I had a contractor GC my last 2 custom homes but I'm considering attempting to GC my custom build on the next home in Houston. Has anyone else done this themselves? Would you do it again? Anything you would do differently?

Not sure if this should be posted here or the real estate board but I'm genuinely looking for some feedback.

I was heavily involved with my GC on the previous jobs and decisions but I know this isn't a walk in the park and an easy role. There is something to be said for having to navigate issues and the amount of daily coordinating you have to do with all your subs but with the price per sq foot I'm currently hearing homes being built for I at least want to kick the tires on this process

It's definitely doable, but it helps to have contacts. There are a few places in town that you basically pay for their book of trades/suppliers, and many suppliers give them better pricing for being a "preferred trade". Build Green and Owner Builder Network are a couple I've worked with on the supply side of things.

40 years+ of watching all this and at one time was tempted myself, even under the threat of divorce if I took it on haha. Finally did it twice but SMALL & spec.houses ... never again. Too many hats to wear with wife & 4-kids. Bank loan officers usually require someone in the biz to serve as "Contractor of Record" to insure bank doesn't have to finish the house nor have a white elephant on their hands in case of default. This is usually an experienced framer but others do qualify.

CONS
Want to stay married? Then no. Single with no GF distractions? Then maybe - it's full time consuming.

Want subs come running to you instead of their bread & butter, regular pay GCs that would replace them if they balked? Good luck .... and loan interim you're paying is on the meter.

Think you'll get the same discounts from subs/suppliers as a regular customer? Not.

Think there's a ton of discounts for regular GCs? Really slim, Jim. The best buyer rewards come from bulk purchases, end of year, if not a paid vacation.

PROS
IF the house is smaller than 1500 LivSF
IF you have either cash or 15 months interim loan money
IF you are a craftsman at heart
IF you can roll with substitutions for out-of-stock, double-priced (due to war, COVID, etc.)
IF a confirmed bachelor
IF have patience of Biblical Job himself
IF you can pay more/SF than what's on the market
IF you have the ideal, problem free site
IF your best friend is a verteran master carpenter that knows-it-all as counsel
THEN A-OK
Tons of fun ala Las Vegas (the money) but also the Pride/Ego of living in it

Keeep those cards & letters coming in so we can appreciate the journey!
Best of luck

I have GC'd a number of projects but never a whole house. My issue is schedule - if you're patient, I think you can get quality and cost. If I had more time, I would absolutely do it! Now if you ask my wife, she hates that my projects take a long time (but they're done very well).

I agree with a lot of what has been stated previously above. I have GCd two of my own projects and have been a part of a few others. It is a lot of work and you need to have the cash on hand (or have assets to borrow against). A bank won't lend you money to do your own house. Interest rates are not great at the moment.

Both of my house builds were rural. This is much easier than having to deal with city codes/requirements/permitting.

The trick is if you have the contacts for all of the subs. Knowing some spanish wouldn't hurt. I know my guys nearly personally, so I was a step ahead. I also did my own cad/design. I am hands on and did much of my interior (flooring, sheetrock, trim, lighting, etc). The most stressful part for me was going from the foundation to being dried in. After reaching dried in, if a sub didn't show, I could supplement in my own labor.

It is a lot of stress, but my two builds have been very satisfying.

Ba ha

Your are paying for 4 things when you pay a gc


Their time

Experience

Connections

Accountability


Very rarely do I see larger size projects turn out well when the homeowner attempts to gc it themselves unless they are already in the industry and have a lot of connections built

Thanks for all the feedback this is exactly what I was after. Few other details I will note. The GC who built our last home is a good family friend and has already stated he will let me use all of his subs and his accounts for material discounts. I've formed good relationships with these subs so I do have history working together as there have been other random jobs this GC has let me use them directly since building home. All these subs have been with him for 15+ yrs so that's a positive.

The one thing I can't offer as yall have noted is experience. One of my main hesitations is not the problems I can think of but rather all the things I CANT foresee. That comes with experience which can't be learned.

The other aspect I'm unsure of is the loan aspect which someone pointed out above. We are paying cash for the lot so not going to have a massive mound of cash on hand to complete home. So is this a complete non starter with that info? I wasn't sure if loan guys would refuse to do business with a normal non GC client who doesnt own a construction company.

My In-Laws just did this with Built Green Custom Homes. You act as the GC, and they provide consulting and a list of recommended subs that you work with and pay directly. They provide workshops in the Houston area all the time.

Those type companies are definitely out there and I know several people that have used them. From what I've been told they have no liability to complete the house if the owner isn't able to for whatever reason. It's definitely an option depending on a person's financing, expertise and availability if time.

Yes, I should add that my FIL retired shortly before starting their retirement house, so he worked it full time. He is also an accomplished DIY'er and has a high attention to detail. At one point his old house was basically a warehouse for plumbing and light fixtures that they sourced themselves. They got a storage unit nearby to hold all their appliances that they purchased at their leisure before the build was ready.

He handled all invoices and payments, and was responsible draws with the bank. In fact he was scrambling with a few subs to get the house livable before the deadline to convert the construction loan to a mortgage with his bank before penalty. Mostly his own fault, he went with the high quality and under budget mentality over the get it done fast mentality.

He got a list of subs from Built Green and then worked and evaluated bids on his own, occasionally asking Built Green questions or recommendations, then used their inspectors. His only recourse on a couple of the subs that were slow at the end was threatening to complain to Built Green, which really just threatened their work pipeline.

If you end up needing brick/masonry, give me a shout. My contact info is in my profile. I'm rep for Acme Brick on the residential side of things in the Houston area. I've worked with several individuals building their own homes and some of the companies mentioned here (Owner Builder Network, Built Green, etc).

I have been helping owner builders manage their own builds for over 20 years with good success. We provide all the resources the owner needs to successfully manage each step. This includes unlimited consultation, subs and suppliers, detailed estimate, step by step written schedule etc. We have a rep in the Houston area, also Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels and Dallas FW. Please check out our website at
www.ownermanagedhomes.com or give me a call 512-925-5109. Jeff Walling 80'

I did it, and it was a lot of fun. Here is what I will say:

1. Loans are tough if you are your own GC and not a licensed builder.
2. Be ready to be at the home almost daily.
3. It will take longer. As someone working full-time it is hard to manage multiple subs at once. For me, the process became more linear. Part of this was that I did some of my work and was slower than a sub.
4. Find your subs in advance. Don't start looking for an electrician when you need them. Be in talks early so you don't have to wait.
5. Don't be cheap. Sometimes it is worth it to sub work out that you can do because the cost is close, and they are faster.

Am I glad I did it? Absolutely.

GC is adult babysitting.

What do you mean by that?

As a custom builder, I would hire out a gc to do my home.

It's worth every penny to have a good GC. You're not buying them, your buying their team of subs. You make one phone call, he makes 10. If something is wrong, you make one call, he stresses about it, not you.

Don't do it.

What's a licensed builder?

jja79 said:

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What do you mean by that?

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Read the thread. Show up on time, do your job correctly, pick up after yourself, fix your mistakes. It's babysitting adults.

Do you go to Auto Zone, buy parts and build your own car? I think you under sell their value, time and expertise.

I'm in the early stages of doing this. We're building a barndo in the county, so a fairly straightforward build that shouldn't require any permitting other than septic.

I've also got 10+ years experience as a commercial GC in project management, superintendent, and quality control roles.

The first hurdle initially was finding a bank that didn't require a true GC. I found a small, rural bank that only needed "a signature on a contract that wasn't mine". Someone above mentioned a licensed GC. Ain't such thing in Texas. Only licenses are going to be with your electrical, HVAC, and plumbing trades, typically. I now have plans, a schedule, and am planning on having my estimate complete next week for approval by the bank.

The only thing I'm worried about moving forward is that our site is 40+ minutes away, so my visits will typically only be in the evenings and on weekends. Oh, and interest rates. I'm kinda worried about them too, right now.

I would be hesitant to build a true custom home without the capability of being onsite throughout the day.

I misspoke, and someone below cleared it up. You are right about licensed builders in Texas. The point was that banks do not like it when you are the GC.

Correct. Most I spoke to wanted an established GC with verifiable references.

If you don't mind sharing what interest rates are you seeing?

Agthatbuilds said:

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As a custom builder, I would hire out a gc to do my home.

It's worth every penny to have a good GC. You're not buying them, your buying their team of subs. You make one phone call, he makes 10. If something is wrong, you make one call, he stresses about it, not you.

Don't do it.

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Lumber sales rep here. As someone who is on the other side of the sales counter in this industry, I've sold a lot of material packages to GC's and a few homeowner GC's. Typically, the GC builds are a lot smoother than homeowner managed projects. I feel like I have the connections both in subs AND manufacturing reps to be my own GC if I ever build, but I would still most likely hire one of my custom builders to do it for me. Agthatbuilds is spot on. If you hire a quality custom builder or GC, your only stress is paying them on time. They know how the industry works. They know when to order materials, and know how to make things work when things get delayed, screwed up, etc.

The homes I've seen that are successfully managed by the homeowners are usually under 2,000 sqft and are pretty "basic" in terms of floor plans, doors, windows, etc.

jja79 said:

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If you don't mind sharing what interest rates are you seeing?

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8.5% with the bank that allows owner GC.

It makes me sick coming from a 3% mortgage previously. Hoping to push the build through and refinance as soon as it makes sense.

On the plus side, it has required us to really think about what we need in order to minimize costs.

HillCountry15 said:

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Agthatbuilds said:

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As a custom builder, I would hire out a gc to do my home.

It's worth every penny to have a good GC. You're not buying them, your buying their team of subs. You make one phone call, he makes 10. If something is wrong, you make one call, he stresses about it, not you.

Don't do it.

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Lumber sales rep here. As someone who is on the other side of the sales counter in this industry, I've sold a lot of material packages to GC's and a few homeowner GC's. Typically, the GC builds are a lot smoother than homeowner managed projects. I feel like I have the connections both in subs AND manufacturing reps to be my own GC if I ever build, but I would still most likely hire one of my custom builders to do it for me. Agthatbuilds is spot on. If you hire a quality custom builder or GC, your only stress is paying them on time. They know how the industry works. They know when to order materials, and know how to make things work when things get delayed, screwed up, etc.

The homes I've seen that are successfully managed by the homeowners are usually under 2,000 sqft and are pretty "basic" in terms of floor plans, doors, windows, etc.

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That's also a good point. For a basic home, I'm sure one could GC it themselves.

But, your foregoing years and years of experience and need to heavily depend on your subs, who, seeing as how your job would be a one off, might not give you the attention you need.

As someone said, a gc has an element of adult baby-sitter. But, I wouldn't hire a GC who spends all day babysitting. We've weeded out subs who needed such attention and kept the ones who are the most able, responsible and fairly priced.

Again, your not hiring me. You're hiring my team of subs, my industry expertise, my suppliers (who I've built relationships with and can pull strings when needed), and am insurance policy. If I **** it up, I will be there to fix it, at my cost.

Bingo

One time close? Out of market rate but that's the trade off.

Yes.