Building a House

[ageecee]

AG,
Certainly at a minimum, you would want 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, which would be in the 1800-2600sq.ft. range. But as you add another bedroom, another bath, maybe screened porch, or outdoor area you would be in the 4000 range.....

Its 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths . But i want a study room as a "My Room" to watch TV, have recliner, etc, etc. So that would make it a 4 bedroom even though study room will be small. So if you add a 22x22 garage with a patio in back and porch in front it starts to be getting up there in total square footage.



I really dont want to go past 3200-3500 total square footage.


I hear people say it costs $100 per square foot to build. Is this accurate? i guess it depends on where you build? But then i was told you can do it for $85 a square foot.

 

[Ravenous]

You will want to get a separate checking account that you use for nothing other than housing related expenses. If something goes into home construction, pay for it out of that account. That way you will be able to verify the total cost of the house without having to go through all your personal expenses.

 

[ageecee]

Thanks ravenous good idea. Im sure the wifey will keep every receipt, and every check we write for the construction of the house. Shes the organized person of the household.



Almost got the plans we want. Total sq . footage will be around 3700. I might downsize a few rooms and get it down to about 3400 we shall see.

 

[Danny Noonan]

We are just finishing our 4th house. 3 of them have been on a "cost plus" basis, 1 on a contract (turnkey). My advice is to find a reputable builder who will build cost plus his flat percentage applied to the construction costs not including the lot. The builder's take is 10%, and we use whatever we want in the house. Example, we used icynene insulation instead of cellulose or bat. The good part of this is that your budget is yours to manage. There are no allowances that you are restricted by. If you want to go over the budget estimates, you do so knowing that it will cost you 10% of the total construction cost at the end. Just make sure that your budget has a good basis, ie recent construction of similar quality. Good luck.

 

[ageecee]

Cost basis is where you do the subcontracting? Correct?

And turnkey is where the builder does all the subcontracting?

 

[MadJack]

here's an option you might want to look into.

http://ubuildit.com/custom-home/frequent-questions.html

these guys help you all the way through and even supply their subcontractors if you want or you can use your own.

i think they get 7%-10%