Building Your Own Home For Dummies [Paperback]

Kevin Daum (Author), Janice Brewster (Author), Peter Economy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 2005

Keep construction on track with helpful checklists

Turn your dream of a custom home into reality!

Thinking about building your own home? This easy-to-follow guide shows you how to plan and build a beautiful home on any budget. From acquiring land to finding the best architect to overseeing the construction, you get lots of savvy tips on managing your new investment wisely -- and staying sane during the process!

Discover how to:
* Find the best homesite
* Navigate the plan approval process
* Obtain financing
* Hire the right contractor
* Cut design and construction costs
* Avoid common mistakes

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Keep construction on track with helpful checklists

Turn your dream of a custom home into reality!

Thinking about building your own home? This easy-to-follow guide shows you how to plan and build a beautiful home on any budget. From acquiring land to finding the best architect to overseeing the construction, you get lots of savvy tips on managing your new investment wisely — and staying sane during the process!

Discover how to:

• Find the best homesite
• Navigate the plan approval process
• Obtain financing
• Hire the right contractor
• Cut design and construction costs
• Avoid common mistakes

About the Author

Kevin Daum has 22 years of experience in the real estate and mortgage industry. He is founder and CEO of Stratford Financial Services, and is the leading expert in custom home financing. Daum has financed more than 800 custom homes and has published numerous articles on construction financing,mortgage education, and entrepreneurship.

Janice Brewster served as editor of Log Home Living magazine for five years.  Brewster has been involved in the custom home industry for more than 10 years.

Peter Economy is Associate Editor for the Drucker Foundation's award-winning magazine Leader to Leader and a featured expert for AllBusiness.com. He's the coauthor of the books Leadership Ensemble: Lessons in Collaborative Management from the World's Only Conductorless Orchestra, Strategic Tools for Social Entrepreneurs: Enhancing the Performance of Your Enterprising Nonprofit, and many others, including Consulting For Dummies, Home-Based Business For Dummies, and Raising Capital For Dummies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (February 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764557092
• ISBN-13: 978-0764557095
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Home Improvement & Design > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Repair
  • #58 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Home Improvement & Design > How-to & Home Improvements > Do-It-Yourself
  • #69 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Home Improvement & Design > Home Decorating & Design > Design & Construction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive October 7, 2007

By V. K. Reddy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has exhaustive information about building a home employing a general constructor and sub-contractors. It's more useful as a reference. I say that because of the way it's organized. It's not a sequential read, and has no logical beginning or ending. I bought this book hoping to understand each step that goes into building a home. However, this book is NOT about that. It's more about effectively dealing with things that come along in each step.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for a beginner April 28, 2005

By K. Major

Format:Paperback

This is the best book on the market if your thinking of, dreaming of, or even starting to build your own home. It's the perfect book for someone not so well versed in the complicated art of getting a home built. I found so much information I don't need to buy any other books! From the steps you need to take in getting permits, choosing stick-built or pre-fab, dealing with contractors and banks, to recommendations for square footage of rooms (I re-drew my home plans because of those little tips), what to expect when, and insider tricks on saving money. This book has way more information than I ever thought I'd find in one book. When my dream home building process gets underway, this book will be my Bible! I highly recommend it!

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Building Your Own Home For Dummies August 10, 2006

By Kathie R.

Format:Paperback

I have 3 degrees, but I did not know the 1st step about buying raw land, building a home, and getting a construction loan. I read this book from start to finish and could not imagine going through the process without using the guidelines in this book. I learned what questions to ask the broker about the loan and what questions to ask my contractor about the construction. It is so important to go into this kind of huge project knowing what check lists to take care of and have some kind of timeline. Nice to know what is around each new corner! I think this is a must have book if you're planning on building a home!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant Surprise! July 25, 2005

By JM Smith McKaig

Format:Paperback

I just recently purchased a new home, and though it wasn't a custom built home, I found this book to be tremendously helpful with my financing and preparing for the move. Someday I would like to build my own custom home, and I will again refer to this book. It was very clear, easy to follow and with the humor added, it was enjoyable to read - not at all a drudgery!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Building your own home for Dummies April 12, 2005

By Jennifer E. Adams

Format:Paperback

I am finally ready to begin my dream of building my own home. This book is helping me to avoid many mistakes. It has also provided a terrific point of view on areas I had not considered before, such as how large my kitchen should be. Mr. Daum seems to know his stuff and has written a concise book that has been easy to read and understand.

44 of 58 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Should be titled "Financing" your own home for Dummies. March 14, 2006

By William Klein

Format:Paperback

If you intend to be an Owner-Builder don't waste your time here. This is mainly about financing a project with the rest about using a General Contractor. You'd be better off saving your money to buy coffee for one of your crews than buying this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe/Maybe Not November 10, 2007

By R. Zachary

Format:Paperback

I am always a fan of anything that puts the complexities of the world back into your hands. That Rocket Science for Dummies was totally awesome! LOL!

This is one of many that better be on your shelf as a beginnig research tool, if you are planning on building a home. It tends to be repetitious about needing massive amounts of money though. It is not that creative about any of processes. It is very straight to the point.

I do own it and it is a great reference that I had to MAKE myself read.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Elaborately written from start to finish April 13, 2005

By Vidal D. Graupera

Format:Paperback

Every possible detail has been covered thoroughly in his book including websites, books, magazines, public records, and other informative resources collected to help any individual make an informed decision. This book is easy to read, lucid, and most of all: incredibly informative. I learned a ton in a short time reading this book. I think it is a must for anyone wanting to build their own dream home, or even a tool for anyone to weigh the pros and cons of all types of homes.