we are not using them but we did go in for a consultation. we are owner building but are doing quite a bit ourselves and understand the time and can put forth the effort to general contract ourselves. it was going to cost us 24K on a 300-350K house (no lot) for their services which i don't think would have been worth it for us (and def not in budget). they would be a useful resource for o-b without construction knowledge, DIY capability, or for those without time to put in. good luck

Everything I've heard/read.....it's a rip off! If you do the research....and more research....you can save alot of money by doing it yourself without hiring UBuildit. They make alot of money doing verrrrry little. You should be able to save at least 150 grand or more on that price house.

If you know nothing about construction, I would not suggest OBing without a company like UBuildIt. If you are particular about construction methods (2x6 walls, insulation, etc...) then a traditional GC will cost you money and sanity, as you'll be onsite calling attention to his/her screwups all the time. For those people, being an OB with UBuildIt or on their own is the way to go.

Remember that UBuildIt is a franchise, so from location to location, you'll get different levels of service from them. I'm sure some give you more effort and value than others. Good Luck.

bdpeck-charlotte, that's exactly why I would consider going the UBuildIt route--the consultant we'd have. He's a very well established builder and is building his own house right across the street and the neighbor's house.
The way I see it we'd be getting exactly what I truly need from him: project planning and speccing, subs leads, inspections and phone consults along the way, and it sounds as though the materials they provide are almost a cookbook. I don't have the time or inclination to do the truckloads of research to be my own GC, so this intermediate route meakes sense for me.
Although, I've done some research today and it looks as though UBuildIt charges 7-10% of the cost and the builder we have at the top of our list charges 12%. Saving 2% wouldn't get me excited. Gosh Robin, $150,000? It'll be interesting to see the numbers.
Thanks so much for the input.

I am currently using UbuildIt - have been pleased so far. Am only in the early phases - we have been unable to sell our current house - but for me, it was the PERFECT fit.

I have experience - have done a ton of work on several properties over the years - but in no way could I have handled OB by myself - I dont have the time nor knowledge.

We are building a 3,100 sq ft, teardown house. In total, my fee will be around $25,000. Sure - its a good chunk of money - however, I am going to assume they will likely save me $10,000 (if not a lot more) in mistakes I would have made going out on my own. Further - the office by mean is run by a former GC/Builder with 25 years experience - his knowledge is fantastic.

The positives to using UBuildit far outweight the negatives.

1 - I am going to build a house for around $600,000 that will likely appraise for between $750,000 to $800,00 (primarily due to its prime location) - so basically - I am going to make out much better than hiring a custom builder. I am not sure I could do much better by eliminating UBuildit and going 100% on my own.

2 - They will make the loan process and permitting process - MUCH, MUCH easier. They will have connections with several banks in your area and they will give your preferential treatment.

3 - Its like having a safety net - I know a lot - but its nice to know someone will be there to watch my back.

4 - They will bid out every trade 3 times - this is hours and hours of saved time and frustration.

5 - I am free to bring in anyone I want to at anytime - as I still run the project. For example - I have some friends in HVAC that I may bring in.

6 - I can do whatever I want in sweat equity - I plan to do all flooring, all trimwork, doors, lighting, etc. My figures put my sweat equity at $30,000 in savings.

7 - I can source and buy anything on my own.

8 - Ubuildit is on site 25 or so times.

9 - Their network of tradesmen are very motivated to do top notch work and stay on time. If not - they are removed from the network. Which in this market - isa huge motivator - as my UbuildIt office does about 30 houses a year - many of these tradesmen get 75%+ of their work from UbuildIt clients. They are ver motivated to do well. I know from past projects - finding quality tradesmen and getting them to show up and finish on time is not always easy. By far, this is one of the biggest positives of Ubuildit.

10 - While I have yet to use them - they do have discount programs through sears, great indoors, sherwin williams and local lumber yards in your area. For example. the Sherwin williams discount is like 25% for LIFE - not just while using UBuildit. Great Indoors allows you into their contractor/builder program. Again, minor stuff - but Ubuildit will refer you into a lot of little things that help. For example, they helped me locate an arhitect and save $1,000. They also saved me about $1,000 on engineering.

Anyways - hope this helps. Like I said, I am only about 20% into the process - but like them so far.

We are going thru an Owner Builder company and I don't think it was worth it. I have received no guidance from them besides a calendar with steps to build. We are building in Houston and about 95% of the contractors are in Magnolia and are not familiar with Houston building codes. After they were paid they have shown little or no interest! I received an email last week that simply stated "where are you with your build?" I deeply regret going with this company.

The UBuildIt franchise we talked with had a former/current GC Builder on staff. They're pricing was more of a fixed fee for service than a percent. All services would top out around $30K. So a 15% GC fee would be less on a very small house, but much more on bigger houses. I think you need to be over $500K before they're business model makes sense. Make sure and check out their past clients, and see what they say about your local one. As rhonda1968 found out, not all OB Companies are alike, so check out the references diligently.

Hi Jodied,

We too are using UBuildit. We are about 30 days away from breaking ground. I only go them involved recently, meaning I had the plans, permitting complete before involving them. We have been pleased so far however, I did not like the first UBuildit I interviewd, or rather, I didn't feel confident with them, therefore I interview another branch and feel very good with them. I also called all, and I mean, all the references that both branches provided me and all had good things to say about the Ubuildit experience but again, the branch that we choose stood out. So, to use a company like UBuildit or not or to hire a General Contractor, those are the real questions, right? First off, this is our first home and my experience is almost nill. Therefore, we, my partner and I, knew we would like to have someone with us for our journey of building. We interviewed several GCs and have to tell you, didn't think we were getting the bang for our buck. When we did say we were going to use one, but I wanted to know numbers etc...he came back with a very lame sheet of cost. When I looked at it I thought..."hmmm, I could have put something like that togehter on my own...why do I need to pay $200,000 for this?" UBuildit will be charging us $40,000. Yes, we will be doing a lot of the work but for the most part, even with a GC, we would still have to make the hard decisions. In addition to the GC fee, he was chargin us for a supervisor on site as well and so I thought, that money would be better spent in the house so back to UBuildit we went. I do believe if someone has construction knowledge or have built one house that you wouldn't need either a GC or a Ubuildit. But we consider this insurance and a security blanket of sorts. So, as we move through the process more, I will be posting more and providing some honest feedback about UBuildit BUT! in the meanwhile...we have been pleased with the things they have been involved with...hope this helps.

Does anyone know of a 'ubuildit' type of service for NE Pennsylvania?

Rusty