Any California home builders out there?
 

I've begun tossing an idea in my head about demolishing my home and building two new homes. My lot is exactly twice that of adjoining lots. I'm located in a finished old track of homes. Mine was built in 1947 and was the original lemon grove ranch home with 1950 sq ft. Surrounding homes were build in the late 50's early 60's. Homes in the area are going for $500 to $800k.

I built a new garage just 3 years ago, so I would need to build 2 homes and one garage. Homes would be 1500-1700 sq ft. and one typical 2 car garage. What would that cost? Does this sound like a money maker or giant headache?

I know a guy who can act as your super, he can bid it out and run it for U...He is a retired electrical contractor who lives in Upland, and for the past 4 years has been building custom homes for owner builders...the homes are 5000 + sq each...and COST 1M each to build..He charges about $25 an hour..on a 1M home he makes around 20K...WHICH IS DIRT CHEAP...Hes got one going in Chino Hills right now...

But would I be building spec houses right now...I don't think so, not in a declining market..

I wasn't going to start tomorrow or anything. I may have to get a divorce first. Only in the tossing the idea around phase.

I agree the market is slow, but when is construction cheaper? If I wait until the next boom, I can imagine paying premium labor/materials prices.

Terry,

I would get with a local real estate agent that knows the area and see what there thoughts are.

You should be able to build something really nice for $300 SQ FT, so that would be $450,000 for a house that you could turn for $500 to $800K, sounds good to me.

Michael

That much huh? Thanks Michael, guess I was thinking a little less for building costs. If I demo and rebuild twice, that's a quick million bucks. My dream was to build two, sell one and get one (mine) free. I don't think that is going to work at those prices.

Terry,

That might be high, Milt would be able to give us a better price.

Michael

$300 a sq INCLUDING COST OF LAND.....U should be able to build a real nice home for about $150 a sq. if U exclude land costs.

Before you do anything, you MUST find out how crazy the local planning department is. First, you may not be allowed to split a lot. I'm up north, so don't know Whittier at all. Around here, it can take several years to get a building permit, and most towns won't let you split a lot. Ask local builders or real estate agents yoy can trust how the planning dept. is.

I know a general contractor building his own home for $100 a foot in the San Diego area. $125-$150 a foot should be doable if you do your homework and take a hands-on approach to the process. If you let a general contractor handle everything, then yes, you can expect to pay $300 a foot.