building in 2019?

[eric-kam]

We currently own 40 acres within 50km of red deer, and are looking at building this coming summer. I've been on the fence about contracting myself, or getting a builder.

The market seems favorable to build, and we are planning on keeping our existing house in red deer, and renting it out until the market becomes favorable to sell. We have done pretty well saving money, and talking with FCC, it seems that they are more then happy with lending us money if we want to general the house ourselves, or hire a builder.

I'm pretty comfortable with biting the bullet and being the genco. I know that i have to fork over 10k for new home warranty and pulling all my own permits and dealing with more risk. My shift also allows me extended time off that would be beneficial, but I'm wondering in this market if I really would be saving money?

We started talking with custom home builders about 3 years ago when we purchased the land, and we definitely got alot of estimates of over $250 a sqft for a bungalow with "builder grade" finishing, we have 3 little boys, so we arent' looking for extravagant finishes. Fast forward to now, talking with a few builders and the prices have definitely dropped off, and with this winter not looking promising I think next spring the prices may taper off even more.

I'm concerned with me being my genco, that I won't necessarily see the discounts of the trades, that a proven builder might be able to get them for, so in reality, i will be taking on more work load, financial risk and overall more liability for a pretty small savings.

So what do the experts of forums have to say?

[2011laramie]

We just finished getting our house built. Last thing completed was yesterday. I work away on a steady rotation and did alot of work myself on the utilities and driveway etc, not the actual house.

I couldnt imagine the headache of trying to organize trades and fight the weather, and permits and chasing peoples missed work.

I wouldnt even consider building again without a general. What i would do next time is build a simpler house. 4 walls and a simple roofline. Detached garage. Do what i could to make it cheaper to insure and cheaper for property taxes.

[eric-kam]

what kind of house did you build and what did it end up costing you per sqft if you don't mind saying.

thanks

[Big Grey Wolf]

Hard to be your own General Contractor especially during strong economy years. They trades will treat you like a second class citizen, try to overcharge you and show up at your site last. Built a number of homes over years thats why I learned lot of trades when they did not show on time or did poor quality work. Much tougher when you are on acreage or farm as they do not like to travel or will charge you excessive travel time. The trades are very good boys during slow economy years though, good prices and quality work.

[Taiga]

Have been through this multiple times. My opinion is to use a gen-co especially during lean times (when they may not be busy), and to build a small/modest house. Big houses are way overrated. I realize everyone has their own idea of what a big house is. Extra rooms you have to furnish, heating, maintenance, finishing, and poorer resale.

[Redneck 7]

A fellow carpenter I work with went through this with lake view custom homes based out of pigeon lake I believe. He took him for a ride!!!!! I feel so bad talking to him about it considering he used to build houses for a living. I know I’d personally be able to build and organize my own build, I know I’d never hire a general contractor.

Make sure you do your research, LVCH basically milked the whole project and took over a year to do the house, he shopped around to get the best deals majority of the material then pocketed what he saved. Bought different closet doors then the plan because he got them at a reuse store, and etc. I’d have a strict contract with a general contractor covering every tiny detail including who pays for power.

Good luck with whatever route you choose, just do your homework and don’t be biased to reviews online, contact people who’ve used that builder or family and friends.

[NCC]

If you aren’t in a hurry and have a reasonable amount of knowledge about house building, I would be your own GC. If you’re towards Rocky Mountain House, I can give you the names of the contractors that tested us very fair. You don’t need to be out of your current house, so you have time to wait for the right contractors. We got in a rush and didn’t wait for our preferred concrete guys and it cost us.

I agree with the suggestions about building a reasonably sized house with a simple roof line. We added some features on the roof line that looked nice on the prints but were way more costly than I expected. Figure in extra framing, sheathing, shingling, fascia, soffit, eavestrough, and future re-shingling, and it really adds up.

[Dewey Cox]

People think that trades will charge them more if they act as their own general contractor.
That's because it's true.
You can't bid a job the same if it's a homeowner build. The job just doesn't go the same. There are usually extra trips involved to make sure things are ready like you'd expect, and wasted trips when they aren't.
When you deal with a contractor, things are more likely to run "normally".
I'm not saying don't do it yourself, just don't get too offended when you are quoted a little more. You'll probably do a fine job, but you can't expect to run it as smoothly as someone who does it every day.