Building a house

[Nimaro]

My wife and I are moving to Tulsa next year and were looking at building. We found an outstanding forum with ideas people included in their new homes and things they did thay they wouldnt do again. when i get home from work ill post he site for you to look over

 

[Wheel Gun]

Make sure that buying an existing home is just completely unacceptable to you. Right now, there are bargains on existing homes that you may never see again. None of those discounts will be available to you when building a new home. Depending on the size of the home you want, you will certainly be paying tens of thousands more by building instead of buying from that desperate seller down the street. This isn't always true, but it is right now. That's my $.02.

 

[PUMPKIN]

No matter what, when you get finished and live in it you will have wished you done several things differently.

 

[Okie4Life]

Be prepared to make decisions. A LOT of them. One of the biggest frustrations, other than dealing with Subs that are not qualified, is dealing with homeowners that cannot make up their minds. Hopefully you can already picture the future house in your head. You may not need to know the exact paint color but you should know what it is going to look like.

Don't put anything on the "We can do that next year list" it won't get done. and if it does it will be much more difficult than doing it while the house was under construction.

As far as the budget goes, you will go over budget. There are always things that were not thought of or you end up splurging on little things. If you are on a tight budget to build a house, this is not a time to try and build your dream home.

 

[okav8tor]

I am a builder in the Tulsa Area and the best advice I can give you is to check out your builder by viewing some of his work in various stages of completion if possible as well as the finished product. Talk to others who have built with him to insure he works with you after the sale. He should offer a one year warranty at no additional charge. Make sure he will meet you at the job site at least once a week to walk thorough the project. Problems are much easier to correct as you go than to try to fix something after it has been built. Just a few qucik thoughts. Good luck.

 

[rehpot]

No matter what, when you get finished and live in it you will have wished you done several things differently.

This is true, try looking arround new houses that meets most of your needs and save the stress on building one. There is no perfect house, you may get close to it but your taste would change, so would her's. Just my 2c.

 

[Johnjosiah]

What WFT said....
or
Don't do it. I've been there done that. If you must...Build a shop first. Avoid concrete foundation if possible. Cheap but hard on your knees and feet long term. Don't trust the contractor yes you have to be there almost every day.

 

[Droberts]

the wife & i had a house built last year and it was a pretty good experience. we had a blast watching it go up, checking on it every day after work seeing all the new progress. had a few minor problems along the way but were addressed as soon as we brought it to the attention of the builder. in the year we've been in the house we've had one wiring fix for the AC thermostat, 1 AC recharge due to a leak on the initial install, 1 recaulk & trim adjustment along the garage from settling & a little pluming fix on the dishwasher all covered under warranty. overall we've been pretty happy. builder was mike shaddix from blue ribbon construction. it was our first home build so i dont really have anything to compare it to, but i'd say he's good at what he does & always kept an honest helpful attitude. lots of little wooded acreage lots just east of i-35 bout 5 miles north of edmond if you like a bit of country living.

http://blueribbonok.com/

it was really exciting to see this:

turn into this:

 

[ripnbst]

Anyone building in the Tulsa area I HIGHLY recommend you look at Woodbridge Homes. Builder's name is Robert(Mike) Blocker.

You wont find much online about him, he's old school with technology but builds extremely nice homes exactly how you want it done. Advertises by word of mouth mostly and I haven't heard anything bad from the owners of the homes he's built. His homes are usually large and expensive for clientele with $$$ but he will build more reasonable homes too just as well. His customer base just tends to be doctors, lawyers, etc. He will build anywhere you've got land within about an hour of Tulsa.

 

[TulsaBandit]

Get the house wired for internet, cable, surround sound, etc. as you go instead of at the end. If you want to have a great yard, make sure you get the sprinkler system installed BEFORE the sod guys come out and lay it all down. Don't get a pool. Do get a storm shelter.