The Home Ownership Thread

[brokencycle]

We are building using ICF (insulated concrete forms), so its pretty important that we get someone good for that. There are also a **** load of windows, but I would hire subs for everything and just cut out the GC and his cost + 15% pricing. I absolutely think I could do it, but our "dream home" might not be the one to try it on...

I guess that's my point. If it was me the analysis would be: if I hire the GC, will it mean I can't afford my dream house, so I would need to compromise. If yes, would that compromise be something I could live with: either not finishing everything at once or giving up a feature/finish/size? Will the inevitable delays in construction cost me something, and how does that estimated cost compare to the cost of the GC. Etc.

 

[cross22]

I was getting some large-format (4' x 8') tiles installed for a fireplace, and two different sub-contractors quoted me ~$2500 to install two tiles. My GC ended up doing the entire job including the fireplace and gas work for $6k. wtf.

I have managed some big residential projects for myself and one thing that I learned is that contractors almost never say no to a job, instead, they will throw some outrageous number at you. The most egregious example of this was when I needed some earthmoving done for a vacation property on a hillside with difficult access. I got quoted 270k and 350k by two contractors. I ended up giving the job to a contractor who did it for just under 60k.

 

[Van Veen]

We are building using ICF (insulated concrete forms), so its pretty important that we get someone good for that. There are also a **** load of windows, but I would hire subs for everything and just cut out the GC and his cost + 15% pricing. I absolutely think I could do it, but our "dream home" might not be the one to try it on...

In the US you'd have to get an owner-builder loan to GC your own build. AFAIK they're basically impossible to get unless you're an experienced contractor building your own house.

I looked into construction loans, and if I'm understanding them correctly: To make draws against your construction loan, the builder has to submit a lot of documentation proving the work has been done as expected up to the point of the draw. There is a shitton of paperwork that homeowners GCing their own projects wouldn't be familiar with. You can see why banks would be leery of homeowners acting as GC and submitting draw requests on their own loans.

I don't know how it works in other countries.

Maybe the workaround is to have the contractor build the minimum possible to get a C of O, put in builder grade finishes, then finish the rest yourself.

Anyway, I'm having a GC come in and deal with all the day 1 repairs (especially the structural stuff). After that I'll DIY as much as I can and sub out whatever I can't.

 

[NakedYoga]

Cleared to close.

And now the seller offered us the telephone booth because she's worried she'll ding up the house removing it. My wife kind of wants it, but I am talking her out of it. It's a cool object in theory, but it's just going to take up space. Then it becomes our problem to move.

And you also become that guy who has a ******* telephone booth in his house.

 

[Van Veen]

And you also become that guy who has a ******* telephone booth in his house.

I knew a guy who had a fire pole in his house. Said, "hey, that must be cool!" Reply was something like, "It was cool for a few months. Haven't used it since."

 

[bdavro23]

In the US you'd have to get an owner-builder loan to GC your own build. AFAIK they're basically impossible to get unless you're an experienced contractor building your own house.

I looked into construction loans, and if I'm understanding them correctly: To make draws against your construction loan, the builder has to submit a lot of documentation proving the work has been done as expected up to the point of the draw. There is a shitton of paperwork that homeowners GCing their own projects wouldn't be familiar with. You can see why banks would be leery of homeowners acting as GC and submitting draw requests on their own loans.

I don't know how it works in other countries.

Maybe the workaround is to have the contractor build the minimum possible to get a C of O, put in builder grade finishes, then finish the rest yourself.

Anyway, I'm having a GC come in and deal with all the day 1 repairs (especially the structural stuff). After that I'll DIY as much as I can and sub out whatever I can't.

The lender I am using will actually let me GC the build, which having worked for banks for the better part of the last 20 years, terrifies me for their loan portfolio. The documentation you mention, as well as the permitting process, are the things that worry me enough to pay the extra freight for a GC.

But...

I live a quarter of a mile from our lot and will the most involved client there has ever been.

 

[Van Veen]

The lender I am using will actually let me GC the build, which having worked for banks for the better part of the last 20 years, terrifies me for their loan portfolio.

This was the reaction I had when my lender said they didn't need an appraisal. "You sure?!"

 

[double00]

I knew a guy who had a fire pole in his house. Said, "hey, that must be cool!" Reply was something like, "It was cool for a few months. Haven't used it since."

they have a stripper pole in the house that goes unused

 

[PhilKenSebben]

This was the reaction I had when my lender said they didn't need an appraisal. "You sure?!"

The house I am selling AND the house i am buying had appraisal waived this week. Pandemic is good for something

they have a stripper pole in the house that goes unused

This is exactly where my mind went as well

 

[Van Veen]

they have a stripper pole in the house that goes unused

In that case the lesson is don't put a stripper pole in the house you build with your sugar momma wife.

 

[Gibonius]

I have managed some big residential projects for myself and one thing that I learned is that contractors almost never say no to a job, instead, they will throw some outrageous number at you. The most egregious example of this was when I needed some earthmoving done for a vacation property on a hillside with difficult access. I got quoted 270k and 350k by two contractors. I ended up giving the job to a contractor who did it for just under 60k.

Yeah that was the feeling I got. It was too small a job for them to be bothered with, so they just threw out an insane number.

My GC had a tile guy that we've used before, and he saw those numbers and just went out and bought the tools that he'd need to do the install. Figured he might as well get in on the racket.

 

[Big Pun]

Owners accepted my offer (15% under asking price), closing in January! Pretty excited.

 

[flipstah]

Got my parents a dishwasher to replace their 19forgetit POS.

copper piping is stupid when it’s underneath and not coming off the wall like modern ones. It took unnecessarily long haha

I hate renovating and updating stuff because you uncover things you don’t want to see lol

 

[gnatty8]

Anyone connected to a rural power system have problems with power surges in the past? I have a cabin in Tennessee that appears to be increasingly susceptible to power surges that end up frying **** inside the house. In the last year I've lost a dishwasher, motors on 2 ceiling fans, and now a heat pump. I could easily have just had components of the heat pump repaired, but since the unit is 12 years old, I am just gonna suck it up and install a new Trane unit that comes with a 10 years parts and labor warranty and be done with it. I am having an electrician install a whole home surge protector before the meter, but this was never an issue before, and just curious if it's because the place has gotten popular and there have been a half dozen new places built on the same circuit in the last 2 years.

 

[Numbernine]