Be Your Own House Contractor: Save 25% Without Lifting a Hammer [Paperback]

Carl Heldmann (Author)

Book Description

Series: Be Your Own House Contractor | Publication Date: June 1, 2001

While building a home is not a simple task, expert Carl Heldmann shows that it is not as complicated as one might believe. With his sound advice, readers can act as their own house contractor and save a quarter - or more - of the cost of building a home. And without picking up a hammer!

Heldmann explains each step of the home building process in non-technical, easily understood language, helping readers avoid the pitfalls that plague general contractors, even experienced ones. Readers will learn how to develop house plans, establish schedules, select good subcontractors, identify cost saving options, negotiate contracts, estimate building costs, purchase materials and supplies, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This handbook comes on cue in an era of belt-tightening in the home-building industry. And the fiscal corner Heldmann helps us cut with this book, enabling us to serve as our own contractor, may well represent the largest slice of the pie. But did we really pay that contractor 25% of the cost of our house, as the author suggests? Does Heldmann count the price of one's own time spent on the project? And what about his advice that we hire a good real estate attorney if in doubt at any of the planning stages outlined in his book? How much would that lawyer's fee turn out to be, and could it erase the advantages we've gained from taking his advice? The assumption of the book is that we must enjoy the challenges of buying land, reading plans, making estimates, getting permits, arranging loans, buying supplies and picking subcontractors-which may or may not be true or practical for most homebuilders. And then, Heldmann's examples apply mainly to the Northeast; rules differ state to state, which limits his book's usefulness. Yet it does make sense to attempt an overall view of home-building before undertaking it yourself-to get to know how a house is planned, paid for and built, from basement to roof.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“If you are thinking about building a new house, or renovating your current home, first read [this book].”— San Diego Union-Tribune

“If you are bound and determined to plunge ahead…pick up a copy of this little book before you start.”— Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“If you’re intrigued by the idea of being your own contractor for your dream house, here’s where to begin.”— Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“…Heldmann offers something that you can hold dear for a lifetime: the skinny on homebuilding.” — Timber Home Building

 

“Carl Heldmann has written the bible for people who want to act as their own general contractor….Strewn through the book are interesting tidbits a layman probably wouldn’t hear unless he showed up at a job site at break time with a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.” – Los Angeles Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 140 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC; 4th edition (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580173748
• ISBN-13: 978-1580173742
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #434,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carl has been a licensed home builder and licensed real estate broker for over 30 years and a construction loan consultant to credit unions for 20 years. He has personally helped thousands of folks like yourself build their dreams. He is also the founder of two schools of homebuilding, a former newspaper housing columnist, and author of several books on building your own home whose aggregate sales are more than ' million copies.

You can find out more about Carl Heldmann and the free advice he provides on his website, Build Your Own House, at www.byoh.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How To Save 25% Without Lifting a Hammer, November 8, 2001

By 

Larry A. Panhorst (Gerald, Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Be Your Own House Contractor: Save 25% Without Lifting a Hammer (Paperback)

In 1990 I had my ten acres paid for, and was ready to being building my retirement home. A friend gave me Carl Heldmann's book, Be Your Own House Contractor. I had a set of plans made from my sketching, and got three bids for building. The cheapest was $97,500.00. I decided to try my own general contracting, with little to no experience in construction. With the help of some friends whom I bounced ideas off of, I started out with a spread sheet of sub-contracters, getting three bids from each in their order of appearance. In six months, we finished our home, and without cutting any real expenses, built our home for $67,500. All due to the teachings and following of Carl Heldmann's book. Even if you do decide to use general contractor, this book is still invaluable in the detail and advise given. I have since given this book to three friends who have built homes, and all three were very impressed with the subject matter. A MUST read, in my opinion, for anyone who is going to undertake building or having a new home built. I know of no where else one get such a step by step explanation covering the do's and don't of every phase of the process.

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise, money-saving organization of your building project., March 19, 1998

By 

Casey Stewart "kcfoxy: accept no substitute" (San Joaquin Delta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be Your Own House Contractor: Save 25% Without Lifting a Hammer (Paperback)

The author provides an easily understood yet detailed plan to organize the building of your home. Various steps of the building project are well-covered and crucial elements...such as legal requirements for lien waivers, insurance and code requirements are spelled out clearly.

I found this book helpful in deciding if I would be able to manage the general contractor process, and was intrigued at the idea of saving up to 25% of labor costs. The sample contracts and other forms were a plus.

69 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent book! It' concise & non-technical, May 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Be Your Own House Contractor: Save 25% Without Lifting a Hammer (Paperback)

The concept of self-contracting really works. We contracted all the work on our home, chose all the things that we wanted and that we could afford and got our dream home at a savings of more than 25%. We weren't going to do it because of all the naysayers we ran across, but Mr. Heldmann's book convinced us we could do it, and we did! Bravo!