Five Things I Wish I Knew Before I Built My House
The home-building process takes longer and costs more than you may think
Construction on our new house was about half done when the plumber went out for nearly two weeks because a cut on his finger was badly infected. That held up the electricians, who needed to run wire for all the lights, outlets and switches. That delayed the Sheetrock installation, which delayed the painters. The shell of the house stood empty. I was tempted to drive to the plumber’s house to personally flush his hand wound and administer antibiotics.
Now, after roughly 11 months, our new home is finally finished. While building a house from the ground up has been one of the best experiences of my life, I learned some tough and expensive financial lessons along the way. Here are some of the things I wish I knew before I built my house.
Starting. Takes. Forever.
Waiting to break ground was the most frustrating part. It involved three major hurdles: Getting the floor plans approved by the development’s architectural-review committee, which meets monthly. Getting the final contract from the builder. Getting a construction loan from the bank.
“We want clients to know there will be a lot of emotional ups and downs. It’s not a controlled environment—there’s weather, there’s subcontractors.”
—Beth Larchar, vice president of development, Obodo Builders
I won’t bore you with the twists and turns, but all the paperwork pushed our start date back six months. We had already sold our old house in New York, and our new house in South Carolina wasn’t nearly finished. As a result, we rented a house near the construction site and put our furniture and other belongings in storage. In all, that set us back about $20,000. If I had known it would take so long, we probably would have listed the house later than we did. On the flip side, moving early meant we could visit the construction site every day and be part of the process....
https://www.wsj.com/articles/five-t...-built-my-house-11564651803?mod=hp_lead_pos11
Conclusion:
In the end, we spent about $100,000 more than we had wanted, but the proceeds from the sale of our house in New York covered most of the cost of our new home in South Carolina. And while I consider this my “forever home,” I ask myself, “Would I ever want to go through new-home construction again?”
I’d do it in a second.