Customer Reviews

The American Dream / The American Nightmare: The Authoritative Guide to Building Your Custom Home

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have read over 6 books on how to build you house recently. This was by for the least helpful because it is targeted to people building in a subdivision using a tract builder. Although the authors seem knowledgable in general contracting procedure they continually reiterate the pros of subdivisions and the cons of custom buiding on your own lot.

When my husband and I started thinking about building a custom home, the idea really frightened me. I decided to tackle the process as I do everything else... read everything I can find on the subject. This book explained the process of building a custom home from start to finish in layman's terms. My husband and I both read and reread the book and felt it gave us the inside track on the entire event. We found ourselves asking the right questions. I am happy to report that this book allowed us to enjoy the home building experience and fullfill our American Dream. I would recommend this book to anyone who has even considered the idea of building. Forewarned is Forearmed!!!!

Poorly written book by a self-serving builder, don't waste either your time on money on this one. The information contained in the book gave very little pratical information from the buyers perspective.

This book was authored by a builder...and it reads that way. Though there are a few helpful hints (what house plans and contracts should contain, for example), overall the theme is this - if you select a good builder, everything will work out fine. True, perhaps, but I was hoping for a more objective and desciptive approach to understanding the custom home building process.

When my husband and I began the building process, I was clueless. We were pre-approved for a loan and told to find a builder. RIGHT.... We looked and looked. My husband is a twenty year construction guy so he is a perfectionist. I am a type "A" personality so I am a perfectionist. We found COGDILL BUILDERS neighborhood first. My husband was(for the first time in our search) impressed, and I personally knew this was a builder who built a home where I wanted to live. I saw the book and took it home. It was EASY to read. Actually, it was a pleasant read. The biggest surprise was that it was TRUTHFUL. My experience with building our dream home has been really pleasant. REALLY!!!! Everyone I know that has built a custom home has moaned and groaned about how horrible it is. If you read this book, you will be prepared for this experience. All is true and will prepare you for the things you go through. If you are not fortunate enough to live in an area where they can build for you, at least listen to the advice they give.

I read this book and I was very impressed by the easy reading and how easy it was to follow. There are no tricks of the trade hidden, just the best effort ever to educate the reader on what they need to do to build a custom home. This book should be required reading for all in the market for buying a home. They will know how to build their dream home. I would recommend this book to Realtors, all professional people and it would be great additional reading for college students, sometimes learning the hard way is not always the best way.

When I began looking for a book regarding home building I was sure I would only find boring technical manuals. I was pleasantly surprised to find this book which was very easy reading. The book gives the reader enough knowledge on the subject to be able to ask the right questions. After reading the book I felt like I had been given the "inside information" from a "friend in the business." Having this guide to use as a reference tool has put our minds at ease and has given us the confidence we need to build our new home successfully.

I found this book to be very easy to read and quite informative. It greatly improved my understanding of the home building process. A process that I found very interesting, but quite overwhelming...until I read this guide. I enjoyed the highlights at the end of each chapter. The author did a good job summing up the key points. This book also opened my eyes up to questions that I probably would have never thought about. I feel very confident in building my dream home now and sincerely believe that this book would be an invaluable tool for anyone interested in building a custom home.

When I began looking for a book regarding home building I was sure I would only find boring technical manuals. I was pleasantly surprised to find this book which was very easy reading. The book gives the reader enough knowledge on the subject to be able to ask the right questions. After reading the book I felt like I had been given the "inside information" from a "friend in the business." Having this guide to use as a reference tool has put our minds at ease and has given us the confidence we need to build our new home successfully.

First of all I strongly disagree with any negative comments about the book, they must have been written by either competing non-custom homebuilders, or another author with a similar book. I read this book about 4 yrs. ago, when I was looking to have a custom home built in Florida. I strongly agree with the accurate, positive comments. No, this book is not designed as a training manual for an experienced homebuilder, it is however, an easy read, that takes the average "novice" through the grueling task of having a custom home built, in "baby-steps". Nowhere in the book does the author (who is a builder), recommend that you use his company, or in anyway recommend, or steer you to buy a "tract" home, or steer you in any direction, or to any company. He does however, very candidly, explain the pros and cons of both, giving you a fair opportunity to decide what's best for you. I consider this quite noble, considering they build custom homes in Florida. I did research his company and found their website at Webuildcustom.com, or Cogdillbuildersflorida.com, or Cogdillbuilders.com If you are contemplating having a custom home built, this book is a must read, and covers most of what you need to know from the design process, to the construction loan, and more. In fact, I was so impressed by the simple honesty of the book, I contacted them to build my home.