A lot of times, I have asked questions on here to get feedback from people I know have no stake in it. Wanted to share my experience if anyone else is considering building a home. Current house has been too small ever since my daughter was born over 12 yrs ago. It also has no ground floor bedrooms, which is a problem for my wife's parents when they visit. Had looked for years to find something that fits our needs and found that hard to define. Finally decided to just build new and hope it fits our needs for awhile. Started the paperwork before Christmas and have not broken ground yet. Can understand why everyone does not build new because we have so far paid 30k in retainers and another 20% of the home value. Estimating August before we can move in. That is a lot of time to have that much money sitting. Building new also requires a different type of loan. While I have seen 15yr conventional loans under 2%, the construction loan runs about 3.5%. That can be refinanced after but will add cost. I originally had planned on using my bank since it has usually low rates but our builder only works with a few different banks. Said they had run into too many problems with accepting just any bank since they do not release all of the money at one time. The upgrade process was also an experience. What some builders consider standard or an upgrade definitely varies. First time we went to pick out options, we did not complete everything and had added 15% to the final purchase price. After making choices on the earlier selections to trim the price and adding the final items, ended up adding about 25%. Did not get 100% of what we wanted, but close. Are also not going to be paying forever on a mortgage and should have a house that does not need repairs for awhile.
Did you find your own builder and lot? I know a lot of these days, they have the KB homes, etc who do big cookie cutter shit.
Builder we used is doing six houses in a small subdivision. There were quite a few options for house design and then interior upgrades. They have flexibility to deviate, but it costs more.
From what I've gathered in my research, figure to spend at least 20-30% of the price of the house in upgrades. At least, that's what the big builders in Vegas are suggesting.
There is some variance in builders but that is pretty accurate. One builder we looked at started with a higher price but allowed for downgrades. Ours it made sense to upgrade some things now while it was being built, but silly on other options. For example, we could have done blinds now but all of them would have been the same. For some rooms, we wanted light but others no. Did not like the fridge options either but not hard to buy one of those. One option we are doing is as many computer wall connections as possible. Could probably get a nice wireless setup but would rather be secure in as many spots as possible.
Our price was locked in December. We hear complaints from the builder that they are not making any money because of that and Washington changing heat pump requirements. Our builder uses 2x6's over 2x4's, so it may affect them more. I am guessing they are going to survive. Thanks. Looking forward to so many things with the new place. Not sure I will miss anything about the one we are moving out of. My wife had it built right before we met. Nice home but nothing in the house was of my choosing.
Expect Lumber prices to be astronomical. In the town I work in, some builders have great reputations. Find out if your "Custom Builder" has done substantial work in the Township or borough you are having the house built. Be aware the Zoning officer may be a prick. Will the roof be trussed or will dimensional rafters be installed? Will you have septic or public sewer? I'm sure hurricane straps like Teco or Simpson strong tie are required by the IRC and seismic bracing requirements should be expected to. It's worth the $ if you choose a poured foundation wall system. Your frame is better if 2"x6" studs are used for insulation depth and stronger dimensional capabilities than 2"x 4" studs. Will the HVAC system be installed in the attic? Heat pumps are good in mild weather and the costs are more than hi efficient direct vent furnaces but HP compressor life is shorter. Does your municipality require a residential sprinkler system _( huge cost). Plan on a finished basement in the future ($$$). If you can get the pdf off the plans, I can help. You can PM me. Good Luck!
The group we are working with does a lot of work in the area. With it being in an addition, the zoning should not be an issue. Two houses are very deep into building. Was told the permit would take longer due to the size of the house though (4k sq ft). Will check on the roof but believe it will be trussed. Public sewer. Not sure on Hurricane straps out here but think they are building differently here due to earthquake probability being higher. Did not have an option with this builder for foundation. Do not believe it is poured and did not have the daylight option. Local rules mandated the heat pump. Sprinkler system was not required but included. Will see if I can get a pdf and see if there are any issues you see. Thanks!
My avatar says it and I like being a smart fella rather than a smart ass. I've been in this field for 36 years, retired as a home inspector after 25 years, work as a municipal building, fire and housing inspector for ten years as well as a home inspector. I retired, came back and now entering my fourth year in this small South Jersey borough as a fire, housing, code enforcement, multiple dwelling and Commercial/Industrial/Residential (ICS) building inspector. Next month, two storage/multi use group structures will be built along with a 105 house/apartment development. One of the storage buildings will have a UPS facility. I'll be the guy involved in that and now have to work another day (damn).
The insurance company should give you a discount for the R-13 sprinkler system. If you have public water the pressure will be advantageous vs. a well. Also, for the trussed roof frame, send a documented letter and invite the local Fire department to inspect the house and cc: the insurance company. Also locate the fire hydrant and measure to the house for insurance benefits. Fighting a trussed roof fire is utterly different than dimensional rafters. I never heard of a municipality requiring a heat pump unless there is no gas supply. Check out how a roof mounted solar system could be discounted/credited by the great State of Oregon. Seismic parameters would required strapping the water heater (typically if gas fired) and house post/roof sections. NJ does not have seismic provisions in the residential code yet but we have our own edition so your codes will be regionally adapted. I'm excited for you and your family.
All roofs are trussed that I know of. Some trusses are built at the factory and some are custom built at the home.
I live across the bridge in Vancouver. Pay no ncome tax here and can drive to Oregon to shop tax free. Washington state is phasing out gas. The builder wrote the bill of sale with a gas furnace, so it costs us nothing more. Already know that water heaters must be strapped down but will look into the roof.
My price is locked, so it should just be their profit margin that suffers. Hopefully they are not cutting corners to make this up. Says quieter BCI floor joits and Tyvek house wrap weather barrier come standard. Other upgrades we opted for were pull out trays for the cabinets (which we should have too many), insulated garage, BIB insulation, under mounted sinks in all five bathrooms, and grab bars in the down stairs bathrooms. Guessing the garage will still have air leaks. Solar roof panels were not an option but want to look into it once the house is complete. Keeping the attic cool was one of my concerns and that would seem like one way to remove the majority of heat. The other benefits are cool too.
Curious what your $/sq ft ended up at. We're finding in TN they're hovering somewhere around $200/st ft, give or take.
Price started at $150 and is hovering around $175. In the initial design, it had 400 less square feet. We converted the open area above the living room to a second floor bonus room for only 10k, which helped our number. We were trying to be practical during the upgrades but did spend on the kitchen, bathrooms, and anything we thought was a good investment.
I think it falls under this, but cannot give you the exact reason. Do know the 2018 code took effect Feb 1 of this year. https://www.biaw.com/building-codes/ Will email the builder but vaguely remember him saying something about using renewable energy.
