<p>We had a horrible architect and amazing builder for a custom vacation home. I could give you lots of specifics on all the things that went wrong. But you would be bored to tears. The house was gorgeous, but I would absolutely never ever do it again. And I regretted doing it the first time. Make sure you have a rock solid marriage and that you and your husband are good at problem solving together.</p>
<p>We just sold the big family house. It was a wonderful place, built in 1961 by an architect for his own family. I miss it every day, but it was much more than we need now and the maintenance was beginning to wear on us. We bought a building lot seven years ago after searching for a year or so. I think we drove every road in the county and looked at everything that was buildable. The lot we bought was not on the market but we managed to make a deal on it. </p>
<p>We started on sketch plans right away and then stepped back while we sold our house. That took years (a combination of bad timing and being at the top of the market) but we are now in a rental and back to work on the house plans. They are spread out on the dining room table and I spend some time with them every day, along with hours on houzz.com, gardenweb and other sites online. Next meeting with the architects is in a week and a half. We hope to break ground in early 2015 and would love to be in the house by the end of the year. We’ll see. </p>
<p>You should read Tracy Kidders book HOUSE. Or maybe not :)</p>
<p>My SisIL and her H had a house built from plans in a book. They spent a long time searching for the right plan and thinking about their needs and wants. The house suits them, fits their lot well, and takes great advantage of the views. </p>
<p>surfcity, I just requested it from my library. Not sure if I should thank you. ;)</p>
<p>I loved House (and all his books really). It takes the design and building of a house for a couple from not only their POV but also the architect’s and the GC’s. Everyone is well intentioned but certainly has different priorities and expectations. </p>
<p>Be sure to watch the classic Myrna Loy movie, “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House.” It’s still quite applicable to building today. The paint color scene is a favorite for a lot of GerdenWeb/home decorating folks. My own favorite is when Mr. Blandings is upset about yet another extra charge and his wife describes how she merely asked the builder to make good use of a leftover piece of stone, not realizing exactly what would be entailed in redoing so much work to grant her request. I learned to be very careful when asking my builder(s) if something was feasible to follow up by asking for details on the time delays and added costs so I could do my own cost:benefit analysis.</p>
<p>We’ve had multiple houses built and have done major remodels. It pains us to think about doing another custom build, but then we get excited about the possibilities. In our experience, there was a huge added cost to doing a custom build vs. having a production builder “customize” a house for us and it didn’t necessarily provide sufficient benefits to offset that extra expense. OTOH, if we could really find a builder with experience in the sort of construction techniques that we prefer, we’d probably suffer through one more build.</p>
<p>We built our dream house, where we raised our girls. At the time I said, NEVER AGAIN. But I think I would do it one more time.</p>
<p>I think it might be like childbirth; after awhile you forget about the pain and focus on the joy. Once the pain has become enough of a distant memory, you’re ready to try for another one. :D</p>
<p>At times it does seem like it is a second full time job-you spend so much time researching products, going to showrooms to see them in person, gazing at your plans to see if you’ve forgotten anything important, visiting the build site, etc.</p>
<p>I bought “Mr Blandings” for DH when we bought our lot seven years ago; we should get it out and watch it again. (That is, if we can find it, having just moved out of the family home.) "House "is at the library waiting to be picked up. I’m set for entertainment for awhile. ;)</p>
<p>It looks like the OP has potentially found a place to buy. Having closed on our house just three weeks ago, after having two contracts fall through, I wish her well. It was a roller coaster of a process (and this was our third time selling); I finally reached the point where I thought-- If it’s meant to happen, it will. </p>
<p>"Mr Blanding’s " is a book as well. I read it after the fact of building and rolled with laughter. I may have cried if I’d read it BEFORE building. The paint selection was so classic–it’ll stand as comedy for years to come. I envision the day when the walls have technology embedded where you change color on a whim. It’s probably around but just not for the masses. It would just be one more thing to fight about…</p>
<p>The thing about paint is that the changes cost hundreds . . .</p>
<p>Not as much as moving walls and redoing a kitchen!</p>
<p>The sequel to the “Mr. Blandings” book isn’t so amusing. The author spent about 5X his original budget on the house and ended up selling it at a significant loss after it became a burden. He later tried to buy it back but the owner wouldn’t sell. </p>
<p>I thought about the books recently when I looked at the current Zillow page on a house we had custom built about a decade ago. We sold it after less than two years for various reasons and were very lucky to break even after RE commission, closing costs and the post-build finishing touches. The current estimated value on several RE sites is about 75% - 80% of our selling price.</p>
<p>Didn’t know there was a sequel. Name? Anything over budget isn’t amusing!</p>
<p>When we got the estimate with allowances for our 800 sq foot addition which included a basement, new roof, new siding, new windows for the whole house, and a full kitchen buildout, the builder estimated $10,000 in over-budget items. I took one look at the estimate for 29 windows and a slider and said we are already $20,000 over your budget on the windows alone. Not scrimping on windows in Michigan. I think the final cost for the entire addition, plus siding, roof, and windows was around $200,000.</p>
<p>The whole project took 5 months for the interior to be livable and 2 more to finish it all. We paid extra to stay in the house and be without my kitchen for only one day. Unfortunately, that day was Christmas Eve, but the builders were true to their word and I had a stove, fridge, and running water by the end of the day. It was cheaper than moving 2 adults and 4 kids ages 3-14 out for 5 months.</p>
<p>H had no interest in the project, but it all went very smoothly. It helped being able to see everything every day. 12 years later we still love it. No regrets.</p>
<p>@gouf78: The sequel was called “Blandings’ Way.” I’ve seen used copies for around $4 if your library doesn’t have it.</p>
<p>My mom had similar problems with her high end condo in Bellevue, only problems weren’t obvious until after the builders ins had expired.
<a href=“http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024751432_sheahomeslawsuit2xml.html”>http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2024751432_sheahomeslawsuit2xml.html</a>
I like my existing house built with old growth cedar.
And I didn’t have to oversee every detail cause it was built before I was born.</p>