Build Your Own Home FAQ’s

• Why would I want to build my own home?

Click here to see the article on this site.

• I am not experienced. In fact I know nothing about building.

That’s fine. To be sure, that is the very reason most people will not even entertain the idea of building their own home. BUT!!! Think about it. Exactly what does a professional builder do?

1. He buys a lot to build a house on and then sells it to you at a profit. Nothing wrong with that, after all, he is in business to feed his family.
2. He advertises so folks like you will know he is a builder of fine homes.
3. He knows and hires sub-contractors in the area to clean the site, pour the foundation, do the plumbing, install electrical, etc., etc. He also hires a professional inspector to inspect every phase of the project.
4. He has a handful of financial friends that guide you along the borrowing process.
5. He has a few samples of carpeting, cabinets, tile, roofing, etc. for you to choose from. Of course if you pick the nice upgrades the cost goes up.

Now really think about it.

1. Could you do a little research and find a good professional building inspector to work for you. After you find a good inspector do you think maybe he knows all the good professional sub-contractors? Surely he does because he checks their work for a living.
2. Do you think you could look in the real estate ads and find a building site, a lot to put your house on?
3. Would you be able to search for just the right house plan or even hand draw it out and have an architect make some plans for you?
4. Can you drive over your financial institution and see what type of construction loan program they have?

The fact of the matter is you can do all these things and not spend any more time at the building site than you would with a professional builder. With a builder you would have to meet with him at the site to go over issues, right? Well, leave him at the office and handle the problem areas with your inspector who works for you.

• I’m a little handy, can I do some of the work myself?

If you have the time, and if you can do the work, of course you can. In fact the more you do on your own, the more you save. I knew how to install flooring so I installed my own wood flooring. By doing it myself I saved $10,000 in labor costs. I painted my own interior and would have painted my exterior but the bid was so good I had a pro do it.

• I don’t have the time to do all this.

I thought the same thing. But after figuring out all the benefits, I dove right in. My case was unique in that I was building in South Texas but lived and worked in North Texas (Texas is a big State). I literally made 500 mile round trips several times a month to oversee the project during my off-duty hours. My fire department schedule allowed me time to do it. But if you’re living in the same area as your build, I don’t see any reason why you can’t do it too.

• What are the savings, percentage wise?

Well, that’s a tough question. The answer is I don’t know. I personally saved over 30%.  But I could have saved a lot more. How, you ask? Well, if I had put in carpeting instead of wood flooring my cost would have been lower. If I had installed plain counter tops instead of granite counter tops my cost would have been lower. Get the gist? But the beauty of all this is I had the options, I had control, I knew the costs because I made the budget. I reported to me, and my wife, so I knew if the jobs were being done right. Another factor to consider is your equity. If you build your own home the cost is lower so your equity is higher the moment you finish the build. See my loan to value article on this site.