Build it yourself, as in you DIY all of the labor? Sure you can, but it'll take 3-4 years. Act as the GC yourself? Maybe, if you go builder grade amenities and it's a VERY simple plan.

It's definitely possible. We just finished our house outside of Augusta and came in WAY below that cost PSF with nice finishes. Our house was not your average build though!

Do you already have utilities run to your lot? How much site work do you need to have done? Those are really big variables. Will you have a GC or are you planning to do it yourself?

Sorry, I guess I wasn't too clear on this in my OP. Originally I thought about being the GC on the house, but with the way the lending market has gotten these days, I'm hearing (from some lenders that I've talked to) that I can't get a construction-to-perm loan unless I have contracted a licensed GC. Sooooo, I am now looking to find a way to get a licensed builder around here to build it for a percentage fee. What I'm hoping for now is to get a bid of, say, $90 / square foot to build and pay the builder a fee of maybe 10% on top of that. If I could pull that off, I can stay within my budget.

Thanks for the link Skipper, I've been looking for info like that!

Have you cked with Stock Building Supply? They have in house construction loans. Last I heard they will still lend to O/B. Also ck with small local banks. I wish I had known this several years ago! Since you already own the lot, you should be able to build that house approx. $65-70/sf. If you go this route..MAKE sure you are getting GC pricing and NOT consumer pricing!!!!

Robin, I checked through the stock building supply website a few months back and it seemed to indicate that they dealt only with licensed builders, but it's worth a phone a call to check again. Thanks for the reminder.

Persnickety, I didn't realize that was you a few posts back. I've read through your "$64/sq foot" thread and you are now my OB hero! I had given up on the idea of acting as Owner Builder. Mainly because of the lending situation now and also my family situation (3 boys in diapers) which I wasn't sure would allow me to devote the necessary time to the project. But I have been re-energized by your posts (along with some others here) to at least re-investigate the issue.

Thanks for the thoughts everyone!

Thank you so much, sunbum! We had a lot of fun building our house.

Three in diapers at the same time? Bless your heart! You are a BUSY lady. We had our three boys in 3 years too. I don't know if I'd be brave enough to try to build while they were that little. Our youngest was 10 when we started.

We were talking with our banker recently about the effects of the economy on construction loans. He told us that they are still giving loans to OBs, but they are now required to use a licensed GC as a supervisor. That might be something to check into with your bank. :o)

Hi Sunbum,
Check out oblinfo.com.
GA OB loans available at 3.75%.
One-time construction to permanent loan (30 yr fixed perm rate slightly higher than construction rate).
They only require 10% down if loan is less than $417K. Land can be down payment!
Good luck
PS.My web site (www.byoh.com) and my books (Free eBook on www.byoh.com) can help you too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Owner Builder Loans

I don't know the answer, but will tell you that someone told us we could build for around that, and it ended up costing a lot more. Just be very careful. Maybe price some things out before you start...