Wiley Building Your Own Home For Dummies

keep Construction On Track With Helpful Checklists Turn Your Dream Of A Custom Home Into Reality! Thinking About Building Your Own Home? This Easy-to-follow Guide Shows You How To Plan And Build A Beautiful Home On Any Budget. From Acquiring Land To Finding The Best Architect To Overseeing The Construction, You Get Lots Of Savvy Tips On Managing Your New Investment Wisely — And Staying Sane During The Process! Discover How To: * Find The Best Homesite * Navigate The Plan Approval Process * Obtain Financing * Hire The Right Contractor * Cut Design And Construction Costs * Avoid Common Mistakes About the Authors 5 Dedication 7 Contents at a Glance 9 Table of Contents 11 Introduction 21 About This Book 21 Conventions Used in This Book 22 What You’re Not to Read 22 Foolish Assumptions 23 How This Book Is Organized 24 Icons Used in This Book 25 Where to Go from Here 26 Chapter 1: The Custom Home Process in a Nutshell 29 Where Do You Start? Preparing to Build Your Home 30 Money Makes the World Go Round — Paying for Your Home 31 Introducing the Custom Home Life Cycle 33 Being an Owner-Builder: More Power to You! 39 Chapter 2: Preparing for the Process 43 Organizing and Documenting 43 Budgeting Your Project 47 Hiring a Contractor 52 Identifying Insurance Issues 56 Managing Your Expectations 58 Chapter 3: The Land Grab: Selecting the Perfect Site 61 Knowing the Difference between “Land” and a “Lot” 61 Location, Location, Location — Refining Your Lot-Buying Needs 62 Finding a Lot 64 Evaluating a Particular Lot — The True Value of Dirt 66 Dealing with a Tear-Down Property 72 Buying Your Land 74 Chapter 4: Defining Your House Style 83 Getting to Know Your Style Preferences and Limitations 83 Considering Conventional Construction: Wood versus Steel 87 Enjoying the Warmth of a Log Home 88 Highlighting Wood Inside — Timber Frame or Post-and-Beam 92 Considering a System Approach 95 Unearthing Alternative Construction Methods 99 Chapter 5: Architects and Design: Time Spent Is Money Saved 103 Arming Yourself with an Architect 104 Looking at Architect Alternatives 109 Placing the House on the Lot 111 Planning the Size and Shape of Your Home 114 Designing Your Home’s Interior 117 The Devil Is in the Details 123 Chapter 6: Engineering and Plan Approval: Bureaucracy Made Somewhat Easy 129 Understanding Plans and Blueprints 129 Working with the Building and Planning Departments 134 Submitting Your Prelims for Approval 136 Gathering the Permits You Need 140 Chapter 7: Cash Is King: Using Debt to Your Advantage 145 Accepting the Need for Cash, Cash, and More Cash 146 Breaking the Emotional Barriers — This Is Not Your Father’s Depression 147 Okay, So You Have All This Cash — Now Manage It 151 Turning Your House Into a Money-Making Machine 154 Safely Deferring Financial Decisions Until the End of the Construction Project 157 Chapter 8: Knowledge Is Power: What You Don’t Know About Construction Loans Can Hurt You 159 Exploring Your Construction Loan Options 160 Finding a Good Construction Lender 163 The Loan Process from Start to Finish — When to Do What 167 Understanding All the Fees 172 Letting the Lender Carry Your Burden 178 Chapter 9: Qualifying: It’s the Bank’s Way or the Highway 181 Stepping Behind the Desk — How a Construction Lender Views Your Project 182 Recognizing What a Construction Lender Really Wants to See 186 Building the Bank’s Construction Budget 195 Calculating the Loan Amount and Cash 199 Solving Other Budget Problems 203 Chapter 10: Show Me the Money 205 Managing a Self-Funded Project 205 Working with a Bank 206 Understanding How the Voucher System Works 209 Taking a Closer Look at the Draw Reimbursement System 210 Figuring Out Who Gets the Money — You or the Contractor 216 Using Credit Cards Responsibly Can Buy You a Trip to Europe 218 Chapter 11: All the King’s Men: The Contractor and His Cohorts 223 Working with Your Contractor 223 Managing Your Time and Money 226 Introducing Other Important Players 230 Managing Disputes 233 Chapter 12: Excavation and Foundation: Getting a Solid Start 237 Surveying and Site Preparation 238 Preparing for the Utilities 245 Pouring Your Foundation 247 Chapter 13: Framing and Rough: So Much Goes Behind Those Walls! 251 Things to Consider Before Framing and Rough Work Begin 251 Looking at What’s Involved in Framing Your House 254 Installing the Rough Systems with Ease 259 Sheathing, Flashing, and Insulation 267 Chapter 14: Heading for the Finish: So Much Detail 271 The Icing on the Cake — Exterior Finishing 271 Moving Inside — Completing Fireplaces and Walls 279 The Finish Carpenters — Doors, Windows, Molding, Cabinets, and Countertops 282 All the Pretty Stuff 288 Chapter 15: Home Sweet Nest Egg: Moving In and Managing Your New Investment 297 Finishing Up the Custom Home Project 297 Taking the Final Contractor Walk-Through 300 Selling the Old Home and Moving 301 Managing Maintenance and Repairs 302 Should You Stay or Should You Go? 304 Chapter 16: Refinancing: More Money, Cheaper Payments 307 You Still May Want Another Loan 307 Three Things You Should Know About Refinancing 309 Picking the Right Mortgage Program 312 Paying Off Your Home May Be Fiscally Irresponsible 318 Chapter 17: Taking It Outside: The Art of Landscaping 321 Designing Your Dream Landscape 322 Putting Your Plan in Action — Hardscaping 329 Leafing Out — Softscaping with Plants 334 Chapter 18: Ten Common Custom Home Mistakes and How to Avoid ’ Em 339 Designing a House Unlike Others in the Neighborhood 339 Attempting to Build outside the Design Review Guidelines 340 Thinking the House Will Be Worth What It Costs 340 Paying Off the Lot Before Starting to Build 341 Waiting for Permits to Investigate Construction Financing 341 Applying for the Construction Loan Too Early 342 Applying to Too Many Lenders 342 Borrowing the Minimum to Get By 343 Spending Your Own Money First 343 Selling Your Existing Home Before Building the New One 344 Chapter 19: Ten Great Ways to Lower Construction Costs 345 Build the House That Suits the Land 345 Make It Tall to Keep Your Budget Small 346 Keep It Simple and Tasteful 346 Use Design Elements to Eliminate Costly Materials 347 Choose and Order Items in Advance 347 Use Surplus Materials for an Old-Style Home 348 Group Simple Windows for a Custom Look 348 Avoid Change Orders 349 Go Faux 350 Get Creative 350 Chapter 20: Ten Common Stuck-in-the-Middle Problems and Their Fixes 351 My Home Is Behind Schedule 351 My Construction Loan Is Expiring and the House Isn’t Complete 352 My Contractor Wants More Money in a Fixed-Price Contract 352 Everything Costs More Than My Budget in a Time-and-Materials Contract 353 The Bank Won’t Fund the Draws 354 I’m Out of Cash 354 The House Is Having Some Engineering Problems 355 My Contractor and I Can’t Get Along 355 My Contractor Walked Off the Job 356 This Project Is Breaking Up My Marriage 356 Chapter 21: Ten Helpful Custom Home Resources 357 Land Sources 357 Stratford Financial Services 358 Log and Timber Frame Homes 358 Finished Plans 359 Home Depot Expo 359 American Institute of Architects (AIA) 359 National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 360 For Owner-Builders 360 Building Green 360 Wild Ones Native Plant Landscaping 361 Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Make Your Home Green 363 Making the Best Use of Your Lot 363 Avoiding an Oversized House 364 Planning for the Ages 364 Making Your Landscape Earth-Friendly 364 Using Alternative Energy Sources 365 Going On an Energy Diet 366 Cutting the Fumes 367 Making Recycling Easy 367 Using What You Have 368 Stashing and Storing 368 Index 369