Should You Contract Your Own Home

Building a home is likely the largest single investment a person will ever make! I have people all the time say they can contract it themselves. And in short…yes you can and you’ll likely save yourself thousands of dollars. BUT…should you? Well that’s an entirely different question.

In my opinion, contracting your own home is something that someone should think hard about before they decide to do it. It is entirely possible and there are many tips and tricks and books you can find using Google to assist you.

The single thing I’ve noticed from people who have contracted their own home is how long it can take because they don't understand scheduling. With the exception of the COVID years…home building timelines are generally around 6-9 months depending on the size of the house. I’ve seen people build their own home that do not do this day in and day out and it can take twice as long.

One of the many reasons for that is the limited access to subs. Most subs are dedicated to their contractor that will use them multiple times a year for many years. The one off client doesn’t generally get preferred treatment.

Another reason for delays is because they’ve not had to schedule stuff out and are not sure when to make a call to let someone know they’re going to be ready. When do you order doors/windows? When do you order trusses? When do you order cabinets, appliances, finishes, etc.? Knowing the answer to these questions can greatly speed up your process.

Other things I’ve seen and heard about over the years is not recognizing when a mistake is made. If you’re the GC (General Contractor), the “buck” stops with you. So if a mistake is made by a sub and not caught or you proceed with the next phase before having it fixed, that mistake is on you.

You also need to know the local building codes and requirements for inspections. If you go forward with the home process and skip and inspection, that could cost you thousands and they could shut the process down until you do remedy the issue. So make sure you know the codes.

So in closing…should you or should you not contract your own home? That’s a question only you can answer. But in our experience, it’s not that someone can’t do something, but should they?