Home construction question...

12 years ago

Hi everyone, I'm new here so I'm sorry if this has been asked before but I couldn't find it...

We are building a house on family owned property.... We had the house pad and road put in last August and hope to start building in a month.

We got a simple quote from our builder and it appears he's charging 10% to build the house. Is that normal? I've never built a house before and neither has anyone else I know. I don't mind the fee but my husband is questioning it.

Another thing... Since we had our house pad put in a year ago, it's grown some weeds and grass... Our builder wants the dirt guy to come back out and take off a foot of dirt and redo the top so that there isn't any vegetation... Is that necessary? I can't see why it would be necessary..

One more (for now), we've come to a bit of a standstill waiting on a couple quotes for cabinets and electricity. We can't go and apply for a construction loan without a completed quote, and at that point it'll be another 3 weeks before it'll go through. We're currently living in a camper and the longer it takes the more irritated with our builder we are becoming.. What is a reasonable time to wait for quotes like that? It's been 5 weeks since he started gathering quotes.

Again, sorry if these questions have been asked. My husband is getting irritated and I'm trying to keep an open mind. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (8)

Michelle
12 years ago
Yes, 10% is normal for GC fee. And, five weeks is too long to wait. We gave our subs two weeks to quote.
thedispatcher
Original Author
12 years ago
I'm worried that's part of our problem though.. In the beginning of September we thought we had another month before we'd even be ready to discuss starting, but then things moved faster than we originally thought and we asked for more speed to it... He said he'd have everything by October 1st so we could start November 1st... It's october 8th and we are still missing electrical, cabinets, counter tops.
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User
12 years ago
10% is low. 15-20% is more usual for an experienced and in demand builder. The lower the initial price of the home, the higher the % can be. There are still a certain amount of tasks that have to take place no matter the level of the build. If your builder isn't busy, and is only charging 10%, then I hope you've thoroughly vetted him. As in checked bankruptcy, court cases, business licenses, insurance, and references.

Yes, you want the vegetation removed. Rotting organic matter can cause the home to settle more in the future because it can create voids under the foundation. Bids for a serious build can take 4-6 weeks, if you want accuracy and the trades are busy. If you have this level of distrust in his competency now, then you really need to assess using him.

This is the easy phase. It only gets more stressful and complicated. Your husband needs to develop some patience and coping mechanisms to get you through this.
thedispatcher
Original Author
12 years ago
He's built something for my dad in the past and he was very happy with the quality of his work... Guess we're just so excited to get the house up..
robin0919
12 years ago
10% is way too cheap. The GC is making allot more than that or they wouldn't still be in business. Track home builders make a min of 25% and they build the cheapest houses out there. What part of the country are you in?
Joe
12 years ago
What 'hollysprings' said.
lepages
12 years ago
It's normal to strip the topsoil and then re spread it when complete. I think it has to do with re-grading to manage water drainage as well as it being easier to seed new grass on freshly spread topsoil.
thedispatcher
Original Author
12 years ago
He used to build full time but now it's part time.. so that might be why his price is lower. We are in central Texas