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The Kitchen Table

House We Bid On

17 years ago

Just thought I would show you all the house DH and I bid on this morning.

Isn't the backyard amazing?

SamKaren

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Comments (21)

Happy_Go_Lucky_Gayle
17 years ago
Hope you have a riding lawn mower. Take it from one who has 1 acre to mow. LOL! Great House...No Neighbors?
samkaren
Original Author
17 years ago
Neighbors on both sides but not on top of us. Deck area is very private which is nice.
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What kind of bids and contracts should we be looking for?
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DH and I have final plans from the architect and have an hourly construction consultant working up a bid document. I am looking for advice about how to structure the bidding and contracts in a way that gets us an efficient build, but with the custom quality that would match our house and neighborhood. This is actually a major addition (about 2000 sq. ft. total including basement -- new kitchen, 3 bathrooms, new family and master, new deck) to our current house in Wisconsin, not a completely new home. But since it involves all the trades a new build would require and is doubling the size of our current house, I figured I should ask here instead of the Remodeling forum. Maybe I'll cross-post. We are self-financing, not using a bank. We don't want to GC this ourselves, but we do want to bid subs separately and to separate materials bids from labor bids for all bids. We would pay all invoices directly, rather than do fixed bid draws to a GC and expect him to pay subs. This is in part because we want the flexibility to customize materials more than most locals are used to and I've done a lot of product and materials research. It is also because we are in a relatively expensive labor market or used to be, but some contractors are going out of business in the down market and we don't want our project to get stuck. Finally, we will finish our basement after we get this done first and we'd like the subs to know that we pay promptly and will be looking to hire again. Hopefully we'll learn enough on this one to be able to GC that part ourselves. Four years ago, when we first wanted to do this project, the local residential construction business was booming and contractors wanted to charge $250 a sq. ft. for basic finished space and do it their way. Material prices have not gone down since then, but the residential construction market in our area is much, much slower than it has been in the 11 years since we moved here, so we figure this is our time. Carolyn53562, who lives in this same area, thinks so, too. We expect more bidders should be available and interested in this project in 2008, but we suspect we may get some resistance to the way we want to break out the bidding. Don't know how flexible folks will be. The initial estimate from one bidder (in January before the plans were final) made me think he was hoping to make his whole year on our project. I have done too much research to find his numbers serious, but I was discouraged because it seemed like we risk getting zip-coded. The local NARI chapter meets monthly at the country club across the street! What kind of a contract should we looking for and what is it called? How should we structure bidding and contracting for this project? Forgot to mention, DH is an attorney (litigator) but we don't want to need his professional services except to review the contracts.
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Builder put wrong bid in our building contract, what can we do?
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Comments (7)
we had that same issue early on, but it was 28k extra for the foundation.. with cost plus, you eat the extra costs, but you are also able to have more control over certain costs and benefit from the savings. we had a cost plus fixed fee. so our builder didnt profit if we changed to higher end finishes. one thing we did to ensure the cost did not continue to creep was ask for update ( to us and our bank) regarding how much we owed in labor to each sub to complete the job, itemized in the middle of the build. then any that were increased had to justify in writing how the new estimate was different than the original bid. it is amazing how accurate they became when the labor amt was no longer open ended. all and all, i felt cost plus was fair ( you will never know if your gc is making deals with the subs and getting paid that way also) but i was not comfortable not having control of costs ( i admit I am a type A) and when it is said and done, my fixed price contracts ended up being abt 100k more than i paid, including gc's fee.
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Living in MH while building
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Comments (13)
I did this once in the 1980s. Even in a town with tight zoning and strict enforcement of buiding codes, they had no problem with granting the varience I needed to set the mobile home closer to the road then the setbacks allowed. The connection to the septic tank would never have met code for a permanent installation. (Too steep and above grade.) I had to get the building permit for the permanent house first and promise them the mobile home would be removed within a year. They told me that if steady progrss was being made on the house, they would be happy to grant an extension of the 1 year limit. When the project was finished, I sold the mobile home for a bit more than I paid for it. As an aside, a co-worker was moving to California at the time and needed a place to park some of his modest automobile collection until he settled in. I promised him that I would dutifully start and drive his mostly restored 1960 Bentley on a regular basis. The folks in the neighborhood who initially thought "trailer trash" when they saw the used mobile home being towed in were at a loss for words when I pulled the Bentley into the drive. Wayne
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I KNOW our Realtor thinks we're nuts!
Q
Comments (15)
Tinker if this is what you want to do, I say go ahead. You have outlined your situation and it sounds like you understand full well what you're getting into. That said, a couple of stories: We have lived in the same neighborhood for 15 years. We rented for about 6 or 7 years, then started to house hunt--only in our neighborhood. We found THE house. We bid higher than reasonable and were confident we would get it, and didn't. It was bought by a developer for 30% more, who reconfigured the antique house so that the lot could be split and added two really ugly condos. We were aghast, and I can't believe I still have to look at that thing every day (we pass it on the way to dd's school). It was the best thing that ever happened to us, because we learned that you can lose your dream home, and life goes on, and unbelievably, better dream homes came along. We bid on 3 more "dream homes" in our neighborhood, getting a little more cocky and skeptical every time. I live in the fifth house we tried to buy, 4 years later, and we're very happy with it. We got a great deal, and it's head and shoulders above the first house we went for. So, as much as this house speaks to you, keep in mind, other houses can still do that too. I recommend taking 48 hours and looking around in some other places, with a different realtor. Look on craigslist--you will see things that don't show in mls listings. I have a friend that was house hunting in two of the most expensive towns in our area, my modest mid-range town wasn't even on her list. But she stumbled on a listing in Craigslist, and now has twice as much house, just as good a commute, and far better schools than she expected. Before you commit to this house, think outside the box. Heck I wish 2000 people like you would descend on Galveston, TX and invest in those crumbling victorians. Or Brunswick, GA. Just look at this: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-Detail/817-Egmont_Brunswick_GA_31520_M63142-27459 or this: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-Detail/815-Albany_Brunswick_GA_31520_M60146-44621 I'd buy the second house just to get a tree like that. Finally, if you are open to spending that kind of money on preservation, from a stewardship standpoint, it makes more sense to spend the money on a house that won't be torn down when you move on. Could you look in a more historic district where these types of homes are valued? If you can live with the idea of your work being undone, then I guess you're ok, but knowing with certainty that the work I put into my house would be ripped up would drive me nuts. But that's just me.
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jel48
17 years ago
Love the back yard! Good luck. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you :-)
phyllis__mn
17 years ago
Oh, that is great....love the space it offers.
casey_nfld
17 years ago
Nice! I love the big trees.
Jasdip
17 years ago
Good luck Karen!
Lots of room for flowers and pets!!!
grammahony
17 years ago
Front yard is nice too. Big mature trees for shade. I too hope you have a riding lawn mower. Up at the cabin we, (my daughter, and I, and sometimes my sister) have 4 acres (give or take some cabin space)to mow every week. It takes most of 1 day. But our day does end at 4:00 for Margaritas.
Another thing FYI, during planting season (it looks like a corn field behind you)I'd tape all the window cracks to keep the dust out. Again, at harvest time.
Good luck on your bid. It looks like a nice place.
Leslie
grammahony
17 years ago
One question though. In the 1st picture, looking at the background, there is a tree in the center. Then to the left of tree is something. Is that also a tree or a power tower?
Leslie
samkaren
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for the nice comments. Leslie...that is a large pole with the tv antena you see in the background.

The house is 3 bedrooms, basement (unfinished) 2 bathrooms, laundry room, mud room with area for my wicker settee and a very private deck. The backyard is large and yes that is a corn field behind us. It is at the edge of the town so there is little traffic. best thing for me is the vet is across the street and one house down.

I just pray we can agree on a price with the seller.
SamKaren
your resident DJ
danihoney
17 years ago
Pretty, looks peaceful there.

DH and I put a bid in on a house on Monday! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you AND for us!!!
susan_on
17 years ago
I would love to have that kind of space. I hope you get it.

I hope you get your house too, Danihoney.
grinch_gut
17 years ago
Good luck to you and Danihoney....looks nice....I used to live in front of a corn field do what Leslie suggested...the dust will kill ya....Stacy
marilyn_c
17 years ago
I like it! I hope you get it!!
yayagal
17 years ago
Best of luck, I feel like you're going to get it!!
danihoney
17 years ago
I live just three houses down from a field that used to grow corn but now it's alfalfa. The Dirt from that corn field was awful. That and the field is to the north of us so the wind would blow it right at us. Once we forgot and went out of town with some windows cracked. We had dirt and corn husks 6 feet into our house. I much prefer the alfalfa, it smells so nice when it's cut.
The great thing about the corn field is you can see the harvesters in the distance before the dust gets to you. Gives you a chance to get those windows shut.

I love that space, I really hope you get it.
samkaren
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for the warning about the dust. Never thought of that. Haven't heard back from the seller yet but will keep you posted.

SamKaren
your resident DJ
cate52
17 years ago
If you don't have a good mouser of a cat - you will need one... Corn fields = mice = into the house when the cold strikes!
grammahony
17 years ago
cate52, I was going to suggest that too. Harvest time stirs/clears the mice out of the field, and looking for a warm place to hide.
Leslie
samkaren
Original Author
17 years ago
cate52
Luckily I have 2 cats at home. Didn't think of the mice either. The KTer's are so knowledgable and informative!

SamKaren
trishaw
17 years ago
Very cool-

Our house in Wasco, California was surrounded by crop fields. The first year we lived there it was corn. That was the same year the movie Signs came out. My kids refused to leave the house after dark, lol! The dust was horrid. But you have a lot of grass in between- I hope it all works out for you, I really love the yard!

Trish
mariend
17 years ago
Maybe you could put some sort of wind break (trees, bushes, etc) between the property and corn fields. Never living near the fields I was not aware of the dust. Did know about the mice, and raccoons love corn also. If you put in nature wind breaks, beside the little critters, do you have snakes? Mice bring those too. Guess I lived in the country too long. Wish you the best and looks like a great place to live.

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