Building Our Dream Home: A Journey of Challenges and Humor

03/31/23 • 22 min

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We wanted to share the process of buying land, securing a construction loan, and some of our lessons learned thus far.
The process is not for the faint of heart! We are into the selections and sending our plans out for bids while working the banking numbers behind the scenes.
1. Finding land
2. Making offers on land and being beaten out
3. Making an offer and going through the counteroffer process
4. Being under contract on land
5. Working with a bank to purchase the land, construction loan, and conventional loan
6. Sending our drawings and specifications out for bid
7. Trying not to stress out about the costs of each estimate
#construction #customhomebuilder #homebuilder #process #success #goals #dreambuilder

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Carolyn can be found on LinkedIn at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-mcmahon-937b89158
Joshua can be found on LinkedIn at:
www.linkedin.com/in/joshuamcmahon15
Email for feedback, questions, complaints, etc:
[email protected]
Daily Journal: https://amzn.to/41p9aKE

We appreciate any and all feedback so feel free to send a text.

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Previous Episode

Scheduling and the impact of COVID

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Construction Challenges Podcast:

Introduction: Managing construction projects have never been more challenging than they are today.

We struggle to manage projects for numerous reasons, and in todays episode, we intend to list five reasons and have some dialogue around each.

The complexity between projects: multiple phases and tasks must be completed sequentially. Each task can be affected by the following:
1. Labor shortage
2. Weather
3. Resources
4. Quality
Dependency between tasks. Activities are dependent on other tasks, and if one item is not completed on time, it will have an impact on the activities that follow.
Resource Allocation: projects require the coordination of various resources
1. Materials
2. Labor
3. Equipment
4. Time
Communication and Collaboration:
1. Communication between tasks and owners.
2. How well do we communicate between trades?
3. How far in advance do we schedule activities, and are we confirming that the schedule is accurate and the job is ready?
Unforeseen Issues: You will always encounter unexpected issues. It is the nature of the business, and you should anticipate them and be ready to pivot and make new decisions. I suggest having your Plan B ready if you need to deploy it.
1. Pre-Construction delays
2. A need to ask for more information delays the project
3. A need to bring in an engineer to approve something done in the field to the drawings.

Vendor of the week: Foster Heating & Air

Conclusion: To overcome the challenges you will face on projects, you must have several tools and techniques ready. Project management software, Critical Path Analysis, and Contingency Planning to name a few. Effective project management will require cooperation between all stakeholders, and you must be agile enough to make changes when things don’t work. If you remain rigid in the face of adversity, your business might survive, but it is at the expense of your people.
#construction #homebuilder #customhomebuilder #projectmanagement #superintendent #success #personaldevelopment

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Next Episode

Building our Dream Home: Budgeting and Financing

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Financing and Budgeting your Dream Home:

Introduction: Today, we will discuss the financing and budgeting section of building our dream home. The first and most crucial step is establishing a budget before taking your position on the start line. We will talk about financing a build, budgeting, and managing the budget throughout the build.

Financing your home building project
1. A construction loan was the only option
2. Several banks we talked to wouldn't finance the deal
3. Banks would finance, but not if we were going to self-build
4. William Hendricks - Integrity Home Mortgage
Budgeting the home-building project
1. Creating a budget based on each aspect of the build
2. Specifications and cost codes for each (from clearing to closing)
3. Using my knowledge and gut feeling, applying a guess on each line item
4. Developed a budget based on gut feeling to have a baseline
5. Land, County fees, Materials, Labor, etc.
6. Tip on saving money on your project: Don’t act like you know everything! Contractors are willing to help if you show humility and respect.
Managing your budget
1. Discuss the importance of tracking all expenses and comparing them with your budget.
2. Set up a dedicated bank account for bank draws and paying invoices
3. Have a purchase order system or a means to commit trades and suppliers to an agreed-upon price before any work commences
4. Regularly review your budget and expenses. You might need to change your expectations or finishes to stay within your budget.
5. Common budget pitfalls: Foundation, Framing, Overspending on finishes

Vendor of the week: William Hendricks Integrity Home Mortgage

Conclusion: building our own home has been a long-term goal of mine, and it is an exciting time—financing, budgeting the build, and managing the home building budget. The project will be rewarding and exhausting, all in the same breath.

Thanks for tuning in. Please subscribe to the show and leave a review as we read all reviews and make changes to improve the content.

#customhomebuilder #mcmahoncustomhomes #homebuilder #construction #purchasing #budget #success #banking #finance

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Feed Me Your Construction Content - Building Our Dream Home: A Journey of Challenges and Humor

Transcript

Hey y'all, welcome back to Construction Content. I'm the ever popular Carolyn Mcon.
I'm Joshua Mcon. Yes, dear.
You're back
from Big Work Sunday morning at eight 30 ish. Got into Asheville, North Carolina six 30 timeframe. Stayed dinner till probably. Early morning on Monday. Started at seven 30 and ended at nine.
We did that for three days straight and then drove home this morning. So,
so me and the girls are happy that you're
back. I'm happy to back. I'm ready to some