Carl Heldmann - Be Your Own House Contractor: Save 25% without Lifting a Hammer

Be Your Own House Contractor

5th Edition

Save 25% without
Lifting a Hammer

Carl Heldmann

The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.

Edited by Lisa H. Hiley
Art direction and text design by Cynthia McFarland
Cover design by Kent Lew
Text production by Kristy MacWilliams
Indexed by Chris Lindemer
Photography by Carl Heldmann

5th Edition 2006, original edition 1982 by Carl Heldmann

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Printed in the United States by Versa Press
10 9 8 7 6 5 4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Heldmann, Carl.

Be your own house contractor : save 25% without lifting a hammer / by Carl
Heldmann. 5th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-58017-840-2 (alk. paper)
1. House construction Amateurs manuals. 2. Building Superintendence Amateurs
manuals. 3. Contractors Selection and appointment Amateurs manuals. I. Title.

TH4812.H45 2006
690.837 dc22

2005036253

After 25 years in print helping many thousands of happy readers successfully build their own homes, what could be exciting enough for a new edition of this book? One significant addition is a Web site extension, www.byoh.com, where youll find:

Downloadable software to control building costs

Up-to-date, average cost to build figures for the U.S.

Current mortgage rates, updated daily

Newsletter with services, product reviews, new technology, and letters from other homebuilders

Links to many useful sites with owner/builder construction lenders, house plans, site supervisors, and other valuable information

In addition, the chapter on cost estimating, the most important part of building, has been greatly expanded and the chapter on construction financing has been extensively rewritten to reflect major changes in that industry. We have also added a practical and useful English/Spanish glossary.

I hope you enjoy this 5th edition of my book, my new Web site, and most of all, your own building experience. I hope you save more than 25 percent and have fun! Let me and your fellow owner/builders know how things go, via the www.byoh.com newsletter. We care.

Without the help of my wife, Jane Prante Heldmann, and her mother, Clella Hunt Prante, the original book would never have been written. I would like to thank my editor, Lisa Hiley, for her help with this edition.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS I HEAR MOST FREQUENTLY in my business are:

1. What is the actual cost to build a house?
Answer: About 75 percent of what new homes sell for in
your area.

2. What does contract my own house mean?
Answer: That you are in charge! Youre the CEO.

3. Do I have to be licensed?
Answer: Only if you want to become a professional builder.

4. What is the number one problem that builders run into?
Answer: Cost overruns.

And the one other question that I hear all the time is, Can I really save 25 percent without lifting a hammer? I know from my own experience that you can. Heres how it all began.

Back in the 70s, a friend who was a home designer suggested that I build my own home, as we couldnt afford the dream house we wanted. I told him he was crazy, that I didnt know anything about building. Besides, I had heard that builders make less than 10 percent profit.

Relax, he said, and proceeded to explain to me that merely by being the general contractor (GC) and hiring expert subcontractors to do all the work, I would save 25 percent or more on the cost of my dream home. I was skeptical, but I tried it. I saved more than 25 percent, and it was so easy that I changed careers. I obtained my builders license and became a professional builder. The rest, as they say, is history.

I wrote this book in 1982 and recently built the accompanying Web site (www.byoh.com) so that youll have an easier job building your first house. You wont have to make the same mistakes other builders and I have made. With this book and Web site as guides, not only will you save money and avoid mistakes, but by being your own boss of the building job, youll get exactly the house you want (based on your budget, of course), done the way you want it done.

Over the past 30 years, Ive been involved with thousands (yes, 1,000s) of owner/builder projects and have seen some people save more than 25 percent. It all depended on how well they shopped and how well they controlled the costs. Find out how in chapter 3. (By the way, if you want to save a little more money, you can even do some of the labor yourself, if you know what youre doing. If you dont, just settle for a 25 percent savings as the GC.

Just remember, every builder in the world started with their first house. Most of us didnt have a book or a Web site to guide us. You do. However, this is not a technical book on how to build a house. It wont teach you about wiring or plumbing, because you truly dont need to know. It will teach you how to find, hire, supervise, and pay the professional electricians or plumbers who do know how, and at builders cost. Thats the role of the GC.

Heres a true story. One morning a number of years ago, I received a phone call that went as follows:

Is this Carl Heldmann?

Yes, it is.

Are you the one who says its easy to build your own home?

By now I was a little nervous and expected to hear the worst. But I said, I sure am!

Well, she replied, I just wanted to tell you that its even easier than you said it was!

I breathed an audible sigh of relief.

The caller went on to say, My husband and I just finished building our own home in Windy Hill, and we saved so much money and had so much fun that we bought the lot next door and were going to do it again!

Imagine, they had so much fun they wanted to do it again! I hope your experience is just as enjoyable. It might even lead to a new career.