Frequently Asked Questions about Being Your Own House Contractor
Have more questions? Ask Carl!
1. BE YOUR OWN GENERAL CONTRACTOR AND SAVE
- How much will I really save building my own home?
- How much more can I save if I do some of the labor?
- How much can I save on remodeling & additions?
- How much do I need to know about building to be my own General Contractor?
- How much of my time is this going to take?
2. PLANNING TO BUILD MY OWN HOME
- How do I know how much I can spend towards a building project?
- How do I know how much I can borrow on a mortgage or construction loan? What's the difference between the two?
- Do I buy land first, or do I decide on a house plan first?
- Where do I find house plans?
- Is the cost per square foot to build the same for any size house?
3. ESTIMATING THE COST TO BUILD MY OWN HOME
- Is there an easy way to figure cost per square foot before I start to look for house plans?
- How long will it take me to complete the cost estimate found on page 33 of Be Your Own House Contractor?
- We just finished our first estimate for a set of plans we thought was going to be our dream house. It's way too expensive. Our dream is turning into a nightmare! What to do?
4. SUBCONTRACTORS
- I have heard some horror stories about subcontractors. How do I know I won't turn out to be in one of those stories?
- How do I win over subcontractors from their regular builders?
- My foundation sub wants 25% down before he will start my job. This makes me nervous. What do you think?
- How do you find good subs?
5. HOME BUILDING SUPPLIERS
6. CONSTRUCTION FINANCING
