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Posted by Kris Krieger on April 19, 2008, 1:50 pm
>
>>
>>>
>>>> Hello, Group,
>>>>
>>>> OK, I'm trying to talk my cousin into at least considering having
>>>> her own place built. She lives in the general area of Greenville,
>>>> South Carolina.
>>>>
>>>> The goofy thing is that I don't know how to give her *practical*
>>>> info re: the process, how to apporach an architect or architectural
>>>> designer, how to
>>>> even find one (she can't spend months just driving around looking
>>>> for houses she likes and THEN hunt down who migh thave designed
>>>> them - she simply won't and can't).
>>>>
>>>> So, my question is,
>>>> If you were faced with a total and complete rube, with only a
>>>> modest budget, is there an informational website such a person
>>>> could look at, or what would you tell them?
>>>>
>>>> I'd really like to get her thinking about this, because she's
>>>> rejected it as an option and IMO that is a mistake, especially
>>>> given that she does not want to be in a typical suburban
>>>> development and needs a single-level home (for accessibility - she
>>>> can't deal with stairs well and is decreasingly able to do so).
>>>>
>>>> I'd like to give her info but I don't know what practical,
>>>> nuts'n'bolts, "here's how you get started" info to give her
>>>> (because I'm long on theory and really short on practicalities she
>>>> can actually use).
>>>>
>>>> Many thanks in Advance!
>>>>
>>>> - K.
>>>
>>>
>>> Well first off I'd have to ask, why are you trying to limit her to
>>> just one segment of the design arena?
>>> Most homes aren't designed by architects.
>>
>> Because I have not got Clue One as to how to find disigners, or
>> design- build firms, in her area. Also, I told her I'd send along
>> additional info as I could find it.
>>
>>> If it were me, I'd find a contractor and then ask him for a designer
>>> referral.
>>> How would I find a contractor?
>>> I'd drive to the property where I was wanting to build and pay
>>> attention to the homes under construction along the way, and I'd
>>> write down the names/numbers of some of them and contact them for an
>>> initial consultation. SHE, the potential homeowner HAS to put some
>>> effort into it. Or she can just buy a typical cookie cutter that
>>> will recognize 3% growth in investment over the next 10 years, if
>>> she's lucky.
>>
>> Well, she keeps complaining about her current cookie-cutter domicile,
>> which is why I'm trying to do some of this for her. The thing is
>> that for her, all of this is as unknown as the surface of the moon.
>> SHe's rejected building out-of-hand, which IMO is foolish - this is
>> why I'm looking for what could be described as "The Dummy's Guide to
>> Building a Home". In a way, I'm pushing her a bit, because it *is*
>> fairly unknown to her and I don't want her to unnecessarily cut
>> herself short so to speak.
>>
>> At the same time, I'm in Houston, TX, she's in the general vicinity
>> of Greenville, SC - and I've never been out there. So, I have no
>> idea what is or isn't being built, what the land situation is, or
>> really, anything.
>>
>> That being said, I will pass along what you suggested above, thanks!
>>
>> I'm also not clear on the rules concerning peple from one state
>> designing for people in another state - I'd assume there could be
>> problems with finding fgood local contractors and supervising the
>> project...
>>
>
>
> Kris,
>
> I get a lot of my leads from ServiceMagic.com. The way that works is
> that owners looking for architects go to servicemagic.com and select
> "Hire an Architect to Design a Project" and then complete a short
> requirements form including location, project type, approximate
> budget, square footage, expected level of quality etc etc etc.
OH! See, now I've seen the site but was very leery of it, never having
known anyone who used it. I guess it actually works, then...good to
know, thanks!, maybe I shoudl use it to find soem landscapers as well -
I'm sick of all the fly-by-night types tho' that's a completely separate
issue.
I guess it'd also work for "design-build" and "arch. designers", then,
too...
> Then
> SM matches these criteria with local architects who are part of their
> network. Dozens of member architects (pre-screened to be licensed) in
> that area get the leads without owner contact information and the
> first 3 who purchase the leads get her contact information. She just
> needs to sit and wait and 3 local architects will contact her to set
> up initial appointments where she can move forward from there if she
> chooses to.
>
> She just needs to go to www.servicemagic.com and select "architects
> and engineers". The rest is completely intuitive. The one
> recommendation I would suggest that you give her is to put a realistic
> budget number in the "budget" section because most architects
> receiving these leads will not buy the lead contact information if
> there isn't a sense of what a real budget vs SF etc is. For example,
> I ONLY buy leads from SM if the estimated budget # (say $300,000.00)
> has a semblence of reality with desired SF (say 1500SF). If I see a
> lead with that information I know that the home owner expects costs to
> be approximately $200/SF which is a realistic initial goal. I DO NOT
> buy leads that have an unrealistic estimated budget #/SF ratio (say
> $50,000.00/4000SF). Of all the leads I receive, about 20-30 a day,
> 90% of them are unrealistic and thus I don't waste my time and money
> on them. But when that realistic lead comes in, I jump on it and
> contact the homeowner immediately.
I didn't know any of that - thanks! It's good info to keep hold of.
The hard part to get a handle on is the price per sq ft - that's
something I've never been sure abut when thinking about having my own
place built (some day...) Is $200SqFt the best for uincluding both fees
and good quality? Since I'm sure that ties intimately into the sq ft
pricing, I'll clarify: I don't mean "top of the line indistrial fridge"
or anything, or "hand-finished kitchen cbinets loaded with decorations",
just nice appearance and sound/sturdy construction - there is a price
area with almost everything where one transitions from "looks nice and is
built to last" into "that, plus lots of decorations and/or expensive
materials and/or hand-done surfaces", i.e. where sturdy transitions to
fancy. I'm trying to get a handle on "sturdy but still looks reasonably
nice". I've Zero interest in "fancy surface but cheesy quality"...
For example, would $125 per sq ft be reasonable? Or would that not be
enough to include fees plus costs?
Thanks again, this is all great info and I do appreciate you're (and
y'all's ;) ) time in providing it!
- K.
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