Overview

Building a new home is an overwhelming process, and it is easy to lose your place in the process. Every decision you make in building your new home, from floor plan to contractor, affects how quickly you can move in, how much it will cost you, and how good the quality is of your home. You should be well-educated before beginning this adventure, and Build Your New House In No Time can help shed light on the home-building process. Author and president of Better Homes Seminars Lon S. Safko will teach you the ins and outs of building a new home, including: Making the decision on what to build Getting the right insurance Applying for loans Clauses to consider in your contracts Putting together the right team of professionals How to select everything from property to countertop Understanding building permits Going through a home inspection Maintaining your new home Building a home is not something you should go through alone! Let Lon and Build Your New Home In No Time give you the tools and information you need to get the house you want.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lon S. Safko
Publisher:   Pearson Education (US)
Imprint:   Que Corporation,U.S.
Dimensions:   Width: 23.10cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 17.90cm
Weight:   0.426kg
ISBN:  

9780789734563

ISBN 10:   0789734567
Pages:   264
Publication Date:   27 October 2005
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

Introduction. The Largest Investment in Your Life: Be an Educated Consumer! Who Should Read This Book How This Book Is Organized How the Information Is Organized Part I: What You Need to Know Before You Start to Build Part II: Getting Started Part III: Starting the Design Process Part IV: Planning and Prevention Build a Better Home Additional Resources Special Elements and Icons Recommendations for Using This Book Some Tips Before You Start I. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START TO BUILD. 1. Making a Decision on What to Build. Understanding the Pros and Cons of Custom Homebuilding Defining Your Options Making the Right Choice for You Reasons to Use a Homebuilder Homebuilders Have the Right Relationships Homebuilders Understand the Building Process Homebuilders Can Negotiate Better Prices Homebuilders Have the Necessary Insurances If You Must Hiring a Homebuilder Takes the Pain Out of Homebuilding Homebuilders Understand the Magnitude of the Project and Can Avoid Costly Errors Material Delivery Municipality and Administrative Approvals Custom Manufacturing Summary 2. Being Insured Properly Can Greatly Reduce Your Risk. What Insurance Policies Do You Need While Building? What Exactly Do You Need to Be Safe? If You Paid for the Insurance Your Builder Needs, You Could No Longer Afford to Build What Will the Necessary Protection Cost You? What Insurance Does a General Contractor Carry? Why You Should Contact the Homebuilder's Insurance Company Summary 3. How to Apply Yourself to Getting a Construction Loan. Knowing Your Dollars on the Dirt Before You Begin How the Builder Goes from Dollars on the Dirt to Your New Home Finding a Lender Choosing the Right Loan Package Getting Prequalified Accumulating All Your Financial Records Listing Your Credit Card Accounts Recording Your Other Account Numbers Gathering Your Address and Work History Other Documentation Running Your Own Credit Report Where to Find Your Credit Reports Understanding Your FICO Score How to Clean Up Your Credit Report Amortization Made Simple Work Through an Amortization Example Summary 4. A Few Key Clauses to Consider in Your Contracts. What's the Value of a Good Agreement? Who Is the American Arbitration Association? A Sample Binding Arbitration Clause What Are Soft Costs, and Why Are They in Contracts? Make Sure Soft Costs Are Included in the Fixed Costs of Your Contract Time Frame for Making Selects Make Your Selections Based on the Building Schedule Summary 5. Building Your Team of Professionals. Identifying the Best Realtor for You How to Locate a Good Realtor Determining Your Potential Realtor Getting Your Lender on Your Side A Lending Relationship Needs to Be Two-Way Picking Your Lender Who Selects the Title Company? What Does a Title Company Do for You? What's the Relationship Between Your Realtor and Your Title Agent? Code of Ethics and Conduct Summary 6. Doing Your Home Work on Your Homebuilder. The Process of Finding a Good Homebuilder How to Locate a Homebuilder Near Your Location Does Your Homebuilder Pass the Test? Don't Panic: Interviewing Is Much Easier Than It Sounds Summary II. GETTING STARTED. 7. How to Select Property Properly. Who Supplies the Land and Who Doesn't Asking All the Right Questions Helps You Buy Better Property Finding the Best Piece of Land for You Realtors Can Help You Find Your Land Enlisting Friends, Family, and Others Summary 8. Start Planning Your New Home. How to Find Home Plans You Really Like Where to Find a Good Selection of New Home Plans Find Plans on the Internet, in Books, and with Your Builder How to Get the Perfect Plan Starting with an Existing Set of Plans What Are Study Sets of Plans? Making Changes to the Plans How the Builder Determines What's Included in Your New Home Tell the Homebuilder Your Quality; He'll Tell You the Size Summary 9. Know What's Included in the Base Price. Putting Together a New Home Ideas Kit Getting Inspired by Model Homes Are You Getting What You Pay For? How You Confirm the Negotiated Price Building Begins with the Specs and Selects You Need to Communicate with Your Homebuilder Don't Leave Money on the Table Because of Comps Comps Are Only a Starting Point Negotiating Can Save You More Than You Think Production (Tract) Homes Can Produce Good Results Can You Buy a Custom Home for the Cost of Production? How Is a Production Home Produced? Make Your Home Better by Collecting Your Ideas in Advance A File Can Save You Time, Money, and Mistakes Brochures Can Communicate Your Ideas Better A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Dollars Collecting Floor Plans Helps You Plan Better Summary 10. Selects and the 5,000 Decisions Necessary to Build a New Home. Why Are Specs and Selects So Important? What Are Specs and How Do They Affect Your New Home? What Are Selects? Making Your Selects on Time Can Keep Your Project on Schedule Using the Select Sheet and Builder's Construction Schedule Using Your New Home Select Sheet Following Your Builder's Construction Schedule Colorizing Is the Harmonizing of Your Decisions Help with Interior Design Is Available Summary III. STARTING THE DESIGN PROCESS. 11. What You Need to Know About Standard Options. What Is a Standard Option? Know Your Choices If It's Not Standard, It's an Upgrade Can You Use Your Own Subcontractors? Make Every Standard Option and Upgrade Part of Your Specs and Selects Summary 12. The Benefits of a Builder's Allowance. Why a Cash Allowance Can Be a Good Thing Who Pays When You Exceed Your Allowance and Who Keeps the Difference? Summary 13. Get Your Own Costs and Compare. When You Compare, You Know the Facts How to Get Bids to Better Understand Your Costs Comparing Your Bids A 10-Minute Negotiation Can Save You $10,000 The Importance of Including Your Specs and Selects Three Ways to Minimize the Impact of Bid Errors Minimize Bid Errors with Specs and Selects Minimize Bid Errors with a Not to Exceed Clause Minimize Bid Errors with a Time and Materials (T&M) Clause Does Your Homebuilder Mark Up Outside Bids? How Much Markup Is Fair? Summary 14. Working with Change Orders. What Are Change Orders? When Can You Do Change Orders? Who Accepts Change Orders? Always Communicate Your Change Orders Avoid Unwritten Change Orders Fax, Fax, Fax Your Conversations Summary 15. The Importance of Your Financial Draws. How the Draw Process Works Inspections and Release of Funds Miss a Schedule, Miss a Draw, Slow the Progress Set Your Draws on Line Items Other Draw Items You Should Know About Summary 16. Building a Contingency into Your Loan. Planning Ahead for Unseen Expenses Be Prepared for Upgrades, Unforeseen Events, and Unanticipated Necessities Build It into the Loan So That It Can Be Built into the House If You Don't Use All the Money, You Can Give It Back Summary IV. PLANNING AND PREVENTION WILL BUILD A BETTER HOME. 17. Understanding Building Permits and Approvals. What You Need to Submit to Acquire a Building Permit Who Should Submit Your Plans? The Homebuilder Knows the System How Long Can Permits Take? Government Agencies Can Take Their Time Who Needs to Approve Your New Home Plans? Plan Check Zoning Review Architectural Review Board Flood Control Homeowner's Association Addressing Summary 18. A Good Site Foundation Is the Base of a Good Home. What Is Clearing and Grubbing Your Land? Preparing Your Site for the Foundation Knowing the Types of Soil That Can Affect Your Home Soils Can Range from Rock to Clay Some Clays Can Move Your Foundation Why Soil Compaction Is Important Understand Soil and Compaction Reports Summary 19. Getting the Jump on Termites Before You Start. Why Termites Can Be a Serious Problem What Are Termites? How Do You Detect Termites? Pretreat to Prevent Insects Before You Begin Building Other Forms of Pretreatment Help Keep Your Home Safe The Pretreatment Certificate and Warranty How You Can Help Prevent Termites After Construction Some Simple Measures Can Keep You Termite Free Summary 20. What You Need to Know About Your New Septic System. How Does a Septic System Work? How Does a Perk Test Affect the System Cost? Good Soils Can Make Your Septic System Less Expensive What Happens During a Perk Test? Speak with Your Homebuilder About Septic Costs at the Start Maintaining a Happy Relationship with Your Septic System Summary 21. What You Can Find When Doing a Home Inspection. Is a Home Inspection of a New Home Important? Who's Been Inspecting Your New Home Already? Should I Do a Prepossession Inspection? Is a Home Warranty Necessary for My New Home? Is the Homebuilder Responsible for the Warranty of My New Home? Ten Things You Can Inspect Summary 22. What to Look for Before You Take Possession. What Happens at the Walkthrough Early Effects of Your Home Stabilizing Homeowner's Insurance and Contact List A Walkthrough Checklist Can Ensure You Look at Everything Take a Look at a Walkthrough List Summary 23. Home Maintenance: Caring for Your New Home. Learn How to Care for Your New Materials and Equipment Take a Look at Some Examples Get Your Owner's Manuals and Warranties at the Time of Installation Remind Your Homebuilder to Save Those Manuals Get Your List of Subcontractors Subcontractors Warranty Their Work, Too Summary 24. The Final Touches. A Few Last-Minute Tasks Releasing the Final Draw to Your Builder Hold Back to Ensure That the Punch List Is Complete Enjoy Your New Home! Purchase Plan a Fabulous Party In No Time Summary APPENDIXES. A. Resources and References. Index.

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Author Information

Lon S. Safko has experience in all parts of the home construction process from a home construction superintendent and consultant for a surveying and subdivision design company to an engineer for a Fortune 500 road and highway design company. As president of Better Homes Seminars Lon teaches potential home owners and realtors everything they need to know about new home construction through live seminars and training on DVD and audio. In recognition of his work as a technology entrepreneur and co-founder of the $5 billion Assistive Technology Industry, Lon received the Westinghouse Entrepreneur of the Year award and has been twice nominated for Inc. Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year award.

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