What would be the best steps in building your own home????

Question

WE HAVe NEVER EVEN BOUGHT A HOME AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE BEST STEPS TO BUILDING A HOME SHOULD WE BY LAND FIRST THEN BUILD?? SHOULD WE GET A LAND HOME PACKAGE? SERIOUSLY WE ARE JUST BLIND TO THE WHOLE THING AND NEED INFO (PLEASE HELP) THANKS

We live in up north Michigan and the land is very cheap 3 acres for 14,000 and if you buy a house already built well its an old farm house with small rooms and a very unopen floor plan so we can build a 1,700sq ft hm for 65,000 plus land 14,000 your at 80,000 with out paying the contractor what option is best??????

Answer 1

Honestly, I don't think anyone but you is qualified to answer this - but I can provide a little guidance ;)

Buying land and building on it isn't so simple. Just a sample, you are faced to dealing with a number of considerations:
1. Public utility connections - who is going to hook your house up to electricity, sewage, water, etc.? The contractor? Does the local municipality even offer these services in that area?
2. Architect - you have to hire someone to "build" your home. This could be a cookie cutter they have, or something exot that you think of
3. Engineer (you'll need this if you get crazy enough with #2 :)
4. Contractor - you have to find several with good reputations, and then have them bid against each other for the best deal
5. Lending - this might be more difficult as you won't have a major developer vouching for the job in question - remember, you'll have to manage the budget yourself.
6. Permits - you can probably leave this up to your contractor, but do you even have permission to build on this land? You might need permits for that.
7. Inspections - again, you can probably leave this up to the builder, but you're ultimately responsible for making sure all of these are taken care of.

That's just high level. In the case of purchasing a home package, you are limited in some things (i.e. home options), but all of the background work is handled by the developer - and in mass developments, they can do this per house at a cheaper rate then you can get doing it yourself. You might benefit from these savings, or not - depending on the margin the developer asks for.

Start doing your homework (i.e. search for local folks that built their own homes and look around for new development options). Have the development folks explain the entire process for you - take good notes! - and then do comparable research for each of those steps as if you had to handle it yourself.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Find an architect you like and respect and go look at some of his/her work so you can see if you like the work also. The architect can also give you an idea of cost and that may decide how much land you need to buy and where you can buy it. A land home deal might make some sense, but it depends on how much control you retain over the design. Good luck!

Answer 3

being your own contractor can save you money, but only if you are very highly organized and have the skills and temperament to manage subs. Plus, it's not an evening and weekend kind of thing. You'll have to be able to visit the job site many times during the week, while the contractors are there, to solve problems and/or answer questions. Plus, keep change orders to a bare minimum. Contractors hate them and they'll financially butt-rape you for it.

Answer 4

in my opinion, it would be better to buy a land first and build your own house ... in that way you would be able to design your house and you will know the durability since you bought the materials yourself ... unlike with subdivisions you're not so sure if the materials will last long .... the bottom line is : stick to what you can afford so that you won't be having problems in the future ....

Answer 5

I would buy the land first and build after the land is paid off to keep my monthly expenses reasonable.

Answer 6

heh...it's funny the way you ask that...when you say build a home you mean have someone else build it.....lol...I mean ...it sounds like your building a custom home but...you've never bought one before?...usually first time home buyers will take on a slightly used house...as a starter...our first house which we are currently in is a two story in a nice neighborhood...theres a couple drawbacks to it...we have a retaining wall and the square footage is not high, but we like it...i suggest going to a real estate agent and finding something in your price range...worry about custom homes later...

Answer 7

the best steps would be the front steps because everyone sees them 1st