Punabuild Numbercrunch

[Genxor]

Help from those "in the know" about current building is appreciated.
Thanks to John R. for his direct response.
Builder Bob builds turnkey for $135 sqft.
Builder Bob also can build your package home(which saves time/money per builder) for almost the same price ( he gave estimations on everything except labor).Home was Honsador model 864.
Builder Tim can build his 1506 sqft. model for 95,599, additional costs being 11k for lotwork/watercatch,95,599 covered all else.
Both are respected builders. All are estimates I know, could be more/less, but when you are trying to plan/budget and your getting such diverse costs - or the same costs for an 864 sqft. as you do for an 1506sqft. Where lies the answer.
Email me direct if you wish to keep it off of the board.
Email private if you wish to keep off of board.

[toucano]

I suggest that one person you should talk to is Catherine Dumond who post here as Cat. She is a long-time resident and involved in helping people with exactly the kind of issues you have.

I've talked with Catherine about a couple of permitting problems that I have and find her a fountain of information.

This is her signature from her postings here with contact info:

Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
808 217-7578
http://bluewaterpm.125mb.com/index.html
"We help make building your dream home a reality"

[jdirgo]

A lot of the costs of building are relatively fixed regardless of building size. The catchment, the land clearing, cost of hauling in equipment, etc. Once the builders are on-site, there are economies of scale that make a signicant difference.

One thing to look at would be the quality of materials used. Is one pricing it with inexpensive carpeting and the other with travertine tile? Is one including appliances and the other without? Is one vaulting the ceilings to make 864 square feet feel bigger and the other doing standard flat ceilings? There's a lot of factors that can affect the cost.

John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com

[Genxor]

Travertine tile John D. ?
The only people I know that can afford that are the realtors. Just kidding.
No, these are basic homes, no upgrades.
I have contacted Cat , thanks toucano !

[jdirgo]

I have cheap carpeting, no travertine tile in my house. I'd love to have it but that stuff's EXPENSIVE!

Yep, Cat is the best resource for the info you need.

John Dirgo, RA, ABR, e-PRO
Island Trust Properties, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.hawaiirealproperty.com

[Kapohocat]

I go away for a few days ... and come back to this! Thank you all!

That said... Genxor... I emailed you some thoughts on differences in pricing and what may cause it. I suggest to everyone who is doing this research that you make a spreadsheet and include as many items (catchment, sitework, wastewater, etc) as the most detailed bid. Start to translate so you are comparing apples to apples. Rather than a turnkey bid as compared to a SF framing price....

**important item is to give all the builders the same info... specify a quality - from cheap to builder grade to top of the line... with examples of what you like. Call the contractors association and get referrals from them or leave your prints there for contractors to review and bid.

Unfortunately, it is still a sellers market in regards to building. The slump hasnt hit the trades hard yet. When it does really make a differences, pricing will be affected somewhat. The cream will come off the top - leaving a fair profit. For a while there, if you wanted your project done faster, you were paying a premium. Sorta like using Fed Ex instead of snail mail.

Also IMHO, contractors shy away from giving a figure without a set of actual prints with a TMK#. There are many factors that can affect pricing on the same house on different lots. As an example, you get more sunny days to build here in Kapoho, more rainy days in Glenwood which directly affects scheduling in regards to site work, concrete and framing.

Additionally, more lava less soil creates differences in site work. More soil in Mountain view (Ihope side) means more rock for a compacted base to build on.

Each area has its own quirks. Hawaiian acres equipment if often tracked/moved from a lot close by without a trailer (although the association frowns on it)... Leilani would have a fit if you tracked equipement across their paved roads!!!!!

*SF pricing may get lower with increase in total sqaure footage. If you take a 20 x 20 room and make it 24 x 24 - although you increased the sqaure footage by 176 - the actual increase in LF is only 12.

Also without a fairly firm committment on time frame to begin to build, a contractor will have reservations about quoting a low price if you may come back to him in 2-3 years and asked that the quote from 2006 be honored, although on a written bid most include a "quote good for" clause.

There also can be the OP factor. It might seem funny "OP = Owner Participation"... but there are a few owners (of course no one on this board... ha ha ) who micromanage a GC. If you hired them to do what the do... let them do it. Otherwise it will cost you money somewhere.

So get references, check DCCA licensing, and remember cheapest is not always the best. Let me say get references again.

Getting a bid for a $100K to $500K project isnt an overnight deal. Ask for a reasonable time frame for a bid... if they miss it call and check in... no bid, move on.

My motto is if it is hard for a client to write a check in the beginning it doeant get easier... if a contractor cant get a bid in on time, it may be an indication for the time frame of construction...

Also i have typed this Saturday morning with only 1 cup of coffee...


Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
808 217-7578
http://bluewaterpm.125mb.com/index.html
"We help make building your dream home a reality"


Edited by - kapohocat on 09/30/2006 08:32:37