Tad Phipps - Building A House Day-By-Day

Building A House
Day-By-Day

Tad Phipps

iUniverse, Inc.

New York Lincoln Shanghai

Building A House Day-By-Day

Copyright 2007 by William C. Phipps

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The author claims no responsibility to the building of any house other than his own. This book is not an expert reference on legal or financial information or how to build a house or any other dwelling. You should seek advice from a competent professional during the construction of your or anyone elses home. You should also take into consideration all building codes, deed restrictions and the advice of your local building inspector.

Cover designed by Lara Helms

ISBN: 978-0-595-43925-6 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-595-88248-9 (ebk)

Contents

Special thanks to Lara Helms and Jeremy Tassone for designing the cover and help with pictures and layout. I would also like to thank Shannon Phillips for her editing skills. Without these wonderful people this book would not have been possible.

Shortly after I got married my wife informed me that the house in which we currently lived was not sufficient for the future. I disagreed for a while, but after some thought, I agreed that the house was too small if we were going to have a family. After an unsuccessful attempt at looking for a suitable home on the market, we started looking for land. It took almost three years to find the land we wanted, but when I found it, I knew it. The property is little more than three acres mostly wooded, level at the top, then sloping and wooded with a large creek at the bottom. There was a small field in the bottom and a small walking path along the creek, as well as one connecting the top of the property to the bottom. When I checked on the price, I was astounded and made sure I revisited the property to participate in a small ceremony, which included throwing the realtors sign down in the woods so no one else would know it was on the market. I made improvements for three years after we bought the land to prepare it for our future home.

We picked out a plan and started preparations. I actually tried to build a couple of years prior to getting very serious about it, until we found out we didnt have the money saved to do so. We decided to go with a conventional loan since I used a VA loan on my first home. I researched everything there is to know about a construction loan and mortgage, from origination fees to interest rates, before we even approached a bank.

Ive been told to be weary of a lot of rumors about building a home. Ive been told that building a home tests the limits of a marriage. Ive been advised to estimate 10-20 percent over the cost of materials for things we will want along the way and for odds and ends that could be forgotten in the construction process. Ive also been told to watch out for contractors who want to take advantage. My contractor has told me to estimate approximately $1,500 to pay in interest to the construction loan bank, but I fear it will be more. Ive been told I should also secure approximately $2,500 for closing costs when construction is complete. All of this is for a $125,000 home.

As you read these entries, depending on your background, you might say of course or why didnt you do this, stupid? Ill ask that you bear with me and not eat through the pages until after you finish the book. The whole reason I wrote this book is because I wish I couldve have had something like it before I started our home as a way of knowing what I was about to get into. Maybe it will bring some light to your own project.

As you read this book, Ill walk you through the day-to-day tribulations it took us to build the home of our dreams. Keep in mind though, that each county and state has different guidelines and building codes and your experiences could be completely different. You should check with your local building inspector and the restrictions in your deed before you do anything along the lines of building a home. Ive been asked before why I didnt just make a timeline of all the things one should do to build a house. Because of different building codes and deed restrictions this is impossible. I have however made a blank timeline and a place for notes in this back of this book so you can create your own timeline to build your house and jot down some ideas. As you fill in the timeline, look ahead at items I had to deal with and be prepared to deal with similar events. It may save you some pitfalls along the way. The best idea is to finish the book before you start anything so you can see where I went wrong and what I learned in the end. Later, read it again as you build. Good Luck.

January 19 th My wife and I sat down and decided to sell our house and build in order to take advantage of good interest rates while they are low. I told her how trying it seems to be on marriages and how we both need to stay patient and help each other through this process and take it one day at a time. Now that we have our tax refund in, we can afford the plans to our house, which are about $500. Ill order the plans tomorrow and call my contractor once they come in to discuss options.

January 27 th I went to see a friend at a bank that was highly recommended for his honesty. I kind of know him through other people as well. He was not in his office today.

January 28 th Went to see my friend at the bank again and he was there. He explained the whole construction loan process and how everything was supposed to play out. Securing permanent financing seemed relatively simple. All we had to bring was a copy of our W-2s, a couple pay slips, plans for the house, and a couple of other odds and ends, but nothing too drastic. After shopping around town a while and talking to some locals and my contractor, I found there was one bank everyone went to for their construction loan. My friend agreed he was easy to work with. I also found out my friend from the first bank (permanent construction) was just completing his own house. Good news as far as Im concerned. Maybe I can avoid some mistakes that he encountered through his experiences.

January 29 th I went to see the construction loan representative at the other bank today. He was out of the office.

January 30 th I went to see the construction loan representative again today and he was in. He explained how the draws were made and how often I need to make them. He told me I needed to secure final financing first. He and I know each other pretty well. I was friends with his daughter in high school and I feel pretty comfortable talking to him. This is another plus of living in a small town.

February 3 rd I initially thought of interviewing many contractors and selecting the right one based on the answers they gave me in our interview, how much they would charge for labor, how quickly they could build the house and their reputation. Ive decided against this because I already did this two years ago the first time I tried to build. After continuing to talk to those in the industry and close friends, Ive decided to stay with the contractor I initially chose two years ago because of his reputation for being honest and working quickly.

February 4th-9th Ive decided to start cleaning up the old house for people to come and take a look at it. Some have already talked to me about buying it and I just want to get it ready. I called a buddy of mine at the hardware store and talked to him about how long it would take to get back a bid on a materials list from him for the new house. He said maybe a couple of weeks. I really cant meet with my contractor though until we get the house plans, and we cant get the plans until we get our tax return back. I did call him to see if he was working on anything at the time, and he said it wouldnt be hard to work my house into his schedule.