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Previous Owner-Builder Survey
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Did you use some type of written agreement when hiring subcontractors?
Jere in Ray Twp., MI said: No... I used contractors that my step-dad has used for many years. Otherwise I would have.
carrie in graham, WA said: yes
Brock in Walla Walla, WA said: Written bid contract sheets
Pat in Round Rock, TX said: Always have a subcontract agreement stating the scope of work and terms
steve in anthem, AZ said: Yes you can buy software with contracts at www.builderbooks.com
Dayna in Riverton, UT said: The first time we let the subs supply us with a contract, this time we will use our own and use theirs as and addendum to the contract we supply. Our states payment policy (depending on length to finish work) basically maximum of 90% paid upon completion, remaining 10% paid after next building inspection.
Eric in seaville, NJ said: A few, not not too many
Mike in Marion, OH said: Yes on pretty much all subs I hired. Some were very simple and some were very specific. Hvac, Concrete work, and framer were the most specific. Septic install was almost a hand shake. He wrote on a bid quote 1500 gallon tank, 900 feet of leach field, and curtain tile $6300.00. And that is exactly what he charged me. None of my subs I hired came in a penny hire than the contract stated.
Roger in Petoskey, MI said: Yes. I used a brief contract that basically said if they abadoned the job I could fire them. It also listed the price and payment schedule. The contract also said to refer to the designs and specifications (which I created for each sub) which contained most of the detials.
John in Port Republic, MD said: yes standard contract that worked for both of us.
Kenneth in Lees Summit, MO said: Only once. Most subcontractors were hired without formal agreements.
ray in richmond hill, GA said: they gave quote, i payed in three draws or more also got their insurance
Penn in Pittsboro, NC said: yes
Brian in South Burlington, VT said: subcontracts usually
Bob in Robinson, PA said: The ones that we did not know
Brian in Manvel, TX said: no
Jedda in Brighton, ON said: we only used their quotes
Craig in Green Bay, WI said: yes for your cd
Karl in Reno, NV said: no
definitely in hampton, VA said: nope
Aimee in Kalamazoo, MI said: no
Lori in Reno, NV said: No just their business contract which we signed.
Brian in Melbourne, FL said: Yes, every time.
Dan in ATLANTA, GA said: YES
Jeff in Provo, UT said: Yes. I had a very tight contract with late penalties. It worked well for everyone that we had sign it. The one or two contractors we didn't have sign it were the ones that gave us problems.
Richard in malabar, FL said: Yes
Max in OKC, OK said: yes
Karlie in Ogden, UT said: No, most of the time we did not write up or sign any contracts. Fortunately for us it worked out pretty well.
Kathlyn in Orlando, AL said: their standard contracts
John in Erie, CO said: Everything in writing. My own contract usually, sometimes theirs.
Mark in Provo, UT said: Usually, no. They would have a bid form estimating the job, and we
would write a few things on it like estimated time to complete, price
not to exceed, who was responsible for cleanup, etc., and have both of
us initial it. When we had a "winner" whom we trusted, we occasionally
did it on a handshake. We were also on-site every day, which helps to
remove any surprises and misunderstandings. I think good relationships
are the most important assurance.
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Latest 5-Star Post
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You can move a post to the front page simply by voting! The big issue is the final appraisal of the property. The "soft" landscaping expenses often don't add to the appraisal value of the home as much as the expenses for the "hard" structure. Spend too much on landscaping and your equity (as per final appraisal) to loan value can drop to the point of costing you extra money via higher interest or even PMI.
My advice is to build your house and basic landscaping first. Make sure your appraisal comes in favorably, BEFORE adding other
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Grant in Jacksonville, AL
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Previous Owner-Builder Survey
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How much would the trades you did yourself have cost in the marketplace?| <$10,000 | | 12.31% (8/65) | | $10,000 - $30,000 | | 27.69% (18/65) | | $30,000 - $50,000 | | 21.54% (14/65) | | $50,000 - $70,000 | | 13.85% (9/65) | | $70,000 - $90,000 | | 9.23% (6/65) | | $90,000 - $110,000 | | 7.69% (5/65) | | $110,000 - $130,000 | | 1.54% (1/65) | | $130,000 - $150,000 | | 1.54% (1/65) | | $150,000 - $170,000 | | 1.54% (1/65) | | >$170,000 | | 3.08% (2/65) |
Average: $50,769
Click to expand...Mark in Provo, UT said: $10,000 - $30,000Carol in Bellingham, WA said: >$170,000Larry in DESOTO, TX said: $50,000 - $70,000Lisa in Keisterville, PA said: $30,000 - $50,000EFRAIN in DEL RIO, TX said: <$10,000sue in carson, WA said: $30,000 - $50,000Britt in Prairie City, OR said: $10,000 - $30,000Grant in Jacksonville, AL said: $10,000 - $30,000Ann in stgeorge, UT said: $30,000 - $50,000Rhett in Peyton, CO said: $50,000 - $70,000Joe said: $70,000 - $90,000Brad in Basking Ridge, NJ said: $10,000 - $30,000Brock in Walla Walla, WA said: $30,000 - $50,000B in Munford, TN said: $10,000 - $30,000Pat in Round Rock, TX said: $70,000 - $90,000steve in anthem, AZ said: <$10,000Mat in Rome, NY said: $30,000 - $50,000Bob in Gainesville, FL said: $10,000 - $30,000Eric in seaville, NJ said: <$10,000Eric in Roanoke, TX said: $10,000 - $30,000Jere in Ray Twp., MI said: <$10,000ROlanda in New Orleans, LA said: $150,000 - $170,000Daniel in San Antonio, TX said: $90,000 - $110,000Ken in Orangevale, CA said: <$10,000Roger in Petoskey, MI said: $30,000 - $50,000Danny in Sparta, IL said: $50,000 - $70,000Brandon in Lafayette, LA said: $10,000 - $30,000Mark in Lansing, KS said: $90,000 - $110,000Chris in East Hartland, CT said: $10,000 - $30,000 Bill in Callahan, FL said: $90,000 - $110,000david in anchorage, AK said: <$10,000Betty Ann in Hennepin, IL said: $70,000 - $90,000collin in orlando, FL said: $50,000 - $70,000Terry in Santa Rosa, CA said: $10,000 - $30,000Brian in South Burlington, VT said: $50,000 - $70,000Toby in Abita Springs, LA said: $30,000 - $50,000Byron in Phoenix, AZ said: $30,000 - $50,000Robert in Fishing Creek, MD said: $10,000 - $30,000Johanus in Edmonton, AB said: $30,000 - $50,000Bob in Robinson, PA said: $10,000 - $30,000Clanton in Phoenix, AZ said: $70,000 - $90,000Kelly in Catalina, AZ said: $50,000 - $70,000Gabriel in Canyon Lake, TX said: $50,000 - $70,000Bryan in San Jose, CA said: $70,000 - $90,000Phil in Peoria, AZ said: $70,000 - $90,000Brian in Melbourne, FL said: $50,000 - $70,000Brian in Manvel, TX said: $110,000 - $130,000Aaron in Logan, UT said: $10,000 - $30,000Jedda in Brighton, ON said: $10,000 - $30,000Randy in PB, FL said: $30,000 - $50,000Karl in Reno, NV said: $90,000 - $110,000definitely in hampton, VA said: $130,000 - $150,000David in Kalamazoo, MI said: $30,000 - $50,000Aimee in Kalamazoo, MI said: <$10,000Drue in Henderson, NV said: >$170,000Kenneth in Lees Summit, MO said: $10,000 - $30,000Robert in Reno, NV said: $10,000 - $30,000Lori in Reno, NV said: $90,000 - $110,000Leoni in Euless, TX said: $50,000 - $70,000Curtis in Apopka, FL said: $30,000 - $50,000Richard in malabar, FL said: $30,000 - $50,000Max in OKC, OK said: <$10,000Karlie in Ogden, UT said: $10,000 - $30,000Jeff in Provo, UT said: $10,000 - $30,000Elaine in Provo, UT said: $30,000 - $50,000
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Latest Post
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Bill, was it a builder's risk insurance policy? Interesting to know, because I am looking for an underwriter for such a policy today as a matter of fact.
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Jelly in Baton Rouge, LA
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Latest Journal Entry
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Wow, it was a big day for my project. We a month ago, my design was sent off to a factory where they engineered my house, put all the walls and windows together and shipped back all of the framing for my house on four semis. The trucks arrived this morning and a crane was used to put the house together like a big, 3-D puzzle. The floor system went in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Interior and exterior walls for the first story went up in the next two hours and 15 minutes.&
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Gary in Necedah, WI
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Construction Bargain Strategies
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141. Lock in Prices before increase
Owner-builders Thomas and Joanie L. featured in our Ten Commandments How To DVD series, DVD number three (See our Bookstore, May, 2003), reported: "Yesterday talked to Mr. Wallace. He does framing. He told me that lumber is going up 25% today. I had a bid for lumber good until last night which I had well shopped. I called and they let me lock it in."
Since prices fluctuate through the year on common building materials, it's smart to take advantage on both sides of the cycle. Buy when it goes down, and lock in if it's going up.
O-B Lynn H. of Tremonton Utah said: "Bought cement by self bought lumber in advance, before price went up, and they held it for me, hired a contractor to basically build it. I hired the subs, and he did the framing."
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Thought from the Book
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Don't limit yourself to local sources. Extend your search for components
and materials to other markets where different conditions might
prevail. Occasionally, even remote subcontractors can be found who will
travel to your region, lodge there temporarily, and provide lower
overall costs at equal or greater quality than available in your market.
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Phony Owner-Builder Books
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by Mark A. Smith
Some years ago, I was working and saving money before going to graduate school. We had a little family and were living in the midst of a real estate boom in Southern California.
I wondered if I could make some money towards my education by owning a home. Perhaps we could build some equity and get ahead. I went to the library and read or scanned six books about owning your own home. All of them warned against the risks and difficulties of home ownership. I concluded that it was a rash idea and bought a nice car with my money instead. I found a nice deal on a new Mercedes and sold it two years later for more than I paid for it.
During the two years, I had driven "for free" and made $600 to boot. But did I make the right decision?
Not even close. Buying a home was no rash decision, it turned out to be a big missed opportunity. I would have taken more than $5,000 back to graduate school (a lot of money then) and "lived free" during the intervening two years, which would have added another several thousand to my savings.
Everybody knows that home ownership is a good idea, financially and otherwise, except evidently people who wrote books about it. This same irony prevails for prospective owner-builders. Many of those who write books about it spend their ink telling you that it's not a good idea and you probably can't pull it off.
Why? My theory is that the typical author in our category is a general contractor who wants to protect the privileges of the brotherhood. They have a bias, an axe to grind, and they peddle it to you under the guise of authoritative expertise.
Well, I'm here to tell you that you can do it. And that it will likely be the single most profitable undertaking of a lifetime. Please don't be discouraged by the naysayers. Do your preparation thoroughly and your confidence will grow.
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