So, you've decided to build a new home but really don't have a handle on what is involved. How, exactly do you go about getting things rolling and what are your responsibilities in the process? How do I find a piece of property that is suitable for modular home construction? What do I need to do to the land to get it ready to build on? How do I go about getting a loan and what kind of a loan do I need? How much do I need to do and how much is the Contractor's responsibility? Who else will be involved in the process and how much will it cost?
Let us answer these questions for you.
Your best starting point would be to establish your actual financing capabilities for the project. I would suggest you get your credit scores, current liabilities and W-2's together and talk to one of our financial guides. They can establish the amount you qualify for on a full construction-to permanent loan which would allow you to purchase a lot and have the loan money in place to build the house.
You can check with any of our lenders by clicking on our 'Land and Financing' page. They can help you through this process and have step-by-step processes to find just the right loan for your situation.
Once you have established your loan limits you can break that down to how much you can afford for the lot, the site development and the house itself. For example, lets say you have $180,000 to build the house excluding land costs.
Be mindful that there will be some land development costs involved. These would include water and sewer hook-up or well and septic costs as well as a driveway, specific engineering fees associated with the lot and lot clearing if it is a wooded lot. You should plan on about $15000 if the lot has public water and sewer. If you get a lot that requires digging a well and a septic field, you should plan for about $25,000 in development costs. For example: Lot cost:$ 150,000 Lot Development costs$15,000 Home costs$ 180,000 Total building costs$ 345,000 Prudent reserve$20,000(10% of development and home construction costs)* Total Loan Amount$ 365,000 *You may not need the prudent reserve but, it's best to have it in place just in case there are unexpected expenses along the way or you want to upgrade something or add porches, decks, dormers, etc. Be mindful, when looking at the houses on our manufacturer's website, that the picture of a house may show an attached garage, front porch and dormers. These are NOT necessarily included the base pricing and will be an extra charge. The plans for the house will not show these extras. A two car garage will typically add about $25-35,000 to the cost of the home. Other options will be priced upon request.
Once you have established your total loan qualification, you will want to start looking at lot prices in the area you wish to build. You can check any of our realtors and get a listing of the available lots in your area. You can contact one of them from here: 'Land and Financing'. Let them know you are planning on building a modular home with us and how much you are willing to spend on the property so they can show you lots that are suitable for modular construction within your budget. The Realtor can explain weather the lots are finished, raw land or have some utilities in place. This will help determine how much land development will be necessary to build your home. Once we know these parameters, we can establish an accurate cost for the land development for you.
We do have standard site location, wall check and final location engineering costs figured in our home building prices.Some properties will require additional engineering in order to build. We can refer you to local engineers familiar with local site engineering requirements. These engineering costs should be added to your site development costs.
Once you have established a realistic budget for a lot and lot development costs, this will establish the actual budget for the house. You can look at the available house plans and figure out how large a house you can afford. Here are some 'Ball Park' prices so you can get a feel for what you can expect to pay for your new home. Understand that these prices are for budget consideration only. Final pricing will depend on the particular home you choose and the various finish levels you choose for the house. To see the basic specifications of what is included in our standard house package click on our 'Building Specifications' page and choose a manufacturer. For accurate pricing, you will need to choose a specific floor plan, including options, and we will fully price it for you.
Ball Park Pricing: Ranch Home on a crawl space foundation $ 98 per square foot of living space with baseboard electric heat (no Air conditioning) Ranch Home with a full basement and heat pump $120 per square foot of living space forced air heat and air conditioning Two Story Home on a crawl space foundation $ 91 per square foot of living space with baseboard electric heat (no Air conditioning) Two Story Home with a full basement and heat pump $103 per square foot of living space forced air heat and air conditioning Example: For a ranch home with a full basement and forced air heating and air conditioning at $120 per SF and you have $180,000 to spend on the house. $180,000/$120 per SF = 1500 square foot (SF) house. For a ranch home on a crawl space foundation and base board electric heat at $98 per SF $180,000/$98 per SF = 1836 square foot (SF) house
We will help you through every step of this process and once you have all this in place, we will submit a contract to get the building permits, do the site development and build the complete home ready for you to move in.
Short Hill Design & Construction BUILT RIGHT * BUILT FAST * PRICED RIGHT 540-668-6800 866-277-6800 540-668-6477fax Shorthill@shorthill.net
