Posts: 80
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Joined: Jul 2007
Wow, lots of great info here. I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster. My wife and I are currently looking at buying/building in Puna. Currently we are wasting $1100 a month on rent for a one bedroom apt in Hilo. We initially looked at buying land and building. The prices on package homes looks very good. One problem is that neither one of us have any clue when it comes to carpentry or the like, so going owner-builder seems to be out of the question (am I wrong?). It's not that we are lazy or unwilling to learn but we don't want to mess things up then have to pay somebody to fix our mistakes anyways. We are open to hiring somebody to do all the work but it is very unclear how much $$ we would be looking at from start to finish. I have seen some turnkey packages that would take care of nearly everything but when you add it all up including the land and the extras to finish the house it seems to come out to more than you could buy a completed home for. Does anybody here share this realization with me? The original appeal of building for us was the possibility of saving some $$ over buying. We aren't looking for much, maybe 2br/1ba 800-1000 sq ft and are flexible on the subdivision (we have a short list). We are looking to spend under $200k. Obviously the further south we get from that amount the better. Also, everything would have to be accomplished via a construction loan since we don't have a lot of cash at our disposal currently. I really like what I've seen from Castleblock and Multi-Facetted Homes but aren't sure how much it would cost to have them built. The HPM packages seem to carry an outstanding value and reputation. Sorry for the long post. We have gotten some great answers to many initial questions on these forums. Lately we have began leaning towards buying something $200-$220 in Hawaiian Shores/Beaches. I would love to hear from somebody who was in a same quandry as us who thought there was no way they could owner-build but succeeded anyways. Is there one type of kit out there that is really dum-dum friendly? Also, are our ideas of being able to build from start to finish w/ a contractor for less than $200k unrealistic? If so, it appears buying would be the way to go with the current market.
Thanks to all of you in advance, and for the answers you have all provided thus far in previous posts.
Posts: 2,189
Threads: 295
Joined: Sep 2004
Just my two cents... I designed my own home and had a draftsperson do the plans for the county. I received what I believe is excellent advice. The "kit homes" are nothing more than a floorplan with a cut list of materials. You still have to have plans drafted, pay for an architedts stamp, pay for an engineers stamp, etc... and the cost of the kit home is about 15 to 20% higher than if you just purchased the materials straight out. That is their profit margin.... about the same profit margin as if you disigned exactly what you wanted and hired a contractor to build it.
No matter how you do it, building a home from the groundup is a stressful adventure that, once survived, you will be thrilled to have accomplished! Have a wonderful time. Aloha! Pam
Just another day in P A R A D I S E !!
I want to be the kind of woman that, when my feet
hit the floor each morning, the devil says
"Oh Crap, She's up!"
Posts: 241
Threads: 15
Joined: May 2007
quote:
Does anyone have any experience with Bamboo Living Homes by Bamboo Technologies? Me and my husband are trying to find a builder and just love the style of these homes. Of course, the price is really up there too.
Also, has anyone had any experience with VHP Builders, Inc.?
Mahalo.
Kathy
Hi Kathy. Do a search on Bamboo Houses in both this forum and in the general forum for a couple of strings about BT. We're building in Orchidland.
Posts: 1
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2006
Aloha,
Could you add
http://www.wbsbuildingmaterials.com?
We have package homes as well as sell building materials in wholesale amounts and previous customers have saved 10-15% on the average including shipping.
One contractor saved $7,000.
Posts: 613
Threads: 92
Joined: Jun 2005
aloha kathy,
what have you finally decided on an older home or newer, in hpp, orchidland or waa waa from a previous post in the past....inquiring minds want to know....
noel
Posts: 315
Threads: 28
Joined: Oct 2006
hpp4me:
Happy to share with you some pix... you can look at:
www.peteandjane.net
though we've not kept it up as well as in the past. We have an extensive library of pix that show the whole construction process, and could burn that to a CD for you. You can call us at:
Jane: 250-1780 or email at
jane@peteandjane.net
Rob also knows how to find us :-)
We've had homes:
built entirely by ourselves
built by contractors
extensively remodeled by contractors
and are again back at doing most of it ourselves. Rob's been great!
jane
Posts: 325
Threads: 54
Joined: Jun 2007
Thanks for sharing! Do post a pic when the house is completed!
Posts: 613
Threads: 92
Joined: Jun 2005
Hi Jane,
those were great pics of your building process...is your nursery open to the public....i am interested in growing vireya's and getting some started on my property.
noel
Posts: 80
Threads: 22
Joined: Jul 2007
It seems that all of you who used castleblock did so on an owner-builder basis. Since I'm not able to do that due to time and financing, are there any general contractors who anybody can recommend, specifically for the castleblock homes? If they are that simple for the layperson to assemble, they must be even more so for a builder who really knows what he is doing. I would love the experience of DIY but i work full time during the day and don't really have much daylight left afterwards. Also, I believe most construction loans don't cover owner-builder scenarios (not an expert so could be wrong there). I would love to find somebody who has already built a few. Thanks.
Posts: 4,533
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Joined: Jan 2006
quote:
...looks a little like a new home but not modular that is being built in Kapoho, by a berkeley architect who uses beautiful teak siding, aluminum pocket sliders also imported and has a modern/organic aesthetic like Dwell magazine featured homes....the owner is actually going to put it on the market soon...i'll have to post it when it comes available.....it think it will be around 850K for a 2200 sft foot home in kapoho vacationland. The inside is huge with extra large master suite and bamboo floors...
Noel, look more closely at that house. The exterior siding is cupping already and is really now beginning to look not very good (and the house is just being finished). The lanai is not a useful size and looks out over KapohoKai Road and the speedbumps (ha ha).... the only thing I really was impressed with was the exterior folding doors in place of SG Doors. I really have to come down hard on this one because this was a case of a mainland arch who didnt really have a feel for our climate/weather before he designed the plans, even here in sunny Kapoho where we only get 6"-7" of rain a month.
Catherine Dumond
Blue Water Project Management
808 217-7578
http://bluewaterpm.125mb.com/index.html
"We help make building your dream home a reality"
