Has anyone ever had their home built

jenna8984

FI and I have been stressing because the homes we want are out of our price range. We already own a starter home that we made a million sacrifices on (example one car garage instead of 2). So now that we're looking to sell and upgrade, we are more picky and don't want to just settle with something that's not what we want.

A kid from my high school that I'm FB friends with is always posting about their home building process so I reached out to him. He told me that he's building a modular home and the total turn key cost (with land and everything) is 210. In our area, everything comparable for sale is around 300-325. So now I'm really interested in that route. I left a message with his builder so I'm waiting to set up an appointment. Just wondering if any of you have been through the process and can give any tips? Pros, cons, did it take longer than expected, did it cost more than expected, did it turn out perfectly?

Sugargirl1019

I am building our first home! The base price plus upgrade price is what you need to get a prepproval letter for a mortgage within the first 30 days of signing papers - the mortgage isn't official until the house is built and you close. We are just in the beginning stages, but we can bounce ideas off each other.

Also you might need a few grand immediately to reserve the dirt. We did.

ETA: I anticipate it costing more than I would like it to. Construction prices went up by 10, 000 instantly so the base price of the house may continue to rise until you sign papers to lock in the price of building supplies.

Get to know the person in the office or model home for the builder. They can help you out a lot in the process and pull some strings for you. Hopefully they are a trustworthy person. We visited about 15 times before signing!

jenna8984

@sugargirl019 That's awesome- must be so exciting! The projections we have from selling our home should give us enough to purchase the land and still have some cash leftover. That's good though that you don't actually start the mortgage until it's complete. Because we'd have to rent an apartment in the meantime.

Do they have an estimated completion date for yours? That kid I know has been saying "2 months" for the last 10 months. So that worries me, all the red tape with the town and permits and inspections that hold up the process.

emmaaa

Fi and I plan to build our first home. We currently rent and only want to have to "buy" once (hopefully). We are both going to be very picky about what we want and some things are non-negotiable. We are also very fortunate that we have two separate properties that we can build on (my family's land and his family's land). The only things holding us back now is waiting for FI to graduate from college and find out where he will get a job. We are hoping it will be in the same area we are in now but it could be out of town or state. We will start the building process shortly after that.

The advantages of building is having so much "say' as to what your house will look like. You can decide you want 4 bedrooms instead of three. And you want a separate dining are from your kitchen. You don't want a window on the eat side of the house so the sun doesn't wake you up in the morning? Great, you can do that. And in the long run, it is often cheaper.

The only drawback in my min is that there are so many tiny details you may have never considered before. Some people think this is overwhelming.

I hope you get some great information!

FiancB

We are really thinking about it. The thing for me is that I would like to have at least 5 acres, more like 10, and in the area I want to be in that is going to be really expensive with a ready-to-go home. Plus there are a lot of little things that we would like to add in. So we are really leaning toward it, but definitely need to do a lot of research and save up a ton of money. Both his parents and mine have built so at least they'll know something about it. I have a couple fb friends that are building right now and I'm super jealous. 

TheGrimReaper

We live in new construction.  The builder was tired of letting the last lot sit empty so they started to build on it.  We bought it when they were 50% of the way finished.  We didn't get to customize much (essentially only the carpet and the bathroom floors), but that was ok with us.  We got all the bells and whistles that we couldn't have afforded on our own, since they threw them in to make the sale. 

 

Sugargirl1019

jenna8984 said:

@sugargirl019 That's awesome- must be so exciting! The projections we have from selling our home should give us enough to purchase the land and still have some cash leftover. That's good though that you don't actually start the mortgage until it's complete. Because we'd have to rent an apartment in the meantime.

Do they have an estimated completion date for yours? That kid I know has been saying "2 months" for the last 10 months. So that worries me, all the red tape with the town and permits and inspections that hold up the process.

Every builder will have their own time frame, but our home completion date is estimated to be January (the longer the better for us). We haven't broken ground yet.

jdluvr06

Congrats sugargirl! You guys must excited. FI and I briefly considered having a house built when we were first talking about moving but in my area if you have a house built you have to move out to the suburbs or the "country" and that wasn't appealing to us.

pinkshorts27

My had their current house built. It was nice because they got to pick out everything! We lived in an apartment when it was being built. I don't have any more info because I was so young, but my parents seemed happy with that decision.

jenna8984

@scribe95 That's awesome coming in under budget!! I feel the same way during my house search, I'd be fine with anything like laminate counters knowing I can switch it out later. But stuff like low ceilings in the basement can't exactly be fixed so I'm trying to be picky with stuff like that. I love how yours worked out, and definitely makes me excited to at least meet with builders and discuss the process!

Lots of happy stories it seems like- yay everybody! We have done SO much work to our current house- new roof, new electrical, new furnace, new windows, new paint, new landscaping, new kitchen counters and appliances. So we are burnt out and just want something new that we don't have to work on! (Trust me we would stay in ours but it's just too small for a family, I bought it when I was single so it's not much bigger than an apartment).

LadyMillil

My sister built her home. I don't know many details about pricing, etc, but I do know that she saved money by getting Boxing Day and Black Friday deals on things like appliances. Her washer and dryer are good quality, but they don't match so she saved a ton of money. She went cheaper on some things that can be upgraded later. Her house has a basement, but she hasn't finished it yet because she isn't sure how many more bedrooms she wants, or if she'll need a full second bath when her FI moves in. She didn't consider outdoor things, so she was short money and has had to slowly take care of things that she couldn't afford when the house was finished. This includes taking down on old, rotten tree, fencing her yard, landscaping, and having a storage shed for her lawnmower and gardening tools.

WinstonsGirl

I've built twice.  You need to be there every day or 2 to keep an eye on everything.  We broke in to our house so many times, and took photos of everything.  You're not supposed to be in them, due to possible dangers, but I've also found walls where there should be doors and other things that need to be fixed.  

I'd recommend paying for a home inspection, if you can get it written in.  Our builder was willing, but they said they only build to minimum code, so if something was recommended that was above it, they wouldn't change it unless we had paid for the upgrade.  We did one after electrical, one after insulation (to check that everything was sealed properly) and one right before possession.  It was worth the money for us.  

Remember that you will still have problems and things to fix after you move in, and it may only be 99% finished when you get it.  My first place had no mirrors for the first 2 weeks.  

I have no experience with modular homes though, so I can't help you there.  Good luck at the meeting

KPBM89

Oh I like this thread!  We've been considering having our next home built on a lakefront lot, and it's good to know tips and timelines.

BreMR

I use to work for a builder and they had a huge checklist of all of the options they could add to your house so it wasn't little things here and there throughout the process... they basically gave you the list of things you wanted (laminate for granite counter tops, basic carpet or upgraded...etc) you'd check them off, they'd price it out and you always had the option to change it later down the road before it was done if you changed your mind about anything.

I would personally like to build for the OP's reasons, just having everything want right out of the gate.  I also need lists because I'm not good at decisions.. so if the builder works that way, I'd be in.

jenna8984

KPBM89 said:

Oh I like this thread!  We've been considering having our next home built on a lakefront lot, and it's good to know tips and timelines.

@kpbm89 Where is this?! There is a lake in my town and just pieces of land on it cost more than a 4 bedroom house.

KPBM89

jenna8984 said:

KPBM89 said:

Oh I like this thread!  We've been considering having our next home built on a lakefront lot, and it's good to know tips and timelines.

@kpbm89 Where is this?! There is a lake in my town and just pieces of land on it cost more than a 4 bedroom house.

We're trying to move further north to be closer to our families, so we're looking in NC.  Kerr Lake is one area we've looked into (VA/NC line) and also Lake Gaston (similar area) and Lake Jordan (closer to the city).  Kerr Lake is a good midway point between my family and where his family is moving to.  Some of the lots are crazy expensive, but they're also in the nice spots, flat, and cleared out.  The ones we're looking at are in the little nooks and crannies.  

jenna8984

@kpbm89 Oh gotcha. Those lakes down south are HUGE. My parents moved to Lake Murray in SC and it's literally 50 times the size of the lake here in MASS. So my lake up here has already been developed and has no spots left which makes it so expensive but the ones down there are so big they are still more than half empty. Good luck

jenna8984

Oh and a giant "fuck you asshole" to the person who posted their home on Realtor.com with 30 pictures of the backyard and none of the house. I swear to God 30 pictures of the flowers, the fountain, the shiny garden ball, the butterflies on the flowers, their dog near the flowers, their dog in a santa outfit. But not one picture of the inside of the house. Who the hell realtor do they have that allowed this posting?!

JaniV123

Good thread Jenna! We have always wanted to buold our own house! Of course this is all about 7+ years down the road to Start the process but it has always been what we wanted

emmaaa

@KPBM89 Jordan Lake is a nice area (not too far from where I live)! It is nice because it is so close to Raleigh, Durham, and Cary and a quick scoot to the highway and interstates for travelling. Plus NC weather is generally amazing. 

lkristenj

jenna8984 said:

Oh and a giant "fuck you asshole" to the person who posted their home on Realtor.com with 30 pictures of the backyard and none of the house. I swear to God 30 pictures of the flowers, the fountain, the shiny garden ball, the butterflies on the flowers, their dog near the flowers, their dog in a santa outfit. But not one picture of the inside of the house. Who the hell realtor do they have that allowed this posting?!

We saw one of those too, but decided to go and look anyway. It was... interesting. Definitely a reason why there was only one interior photo (weird shot of the kitchen). The house was just weird. But, the back yard was super awesome.

ETA - The house was weird enough to where we didn't think it was worth trying to live there. We would have to tear it down and rebuild, which we couldn't do. Loved, loved, loved the yard. Most awesome oak tree ever, bigger around than 3 people linking arms, and branches that covered the entire huge yard. Just beautiful. But we couldn't get over that house.

jenna8984

lkristenj said:

jenna8984 said:

Oh and a giant "fuck you asshole" to the person who posted their home on Realtor.com with 30 pictures of the backyard and none of the house. I swear to God 30 pictures of the flowers, the fountain, the shiny garden ball, the butterflies on the flowers, their dog near the flowers, their dog in a santa outfit. But not one picture of the inside of the house. Who the hell realtor do they have that allowed this posting?!

We saw one of those too, but decided to go and look anyway. It was... interesting. Definitely a reason why there was only one interior photo (weird shot of the kitchen). The house was just weird. But, the back yard was super awesome.

ETA - The house was weird enough to where we didn't think it was worth trying to live there. We would have to tear it down and rebuild, which we couldn't do. Loved, loved, loved the yard. Most awesome oak tree ever, bigger around than 3 people linking arms, and branches that covered the entire huge yard. Just beautiful. But we couldn't get over that house.

Yea I won't even bother looking because it's clear that the yard is the only thing going for it and the house must be a dump, otherwise there would be pics! Hey don't be too bummed, I have a huge oak tree and raking the leaves frigen SUCKS lol.

lkristenj

We found another house that we love and are going to close on June 11 (hopefully).

It was an awesome yard with an awesome workshop that FI would die for. Plus a generator and a well. Maybe they were preppers? But, it looked like they just rigged what they wanted in the house and had lots of "repairs/improvements" that we just couldn't understand, like an extension cord from beside the bathroom sink to above the toilet. The power strip was mounted underneath the cabinet over the toilet, as in permanently attached. So you could plug more things in under that cabinet, I guess. There was also a bar (not a wet bar) in the middle of the floor. It would have been an open kitchen/living area, but had this ugly island bar take up the whole middle, splitting the flooring types (carpet in living, tile in kitchen) and completely taking up a lot of the space. Plus, the cabinets (yes it had upper cabinets) were too short to actually see under without ducking, so it was like a big column of counter and cabinet in the middle of the room. So weird. Definitely one of the weirdest houses I've ever seen. Live Oak trees are at least evergreens and don't shed all their leaves at once, though I know from my parent's house that they do drop them and it can be a pain.

Jells2dot0

This is going to sound strange, but other than being in college, I have never lived in a pre-existing home! My parents have always built and I have always built! It has always been nice to have things exactly the way we want them, but the hardest part is to contain myself when designing it. I always go a little above and beyond and this last time, my DH had to set ground rules to maintain the price point we wanted to stay in. I did well and DH was so proud  

Another point is inspections. The builders have inspections set at certain points during the build and also upon delivery. You may want to hire an outside inspector prior to delivery and a year after just to ensure all aspects of the construction are to code and complete. 

jenna8984

@jells2dot0 That is awesome! for some reason in my mind I always associated "build" with super rich people, or at least more expensive than existing. It very well may be if it's stick built with all the upgrades, but after talking to the guy from my high school modular is really affordable. And he was still able to tweak the layout and make changes, add a garage, add a jacuzzi tub, stuff like that. I'm excited that it's a possibility!

lkristenj

The only way we could have built instead of bought is if we were willing to go WAY out of the city. Houston is HUGE and sprawl is always happening. I work in the city. Not downtown, but certainly near "the loop". For those not familiar with Houston, it's hub-and-spoke highway system is basically two circles (may be three in several years) one smaller inside the other, crossed by various other east/west, north/south, diagonal highways. The inner circle is "the Loop", the outer is "the Beltway". I work at the Loop and live barely inside the Beltway. It takes me 30 minutes to go the 6 miles from my home to my work, and even longer to get home, so location was a huge deal to me to avoid living most of my life in traffic. While I would love to have land and build a house, we would have to go out 30-50 miles to do that and I just could not handle a commute that long. I could build in Katy, though it's growing so much most of the convenient locations are taken and it's getting more and more expensive. So, we settled for buying in an area built in the 50s but seems to be heading toward a time of rebuilding with better quality homes in the not-too-distant future. We hope this mean that our home will increase in value as the lots become more valuable for their location. Lots of flipping going on in the neighborhood with people buying the older homes that need work, upgrading kitchens, bathrooms, and finishes, then selling again. We looked at two homes that smelled strongly of sawdust and paint. We could not afford to build within the Beltway and you better believe all that land was developed long ago.

Location, location, location. I'm hoping our gamble pays off, but we like the area anyway and it's near family. I know that it's just my experience with this crazy city, but it might be worth mentioning. I admit that I would love to have a new home or even build. We could get exactly what we wanted, but unfortunately, it would mean just too much of my day spent in the car that I'm not willing to give up. We're getting pretty close to everything we want in this home anyway.

Inkdancer

emmaaa said:

@KPBM89 Jordan Lake is a nice area (not too far from where I live)! It is nice because it is so close to Raleigh, Durham, and Cary and a quick scoot to the highway and interstates for travelling. Plus NC weather is generally amazing. 

Jordan Lake bros! I'm in southwest Wake County.

jenna8984

@Ikristenj I am not familiar with Houston but I didn't realize it was that traffic-y. Sounds like you made a really good choice. I feel your pain and I refuse to drive more than my current 35 minutes to work. I live in MA (a small suburb an hour from Boston). FI and I could make more money working IN Boston but we can't afford to live any closer and we can't fathom the 1.5 hour drive each way so we settle for the lower salary out where we live.

emmaaa

Inkdancer said:

emmaaa said:

@KPBM89 Jordan Lake is a nice area (not too far from where I live)! It is nice because it is so close to Raleigh, Durham, and Cary and a quick scoot to the highway and interstates for travelling. Plus NC weather is generally amazing. 

Jordan Lake bros! I'm in southwest Wake County.

I'm in Southeast Alamance! Small world.

KPBM89

jenna8984 said:

@kpbm89 Oh gotcha. Those lakes down south are HUGE. My parents moved to Lake Murray in SC and it's literally 50 times the size of the lake here in MASS. So my lake up here has already been developed and has no spots left which makes it so expensive but the ones down there are so big they are still more than half empty. Good luck

Thanks!  And yes, there are some huge lakes down south!  We love Georgia right now, but it's just such a hassle to travel so far all the time (our two dogs can't fly, so we always drive between 24 and 36 hours, depending which family we're visiting).  I suggested we look at NC and FI was totally on board.  And when I suggested we build on a lake lot, he got really excited and said "hell yes, let's do it!"  We won't be moving until next year most likely, hopefully around this same time because our contracts will all end for cable, insurance, and all that good stuff.  

@emmaaa and @inkdancer I think FI is really liking Jordan Lake b/c it's so close to the cities!  His dad currently lives in Cary for work and his mom is going to be moving there once her last son goes to college.  He's not sure he wants to be that close to his parents, but he definitely likes the closeness to the city so there are more companies and jobs.

emmaaa

KPBM89 said:

jenna8984 said:

@kpbm89 Oh gotcha. Those lakes down south are HUGE. My parents moved to Lake Murray in SC and it's literally 50 times the size of the lake here in MASS. So my lake up here has already been developed and has no spots left which makes it so expensive but the ones down there are so big they are still more than half empty. Good luck

Thanks!  And yes, there are some huge lakes down south!  We love Georgia right now, but it's just such a hassle to travel so far all the time (our two dogs can't fly, so we always drive between 24 and 36 hours, depending which family we're visiting).  I suggested we look at NC and FI was totally on board.  And when I suggested we build on a lake lot, he got really excited and said "hell yes, let's do it!"  We won't be moving until next year most likely, hopefully around this same time because our contracts will all end for cable, insurance, and all that good stuff.  

@emmaaa and @inkdancer I think FI is really liking Jordan Lake b/c it's so close to the cities!  His dad currently lives in Cary for work and his mom is going to be moving there once her last son goes to college.  He's not sure he wants to be that close to his parents, but he definitely likes the closeness to the city so there are more companies and jobs.

There is also Hyco Lake, which is one of my favorites, but it isn't very close to anything but would be a little further from parents. It is near Roxboro