small contractor vs. a large one. A bank liking him/her (from previous experience) would be good. I would also STRONGLY recommend the talking to previous customers. Then, the better you get to know him, and he gets to know you, the more likely you will like the results.

With the prevalence of lawyers today, papers to protect everybody are pretty well a requirement. Since my "big" purchase was a kit, that was one of my few worries. The subcontractors I used I dealt with face to face and I paced the construction. I did not have a big crew working the site at any time. It was me, wife, sometimes friends and sometimes a contractor, which I was overseeing. This worked for me very well. It lengthened the construction time, some would say "notably".

To repeat what I would believe is vitally important- The better you know you contractor, the more you and he are on the same page, the more likely things will work out. In hindsight, I don't think it would be a bad idea to talk ideas over dinner with the potential contractor. There needs to be a trusting friendship here that will exist at least for the time of the build. I would take it as a good sign if he thinks this will be a new friend, for a long time to come.

Doing it right now. We close on the construction loan on Monday. All I can say is it will take longer than you think it should. Over a year from when we started the house design to closing on the loan. Now we build.

We lost our first builder half way through the house design process and had to go find another and basically start the process over. For the best. We like this builder much better.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by matai:
I live in the Puget Sound area and my wife and I are thinking about purchasing land and building a house with a builder that does custom homes and helps manage the whole project.

Anybody ever done that before? Any pitfalls to avoid?

Yes, the wife and I have that T-shirt.
1. Fully vet the builder.
2. Have a contract outlining real, enforceable penalties for non performance on his part. Needs to be severe enough to keep them on task. Ours was not strong enough and our little POS played the game of slowing or stopping work. When you carry the building loan you need leverage to make sure they perform.
3. Learn to love the phrase "sure we can do that but it's gonna cost ya".
4. Be prepared to spend a lot of time watching over the process. No one will care how things are done as much as you and you have to live with the end product.

We've had better luck where they own the land etc... And we agree to purchase at said price being able to pick all the cabinets, carpet etc.... They are carrying the loan and are much more motivated to keep the project moving along.

We moved into our home in January. We started construction last April. We had biught the land a couple years ago.

I drew the plans and wrote the specs(engineer).

Our builder was decent. We did a cost+ arrangement where his fee was a fixed percentage. Prior to signing we obtained bids for all the major items and the builder provided costs for the minor ones. The house is built to my specs. I picked the HVAC, plumbing, lights, windows, etc. We had one change order - a couple windows were originally too small. In the end we were about 3% over budget.

The project ran longer than originally intended. That's my one and only complaint with my builder. The process was still an emotional roller coaster, especially at the end.

My advice: Get a general contractor. Talk it over with him. Go over the project onsite and explain your goal. If the GC won't give you an itemized cost breakdown or requires you to use his preferred products for windows or HVAC, etc. then find another builder. I called over two dozen and interviewed 7 before finding the one who built my house.

Plan on being onsite at least weekly at first and then almost daily towards the end. Ask the subcontractors for advice about how they would do their own house. The subs will give you very good advice within their specialties.

Focus on building a relationship with your GC and with the really important subs. Get to know the installing contractor for your HVAC.

Do not go with builder grade windows, HVAC, plumbing, or paint.

Take tons and tons of photos. Take photos of every wall in every room after electrical and plumbing are roughed in. The photos will help if you ever need to know how something is routed.

Plan for a big mechanical room. If you're doing well water plan room for the pressure tank and filtration system.

Ask for 1" pex minimum for your water trunk lines.

Plan on buying a tractor and a ton of yard tools. When you own enough land to be called land you need a whole different level of tools than city folk require.

I haven't read through the whole thread, but from a guy with firsthand experience buying property and building:

1) don't agree to cost plus unless you have a cap
2) try to set a drop dead date he gets penalized for going past
3) keep up with every change order yourself, don't trust anyone else to do it
4) go by the site from the beginning every day. Take pics, measure, whatever, and record it all in a building file. You WILL pull this file out in a few years and be glad you kept up with it.

People ask my wife and I if we'd do it again, and I always say the same thing: not with this wife, and I'm not planning to get another one.

EDIT: Just saw the post above mine, amazing what we both said that was so similar. I will add that we also did the 1" minimum water line into all showers, etc, and didn't regret that.

Wow. Lots of conflicting advice. My best guess is every house is an individual, as are the builders and contractors. Every house will have little problems and the owners can cause a bunch of trouble. I have a friend who comforted me during our process 7 years ago. His comment was if you built 10 houses in your lifetime, you'd still find things you wish you'd done differently.

We didn't buy land and build on it. We tore down the house we'd lived in for 15 years and rebuilt on the same site. We found a sort of large builder who had a home she liked. Started out with minimal modifications to their design. We just reversed where the kitchen and living room were. Our reasoning was I wanted the kitchen near the front door so we wouldn't need to haul groceries across the living room. Its worked well so far.

In the past people would hire an agent to help oversee the building process. The person was usually a retired builder who was very familiar with the process. He didn't have the authority to even talk with the subs, but he could call the builder if he saw something he didn't like.

We were one of only 2 houses they were building in this part of Kentucky a the time. No one else was building because it was the middle of Obama's recession. I met the other guy and talked with him a few times. He did a better job of monitoring what was going on than I did. I was recovering from bypass surgery at the time and trying to work, too. The carpentry worked really well and gave me a bunch of confidence. The carpenters were Amish and Mennonite. The inspector said I need not worry, that every board and nail would be perfect. I wish it had gone so well with the drywall.

The other guy went home at lunch and threw a fit. The contract called for every sheet of drywall to be nailed, screwed and glued. I had no idea that was needed or desirable. But when he got home for lunch, nearly all his living room was covered and only one tube of glue was in the trash. If they were gluing, they were only putting one dab on each sheet. All the dry wall came back off and with almost none glued. Yes the drywall guys didn't speak English, and I doubt any of them had proper papers. I have no idea how mine is stuck to the frame.

I made a side deal with the electrical contractor. It was cheap from my perspective, I just wanted twice as many outlets as the plans called for. I'd spent my life looking for an outlet where I needed one. Now I've got them all over with lots of open places.

My friend made a suggestion I didn't do. He suggested all walls be insulated. Not for heat or cold, but for noise suppression.

One thing I didn't understand was the HVAC. I just figured it was a stock house and the original architect had put them in the plans. Not so. Each house is subbed out to the lowest bidder. We have an enormous great room with 2 heating vents. Right by a 24x40 foo glass wall. Our master bedroom has the same number and size vents and has a 9 foot ceiling. On the plus side, its nice and toasty in the winter and cool in the summer.

Some of it is my fault for wanting the house facing due east. Who knew the sun comes up over there. Besides I was working at that time and never saw the morning sun. My workaround is to sleep in until the sun goes over the roof.

And allow cash money for the landscaping. You typically don't get that in the contract. The landscaping therefore won't be included in the financing. And don't scrimp like I did. I got a few loads of topsoil, but it was river bottom muck, not forest floor loam. Yes, the good stuff costs more. I'd lived on this site for 15 years and we had a fine lawn. The builder just excavated and spread the bed rock out to suit himself. Pretty much like thousands of marlboro packs all over. It seems OK now the old lawn is taking back over, pushing out the clover and weeds. The first few years I thought I'd spend a bundle buying topsoil in bags from Home Despot. Now looking back, I don't have $100 in the stuff, and its working out OK for us. I'm learning the fine art of spreading a 40# bag over a large area. It doesn't kill the grass you have and if you do it a few times it raises the low spots enough.

So now its a good experience. And I'll never build another house. I hate contractor grade things. Its cheaper than "made in china". Doesn't last as long either.

quote:

Originally posted by David W:

quote:

Originally posted by XLT:
look for a small independent contractor stay away from the big name guys as I will guarantee you will be nothing more then a project number as they have done it hundreds of times before. I would highly suggest going on houzz.com and look up builders in your area there you can see their work and read their reviews. here is my houzz

https://www.houzz.com/pro/raybly/ray-bly-cabinetry

You are on the wrong coast!

meaning ??

About 15 years ago in Texas we built a custom on 15 acres. We took out a construction loan vs putting any of our own money at risk. The bank inspected the work along the way and paid the builder a specified amount at the completion of each phase after successful inspection. Typically $30k per phase. Of course we paid some interest along the way. But our down payment money only was used when we converted the loan to a conventional loan at the end.
Our builder showed us about 5 homes of the quality he builds. He builds only houses of similar quality - like crown molding, granite counters, tiles, etc. and we met with his long time subs too. So the guys that did his framing, tile work, plumbing, paint and trim, appliances, AC, and foundation. It was important to know his main subs were with them for 10+ years or so. We had about $35k that we could spend on upgrades as we saw fit. So like upgrades on tile or wood floors, or whatever. It spends quick though. Of course my wife and the builders wife got a little carried away and tended to go overboard. The builder was a 3rd gen home builder so I think that was important too. Anyone can call themselves a builder. The banker also knew them and worked with him a long time. He also let us talk to some of his previous clients so we got their opinions as well.

Good luck and enjoy it.

We did this in 1999. Bought land about 200 miles from where we were living at the time. We found a local builder with a good reputation, one who was known to be on the job sites on a regular basis, living about one mile from our property. We asked for and were given local references to check out.

I burned lots of money on gas and motel rooms driving to the place to meet with the contractor to make decisions. Before we staked out the foundation, I spent time noticing where the sun rose and set, asked and noted the prevailing winds. Those two things helped me decide on both how the house should sit and the interior layout. We ended up with great views, and deck space that is comfortable to use in the summer.

Not sure what your family situation is like but since we had little kids we chose cheap kitchen cabinets, doors, and carpet. We let the kids pick colors and such. For us both of these things were good decisions. Now that the kids are gone we are upgrading.

Ours was a bit more stressful as I had to also spent time looking for a job in the area while the house was being built.

Would I do it again? Yes.

Silent

I am a small builder in the Puget Sound region.
In Washington a General Contractor only needs to be licensed and bonded. We don't take a test for general knowledge so try to find a contractor with field experience that actually knows how to build.
If you're financing through a bank the bank will disburse funds monthly based on progress. Have the bank disburse the money to you for distribution, you in turn have your General Contractor bring you his material and labor bills and you write checks directly to the subs and suppliers and your General Contractor so they need dual endorsements. Remember that your home is the collateral for that loan, you might want to discuss this with your bank.
Negotiate the General Contractor's profit and overhead and the payment schedule for those items up front. You may want to with hold profit and overhead until completion. However, expect to pay the General Contractor for their time and efforts on your job monthly.
The Department of Labor and Industries has a website that lists legal actions against Contractors in the state, before you hire one, consult it.
You will need a very good contract, the lien laws in this state are Kafkanesque to put it mildly. Pay close attention to conflict resolution.
I could be typing for days. I'll stay on this thread. Let's me know if you would like to speak and we can make that happen.

I am also in Puget Sound area (Snohomish Co.) and have a friend who is a real estate agent/developer. MANY nightmares in regards to permitting process and requirements as well as interference and legal challenges from would be neighbors over land use.

My friend actually subdivided his lot and built our house for us in the new plat. We were involved in selecting floor plan, finishes, fixtures, etc. but it was his project and while built for us specifically, it was still a regular sale and we were not legally involved until it was complete and we purchased the end product.

Given my first hand knowledge of that process, I would think long and hard before taking it on myself. Of course where it is specifically may reduce the hassle and risk. If you have 10 acres in rural Skagit county, probably going to be much easier than developing a 3500sq foot parcel in city of Everett.


Best of luck and hope it all goes well.

quote:

Originally posted by XLT:

quote:

Originally posted by David W:

quote:

Originally posted by XLT:
look for a small independent contractor stay away from the big name guys as I will guarantee you will be nothing more then a project number as they have done it hundreds of times before. I would highly suggest going on houzz.com and look up builders in your area there you can see their work and read their reviews. here is my houzz

https://www.houzz.com/pro/raybly/ray-bly-cabinetry

You are on the wrong coast!

meaning ??

Wish you were on my coast so you could build my house. I tend to trust our Sigforum members.

I did something similar, but with a steel building. If/when I do it again, I would like to go with ICF. The list of things I would do differently just keeps growing.

quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:
We're seriously contemplating building the shell out of ICF blocks and sub-contracting out some of the components, but mostly just doing it ourselves.

We did it. Bought the land and owned it several years. Cleared some of the timber. Then did a construction-perm loan and built the house we've lived in for 20+ years now.

We had blueprints created and then shopped it to several contractors and accepted bids on the job.

Make sure the bank has someone who will handle the checking up on the contractor(s) and doling out the construction money. Make sure the builder knows the alotments the bank will use: For instance, our builder spent a hefty percentage getting our slab in, but the banks paperwork only alots say 5 or 10 % of the full amount for the slab. The builder was upset, but nothing to do about it. He started out behind on funds and stayed that way until he got the final payment at the end...

Can't think of anything else at the moment, but I'll drop back in the thread if I do, or if you have questions.

quote:

Originally posted by Anubismp:
I've been considering the same thing also in the Puget Sound so please post what you decide and who you talk to.

Uno mas aqui ... same same

Thinking new modern factory built with latest tech including zero net energy. Seattle is so expensive that I can get a way better deal out in the sticks w a view of Puget Sound on some acreage for less than a stick framed house in town.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:

quote:

Originally posted by Anubismp:
I've been considering the same thing also in the Puget Sound so please post what you decide and who you talk to.

Uno mas aqui ... same same

Thinking new modern factory built with latest tech including zero net energy. Seattle is so expensive that I can get a way better deal out in the sticks w a view of Puget Sound on some acreage for less than a stick framed house in town.

I'm currently thinking ICF but its tough to find a neighborhood I like, seems like you have to pick your poison in a lot of areas. I'd like to find 5 AC so I could shoot on my property. Also I don't think I'm meant to have neighbors so some stand off distance would be nice.

How did everyone go about planning the actual house? I've been digging through architecture books and drawing a few things up. My brother in law is an architect who does a lot of concrete work so that seems lucky if we go ahead.

quote:

Originally posted by Anubismp:

How did everyone go about planning the actual house? I've been digging through architecture books and drawing a few things up. My brother in law is an architect who does a lot of concrete work so that seems lucky if we go ahead.

We bought a magazine of house plans, and bought a plan from them, which was modified on site.

My wife was the "general contractor" and everything went well. We had a great banker. It was a great experience.

Anubismp - We went to builders shows to see a variety of contractors and construction methods. Then we bought catalogs from the different home kit companies. Seriously considered timber frame homes as well as log homes. Took some 2 years to decide on a log home. Found our land early in that period. Also considered buying, remodeling a house during that time rather than building. Had family doing that and living an extended period in a reconstruction site did not appeal.