Building a stick frame house in the woods in 90 days

[deathtoblackberries]

I noticed the water heater allowance seemed high too at $1,500 I'm assuming that's for a tankless system, one thing to keep in mind is some of this stuff includes the cost of installation by the suppliers. Both plumbing and lighting for example for me was not just the cost of the fixtures but the cost of the fixtures installed. I went with my builders suggested suppliers for doors, cabinets, countertops, floors, plumbing and lighting fixtures so I asked the builder straight out what his discount was and made sure I got the builders discount on all my upgrades. I did have the option of going with my own supplier, I shopped around but could not beat his suppliers price when I factored in his discounts.

 

[BuilderML]

Deathtoblackberries,
I am wondering why you think you should get the same discount your builder gets? Did you at the very least shake his hand and say thank you for doing so?
I look forward to this answer. I have always wondered why a homeowner thinks they should get the builders discount.

 

[pclausen]

Appreciate the great feedback as usual! On the garage expansion, they base is on sq. ft. @ $52. The original was 286, hence the $14,900 figure. The expanded one added 140, which is where the extra ~$7,300 came from. The overall width did increase, so larger trusses had to be ordered. I do agree that 2 corners are eliminated and the build was easier with the rectangular shape it now is, and the linear feet of Superior Wall was close to the same, if not slightly less. Definitely good points to bring up during final settlement if we end up being negatively suprised.

I know the water heater allowance is high. The one we're getting is $1150 from Lowes. I think their standard allowance is like $450 or so, so we should get a credit of about $800 there.

Also, we are not doing the 20' x 20' concrete pad in front of the garage (which I thought was very high at $5.750). It will just be gravel for now and the the whole driveway will get paved a year or so from now once everything has settled.

I'm tracking the cost of the eletrical and plumbing based on the numbers from the draft schedule, and what I can purchase those items for. I did get the detailed cost breakdown from eplans as well for my zip code for the labor portion as well.

We also purchased all the appliances up front, so whatever the standard allowance for those are, would need to be subtracted out as well. We also had the well installed, including the cost of the permit, and I have a spare well pump that will be used. Plus I will likely do most of the final grading myself.

The foreman/builder I work with on a daily basis has worked with/for many different builders in the area, and he says these guys are great and honest and really try to get the customer the best deal in the end. So I'm staying optimistic for now that when we settle everything in the end, we be pleasantly suprised and that they build in quite a bit of safety margin or whatever you want to call it.

From this thread, I can go back and see how many hours/days was spent on each task, such as building the deck, and I know roughly how many guys were working on each piece, so I have a pretty good idea about the labor as well.

As I said, I'm staying positive that this will all work out well in the end and that the actual total will come in less than the contracted price. There have certainly been a lot of changes along the way that swing things in both directions. Will be interesting to see what the bottom line ends up being.

 

[pclausen]

Jay, the only official change order so far was for the garage being changed from 1 to a 2 car one. Once we get closer to completion, it will be interesting to see if there will be any other official change orders.

And yes, this probably did open a can of worms, but hopefully we'll get past that in another page or two!

 

[J F]

It seems like you've got a good attitude towards it all Paul, I'll be looking forward to the rest of the build.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

BuilderML when it comes to my money everything is negotiable builder discounts included. Now I worked with a highly recommended custom home builder not a big corporate builder, maybe the corporate builders are not so inclined to share their discounts. I will say my builder was quite happy with our transaction, he offered a great house built to a much higher quality than anything else I looked at, and at a very fair price so I paid his full asking price. I could have shaved $5k off his asking price but chose not to. He told me he had baked in an extra $5k assuming the buyer would come in lower but had since erroded that by adding some upgrades of his own and was thinking about raising the price shortly before I made my offer. I believe this good will on my part was a good investment, he continued upgrading some things the stained cedar porch rail and posts for example, those are 4x4 railings by the way, we added some hardiplank shake detailing to the front, he added some brackets, added some furniture detailing to the island, full travertine backsplash in the kitchen vs the spec'd single row of 6" tile, upgraded the oak floor from 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch, etc. He has also been attentive after the closing on a couple small items. He takes pride in his work for sure. Everyone I check with told me I was lucky to be working with this builder. Heck I asked my loan officer about the builder and turns out he built her house too and they love it. So that's the whole picture.

Finally on the overall price I think you have to take into consideration the cost of the land, here land is expensive. A 1-5 acre lot typically costs from $110k to $170k depending on size, location, and quality. My builder had purchased a 35 year old ranch house that had 3 additional buildable lots granfathered in at less than the zoned 5 acre minimum. He paid $225k for the house and land, resold the house for $200k so the three lots only cost him $25k total. Now he had to improve them, bring in services from the street, grading, remove a bunch of trees and brush, etc. But he told me he priced in about $70k for the land for my house, that was a huge savings. Same house on a similar size lot with similar quality of lot and location was going to cost me another $60k to $70k. I looked at every lot in the county, this was a smoking good deal in comparison.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

Deathtoblackberries,
I am wondering why you think you should get the same discount your builder gets? Did you at the very least shake his hand and say thank you for doing so?
I look forward to this answer. I have always wondered why a homeowner thinks they should get the builders discount.

I thought I was clear on this, its my money. :laughing: Look imagine if I didn't get his discount and went shopping around for different suppliers than he was used to working with and he had to pull his hair out working with a bunch of knuckleheads instead of his usual guys. It was mutually benefitial.

 

[mkane09]

Uh, wow, I didn't expect to spray jet fuel on this hornet nest when I inquired about the price/sq. ft. I apologize! One of the reasons that I asked was because the builder seems to be very willing to make any changes/upgrades on the fly. I wondered if that willingness to change on the fly was because he was making significant money for the changes, whether he truly wants a satisfied customer, whether he feels the pressure of public (Internet) scrutiny, or all of the above. Kind of wish now I had asked that question in a P.M.

I had a house built in 1988 that was an absolute nightmare from the moment they dug the basement backwards from the prints. I had to check and re-check the builders work every day and fought him tooth and nail to just stick to the plans. He cut corners (aka cheated me) every chance he could and it was very stressful. Your builder, however, is like working with your best friend, by contrast. I have to admit that if I got a final bill that was 80-100% higher than what we agreed to on the front end, I'd have a stroke or two. But, I do like what he has built so far.

mkane09

 

[Scooter78]

I thought I was clear on this, its my money. :laughing: Look imagine if I didn't get his discount and went shopping around for different suppliers than he was used to working with and he had to pull his hair out working with a bunch of knuckleheads instead of his usual guys. It was mutually benefitial.

deathtoblackberries,

I have to say that BuilderML is correct in saying that the discounts are not the customers to have. If you think about it unless you take out the loan and just hire the contractor he is the one taking all the risk so the discounts are just a little nugget for him as his neck is on the line. Even if you have a contract that no guarantee you will close and that's from experience. I have been in the construction trade my whole life and had it happen to me with a house I was building for family. I also don't need to hear all the folks tell me I should have known better than to business with family. Some lessons in life we have to learn on our own. Now back to what I was saying which is their is one instance that you the customer should get to take advantage of the builders discounts. The only instance that I can see where you should get the discounts is in a cost plus contract and even then it would depend in how often you were writing checks to him. If he had to pay the suppliers before he got paid then he would get to take advantage of the discounts not you unless stated on front end. You are just lucky your builder was willing to share his savings with you.

Ryan

 

[J F]

I had a house built in 1988 that was an absolute nightmare from the moment they dug the basement backwards from the prints. I had to check and re-check the builders work every day and fought him tooth and nail to just stick to the plans. He cut corners (aka cheated me) every chance he could and it was very stressful.
mkane09

How did you go about choosing this particular builder mkane09?