Checklist to decide whether to owner build
There are so many choices to make after you decide to build. One of them is whether you should hire someone to be in charge of the project or whether you should be in charge. If you are in charge, you will become what is called an owner/builder. This doesn't mean that you will be doing the actual construction, subcontractors do that, but you will be in charge of all phases of the project. This is an important choice to make. There are times when owner/building makes a lot of sense and it is financially advantageous. There are other times when owner/builders get in over their heads and end up hiring builders to finish the project that has become entirely too much.
It is very expensive to bail out of an owner/builder situation so before deciding if you should be an owner/builder or not you should consider several factors. Below is a list of attributes that you should possess if you are going to take on an owner built project.
Do you have the time resources necessary to owner build? Before even beginning to make this decision, you should read a book on owner building. You can find copies of Owner-Builder book on Amazon or other online booksellers. There is also an online book available at ownerbuilderbook.com. If you don't have the time to read a book on owner building, you definitely don't have time to be owner building. Hirer a builder to do it for you.
When deciding if you have the time, think about the amount of time you will need to devote to the project. You will need to hire and manage all of the subcontractors as well as select all of the materials to be used for the project. You will also need to do all the paper work that the general contractor would normally do including dealing with the lender and gathering all of the work permits necessary.
Do you have the management skills? The owner/builder acts as the general contractor for the construction project. If you have no management experience, building a home might not be the best venue for gaining this experience. However, if you are used to management you might be well suited to owner building. One of the hardest jobs of an owner builder is working with the subcontractors. Each subcontractor needs to be hired after a thorough check of references. One subcontractor that fails to meet deadlines can put all the other subcontractors on hold. This can be a stressful situation but one that you have to expect if you don't hire the right people.
Remember that you will not just be managing people. Besides managing all of the subcontractors and their projects, being an owner builder requires managing time, money, materials, and paperwork. This requires organizational skills that develop after plenty of experience in management.
Do you have any construction experience or understanding? Just to be funded as an owner/builder you will have to show that you have some experience with similar projects. If you don't understand the physical construction process or the legal requirements you will probably want to hire a builder to manage the construction. Building your dream house is no time to go through the school of hard knocks that most general contractors attended for years while they worked their way up from construction crew, to foreman, to contractor.
Do you trust your own decisions? If you are a person who has a hard time making decisions or if you find yourself making bad decisions, don't become an owner/builder. As an owner/builder, every decision about the project will be yours. You want to make sure that the person making the decisions is informed enough to make good ones. You also want a confident decision maker. If that isn't you, it isn't you.
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Tags: owner_builder owner_build contractor general_contractor subcontractor skills attributes organization experience paperwork
