Post by redredwine on Feb 21, 2019 12:04:03 GMT -5
We're listing out house next month with an idea of where we want to be next (same city, so a local move) but selling them buying, fully realizing we may have to live somewhere temporarily and that's fine by us.
We have an idea of WHERE we want to be and a growing list of WHAT we want in our next home. I'm super curious about custom home (or prefab plans with some custom options available) but I have ZERO idea of what's truly involved.
What do I need to take into account and consider? I know of a couple of local builders who list plans and "starting at" costs (knowing those are like basic and of course everything extra or even slight upgrades add up)
Let's say I find a buildable lot for $200k that lists that it has all utilities at street, and a custom home plan that "starts at" $200k. I know landscaping, fences, etc. is not included, so add another $50k? maybe? Our budget is $500k. Is it feasible to make this happen? What do I need to take into account?
I'd love to hear about anyones experience to know if I should just write this off.
I live in the PNW FWIW, MCOL. Not looking at a lot larger than 1/2 acre.
Post by aprilsails on Feb 21, 2019 12:52:16 GMT -5
There are two ways to build a house- through a builder where they buy the lot and build you a home based on their designs or your spec, or where you act as the general, and buy your own lot and then find someone to build for you. Option 1 is more likely in the city and suburbs, option2 when you are buying land in the countryside.
In my area, you have to pay cash for the lot and can’t use mortgage towards the lot purchase. This meant we couldn’t pursue Option 2 so I am building Option 1 style. I would start by talking to your mortgage broker about what would be possible from a financial perspective. You’ll also want to start talking to custom builders to see if they have openings. Some can also help you get a lead on a good lot. If not, you could start with a real estate agent and ask them about the lot purchase process and if they have any builder recommendations.
It can be a very long process between permits and construction. Good luck!
We are currently building a custom home. We purchased the land outright then did a construction loan for the build. Typically around here your land value is around 20% of your home value.
I would think it would be very hard to do a custom home for under $300k just because cost of materials has skyrocketed, framers are in such high demand and this tariff stuff with China isn’t completely resolved.
We are currently about $40k over our contracted price and not because of options we chose, but instead because of variable material costs like lumber, cement and gravel. It’s been all consuming for me but I know it will be worthwhile once it’s finished.
There’s a huge difference between production homes (pick a floor plan and some options) and full custom builds. The biggest differences are the carrying of the construction loan (production builders usually carry but with a custom you will generally carry), timeline (4 months vs year+), and selections (pick from options vs open-ended). We ran into trouble with lot financing because we couldn’t buy outright. We did find a production builder with a custom division — they carried the construction loan and we picked one of their floor plans, but had far more options than if we had a built in their neighborhood. Our lot price was 19% of our total home cost.
There’s a huge difference between production homes (pick a floor plan and some options) and full custom builds. The biggest differences are the carrying of the construction loan (production builders usually carry but with a custom you will generally carry), timeline (4 months vs year+), and selections (pick from options vs open-ended). We ran into trouble with lot financing because we couldn’t buy outright. We did find a production builder with a custom division — they carried the construction loan and we picked one of their floor plans, but had far more options than if we had a built in their neighborhood. Our lot price was 19% of our total home cost.
This is exactly what we are doing right now. We’ve been able to customize the house to the tune of knocking out entire walls and reconfiguring the kitchen and bringing in my BIL to build the staircases (he does it for a living and has his own company but is obviously not who our builder usually carries).
I think the builder kind of hates us right now (we are very particular, but we have a lot of experience and family in the industry so we know what we want). We’re 4 months out on a 9 month build! Al we have left to do is finalize the kitchen tile selection, the plumbing fixtures, and figure out a stain colour for the hardwoods.
Post by FrozenSunshine on Feb 24, 2019 3:52:06 GMT -5
We're in the PNW and found a lot we loved that was already owned by the builder, so at that point we were kinda stuck. They called themselves custom builders, but really they would let you modify very few things but part of that was due to town regulations and the town already signing off on some plans (town has max heights/etc..) Our house is on on 3/4 an acre but part of it is restricted wetlands, so we can't build on that part. We wanted that for the privacy. We live in an area where people build on top of each other for water views.
Really we were torn between buying and building so we drove around and saw what we could on our own and had an agent give us some other listings in the areas we were okay with. My parents and brother both found private lots and built by interviewing builders and showing them the lots and seeing what they could do. Last thing my parents wanted to do was buy a lot that wasn't build-able or would cost a ton to back-fill as their forever home.
We bought in a small 9 lot development. We picked the lot our builder already owned, but DH knew him and his sons, which is why we picked his lot.
We picked everything from the plan up. Some finishes were standard for the builder, but we’re talking 9’ ceilings and hardwood as standard.
We carried the construction loan and had to put down 20%. That 20% basically bought us the lots from the builder so we owned the land when they broke ground.
There’s a huge difference between production homes (pick a floor plan and some options) and full custom builds. The biggest differences are the carrying of the construction loan (production builders usually carry but with a custom you will generally carry), timeline (4 months vs year+), and selections (pick from options vs open-ended). We ran into trouble with lot financing because we couldn’t buy outright. We did find a production builder with a custom division — they carried the construction loan and we picked one of their floor plans, but had far more options than if we had a built in their neighborhood. Our lot price was 19% of our total home cost.
This is exactly what we are doing right now. We’ve been able to customize the house to the tune of knocking out entire walls and reconfiguring the kitchen and bringing in my BIL to build the staircases (he does it for a living and has his own company but is obviously not who our builder usually carries).
I think the builder kind of hates us right now (we are very particular, but we have a lot of experience and family in the industry so we know what we want). We’re 4 months out on a 9 month build! Al we have left to do is finalize the kitchen tile selection, the plumbing fixtures, and figure out a stain colour for the hardwoods.
Is your builder the one who poured your foundation backwards? If so, I wouldn’t give a rip what he thinks of you. He should be kissing your ass until the end of time.
This is exactly what we are doing right now. We’ve been able to customize the house to the tune of knocking out entire walls and reconfiguring the kitchen and bringing in my BIL to build the staircases (he does it for a living and has his own company but is obviously not who our builder usually carries).
I think the builder kind of hates us right now (we are very particular, but we have a lot of experience and family in the industry so we know what we want). We’re 4 months out on a 9 month build! Al we have left to do is finalize the kitchen tile selection, the plumbing fixtures, and figure out a stain colour for the hardwoods.
Is your builder the one who poured your foundation backwards? If so, I wouldn’t give a rip what he thinks of you. He should be kissing your ass until the end of time.
He sure is, and that is a big part of why we are a pain in his ass. Oh well.
Is your builder the one who poured your foundation backwards? If so, I wouldn’t give a rip what he thinks of you. He should be kissing your ass until the end of time.
He sure is, and that is a big part of why we are a pain in his ass. Oh well.
Oh, I remember that. If you posted an update, I must have missed it. What did you decide to do? Did he re-pour or did you leave it as is?
@sameoldstory We went back and made a model and did a sun analysis for the lot and it actually makes little difference in the hours of sunlight on the back deck.
We left it as is and he comped all our solid surface upgrades for the kitchens and bathrooms- about 12k worth. This was enough for us.
We really didn’t want to move the closing date since we were pregnant (lost that one). We are now pregnant again and it will all work out better for us.
We are being an absolute thorn in his side. Luckily my BIL is building the stairs (it’s what he does for a living) so we have a man on the inside every couple of weeks to take a thorough look around.
Well, pretty much scrapping the idea. While I can find some decent lots and a builder who can work within our budget, the permit fees are OUTRAGEOUS in our city/county and nearby county. Like $40-80k...and that's just permitting fees/connecting to sewer, etc. Jesus. No wonder our state has a housing crisis and makes sense why new home developments are often starting at $500k for mid-range houses.
Well, pretty much scrapping the idea. While I can find some decent lots and a builder who can work within our budget, the permit fees are OUTRAGEOUS in our city/county and nearby county. Like $40-80k...and that's just permitting fees/connecting to sewer, etc. Jesus. No wonder our state has a housing crisis and makes sense why new home developments are often starting at $500k for mid-range houses.
Ouch. That is a lot. Have you found any serviced lots in your area? I know I’m in the old phase for my builders lots, and his newer lots are smaller and more expensive for the same house because servicing costs have increased so dramatically.
Well, pretty much scrapping the idea. While I can find some decent lots and a builder who can work within our budget, the permit fees are OUTRAGEOUS in our city/county and nearby county. Like $40-80k...and that's just permitting fees/connecting to sewer, etc. Jesus. No wonder our state has a housing crisis and makes sense why new home developments are often starting at $500k for mid-range houses.
Ouch. That is a lot. Have you found any serviced lots in your area? I know I’m in the old phase for my builders lots, and his newer lots are smaller and more expensive for the same house because servicing costs have increased so dramatically.
I don’t know what Serviced lots means… A couple builders I look into do the “on your lot build” One of them I talk to yesterday was super helpful, but confirmed that our main city it’s just almost impossible to work with. 😿
redredwine services lots are more likely in subdivisions and existing developments where the developer has already gotten all of the services in place and gotten the site service permits (generally years ago). My grandfather is a subdivision owner who sells serviced lots and then people are free to bring in their own custom builders. His largest lots are 0.5 acres though so this isn’t in the countryside (and is on the wrong side of town for me to take advantage). His lots already have water, sewer, and electrical ready for construction. He also performs all the excavation work for foundations for the builders. It costs him a great deal to do all the planning and permitting in advance of selling the lot, but then obviously all of that is wrapped into the lot price. It might be an easier pill to swallow.
Unfortunately new home building is a very expensive proposition. We could get a much larger home with higher level finishes if we were to purchase resale. We’re definitely paying a $60,000 premium to get exactly what we want.
redredwine services lots are more likely in subdivisions and existing developments where the developer has already gotten all of the services in place and gotten the site service permits (generally years ago). My grandfather is a subdivision owner who sells serviced lots and then people are free to bring in their own custom builders. His largest lots are 0.5 acres though so this isn’t in the countryside (and is on the wrong side of town for me to take advantage). His lots already have water, sewer, and electrical ready for construction. He also performs all the excavation work for foundations for the builders. It costs him a great deal to do all the planning and permitting in advance of selling the lot, but then obviously all of that is wrapped into the lot price. It might be an easier pill to swallow.
Unfortunately new home building is a very expensive proposition. We could get a much larger home with higher level finishes if we were to purchase resale. We’re definitely paying a $60,000 premium to get exactly what we want.
Ah, gotcha. I have no idea how we find out about these. I know a few large subdivision builders, but they all have set lots and homes are like right within arms reach to each other, which we don't want. I'd pay a premium to get exactly what we want where we want. but we still have to be within our budget and the fees make it not possible (and I'm not even saying I want to build a completely custom top of the line build)