Mr. Smarts Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I own a couple lots that currently have homes on Them. They are on blocks, so it wouldn't be too hard to get a moving company and move it to another lot of mine. But these are the questions:How time consuming is it to track down a good builder, a good architect, and a good construction loan to get everything done. Time isn't an issue, It could take 2 month-1 year for it to get done. I just want to get the best quality and build. The lots i own are in the outer areas of the heights, brookesmith to be exact. My father owns about 7 full lots there, I own 2 lots and my brother owns 2. We are a close family, so it wouldnt be a problem moving over 1 of my rentals over to their lots.Anyways, whats the first step. Also, are the savings considerable? Anyone have experience they would like to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scharpe St Guy Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 Mr. Smarts,It is my understanding that the owner of the land would be required to find/close on the financing to build your project. One way around this is you and the builder come to a join agreement in regards to what you want and what the builder needs to generate off each Condo. Is the builder also going to sell the Condo's? If you want the builder to finance and build then you would be looking at setting up a legal entity, you would deed the land to the entity owned by you and the builder. The entity represented by the builder would then pitch to the banks, obtain financing, pre-sell, then undertake soil tests, replats, design, etc... in conjunction with you up to what your contract/agreement states. Good luck with this!Scharpe St. GuyI own a couple lots that currently have homes on Them. They are on blocks, so it wouldn't be too hard to get a moving company and move it to another lot of mine. But these are the questions:How time consuming is it to track down a good builder, a good architect, and a good construction loan to get everything done. Time isn't an issue, It could take 2 month-1 year for it to get done. I just want to get the best quality and build. The lots i own are in the outer areas of the heights, brookesmith to be exact. My father owns about 7 full lots there, I own 2 lots and my brother owns 2. We are a close family, so it wouldnt be a problem moving over 1 of my rentals over to their lots.Anyways, whats the first step. Also, are the savings considerable? Anyone have experience they would like to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwood Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I own a couple lots that currently have homes on Them. They are on blocks, so it wouldn't be too hard to get a moving company and move it to another lot of mine. But these are the questions:How time consuming is it to track down a good builder, a good architect, and a good construction loan to get everything done. Time isn't an issue, It could take 2 month-1 year for it to get done. I just want to get the best quality and build. The lots i own are in the outer areas of the heights, brookesmith to be exact. My father owns about 7 full lots there, I own 2 lots and my brother owns 2. We are a close family, so it wouldnt be a problem moving over 1 of my rentals over to their lots.Anyways, whats the first step. Also, are the savings considerable? Anyone have experience they would like to share?I think you will find that the builders do not want to be involved with a land owner. This complicates the issue. They will want to purchase the property in order to have full control. If you did find a builder to join you in this project I'm not sure you would want to be responsible for the construction loan. I would suggest talking with a real estate attorney to see what your liability would be. There is the possibility of loosing the entire project.As for finding an architect, there is a lot of time and expense involved. This is money that you would spend on the front end. You would have his fees, engineering fees and soil analysis fees. That could easily be $20,000. Personally I would not want to be involved in a joint venture with the builder. If you go it on your own you will need a very strong line of credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I own a couple lots that currently have homes on Them. They are on blocks, so it wouldn't be too hard to get a moving company and move it to another lot of mine. But these are the questions:How time consuming is it to track down a good builder, a good architect, and a good construction loan to get everything done. Time isn't an issue, It could take 2 month-1 year for it to get done. I just want to get the best quality and build. The lots i own are in the outer areas of the heights, brookesmith to be exact. My father owns about 7 full lots there, I own 2 lots and my brother owns 2. We are a close family, so it wouldnt be a problem moving over 1 of my rentals over to their lots.Anyways, whats the first step. Also, are the savings considerable? Anyone have experience they would like to share?The savings are considerable particularly if you are able to do some of the brainwork yourself. My neighbor did this in his "retirement" and made a fortune. He was an ex building inspector for the City of Houston. I would say the first step would be to find someone to put your plan down on paper. There may be some premade plans that you like in the various house plan books. If you do the research on the various setbacks etc, then that'll be less for the architect to research. Also if an architect just puts your ideas down, it isn't as expensive as if he designs the whole project. there are plenty that will charge you by the square ft if you know what you want. as an individual, i promise it will take more than 2 months to get it done especially if you have no connections with respect to contractors. Once you have your plans, including engineered foundation, then have various companies bid on the foundation, plumbing, a/c, and other house systems. decide which one is best for each system and go from there. My neighbor was REALLY good because he would design room sizes so as to minimize lumber waste. It really just depends on how picky you are. If you don't care, the contractor will do his minimum to meet yoour criteria. if you want metal ducting for your a/c then state that. It does make for a better system. He always put in custom cabinets too. Even with his hidden upgrades, he said 50% of what he sold the house for would be pocketed. Good luck sounds like you're going to have fun.I would also read the book "build it right" I believe it is available on amazon. written by an engineer describing common things that he sees all the time in new contruction that are just not good. it does a pretty good job of describing all the various house systems including electrical, plumbing, etc. Take a read I promise it will make you think of things that you never thought of before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Smarts Posted May 9, 2006 Author Share Posted May 9, 2006 Wow! Thanks for all the replies. I'm interested in finding a company that will build me 1 home on my own lot. Be it a condo style home or a specialty home. My family and I also want to develop this land into urban homes, this would be about 5 years down the road. We are trying to get the most out of the rental homes, then move them out and build. We have connections with several contractors and builders. But we haven't spoken to them concerning this issue. We hope to contribute to the urban development that is going on in the inner loop. Love it or hate it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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