I'm a little hacked...

[Prngr44]

My wife and I had our house plans out for bid to 2 reputable homebuilders in our area. I know one personally, and the other came on recommendation by our architect (one of my groomsmen.) We're meeting with the guy I know tonight to go over the bid, but I called #2 yesterday to find out where he was on things (it's been 5 weeks) and didn't hear back.

My friend calls me this morning to relay the news that his cousin (builder #2) still doesn't have everything, but even if he did, doesn't know when he could start because he's got 5 other houses going this summer.

So a few points: He's obviously a good builder because other builders are chomping at the bit to get work. 6-8 weeks ago when we started talking, he was gung ho, can't wait, etc etc. I'm just shocked that he was so unprofessional that he couldn't call me himself to let me know the situation. I realize he's embarrassed because his own family went out of the way to get business steered in his direction and now he's not sure he can do it, but come on. We're not talking about a $200 side job here.

:angry:

So now I'm basically HOPING my contact's bid is in the ballpark of my wallet or I'll be faced with waiting who knows how long for more bids.

[Maarchk]

Options seem limited. its crazy that the guy has so much work. Thats a bummer for you. but what can you do. i think the dude may have been pushed by your groomsman to talk to you and in the rush to be helpful and family friendly and then got into over his head. Granted he should have called you weeks ago and said, I'm sorry but i've been booked for 5 houses so its going to be an X month wait. Would you still want an estimate or can you not wait that long. That would have been helpful.
I hope this guy doesn't bend you over.

by the way what is the cost of building your own home versus buying one that is ready made and similar in size and rooms?
And why did you decide to build it your way?

[Paymaster]

Some contractors have so much work that they just don't care when things fall off of their plate. We had a similar experience with a landscape contractor last year. He came out to our house, we talked a lot, and he promised to come up with a plan and bid. Said he was ready to get started "right away". A week goes by, and we give him a call, leaving a voice mail. Ditto the next week and the next week. Finally we catch him in the office, and he says that he got a big commercial job and needed to push us out a couple more weeks. We started talking to other contractors, and it was good that we did, because we never did hear back from the original guy.

[Prngr44]

by the way what is the cost of building your own home versus buying one that is ready made and similar in size and rooms?
And why did you decide to build it your way?

It really all depends... I know a lot of folks that work in construction so we're doing a fair amount ourself (electrical, plumbing, roofing, painting, trim, etc.) and have some close personal friends in other trades that are giving us some very generous bids.

So with that in our pocket, it's very cost effective. For ballpark figures, they say to take your square footage and multiply by anywhere from 90-150 per square foot and that's the range of finished cost depending on how fancy you get. We're hoping to have our figure closer to 70-90.

We decided to build because we'll get exactly what we want where we want it and in the location we choose. We bought our land almost 2 years ago and took almost another year to plan the construction. It's definitely a learning experience and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone.