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

~ (Author) "PEOPLE ALWAYS SEEM to think things are harder than they are..." (more)
Key Phrases: Date Inspector, Yellow Pages

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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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.

Review

"Carl Heldmann explains each step of home building in nontechnical, easily understood language...." -- Southern Living

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Product Details

Paperback: 143 pages
Publisher: Storey Books; 3 edition (January 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 088266266X
ISBN-13: 978-0882662664
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 4 ounces

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #649,035 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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First Sentence:
PEOPLE ALWAYS SEEM to think things are harder than they are. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Date Inspector, Yellow Pages

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 1 book:

Expiration Date by Justin Curfman on page 60

1 book cites this book:

For the People: 1,608 Ways to Get Your Share of the Little-Known Bargains the Government Offers by Kevin Ireland on page 63

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	16% buy The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home 4.0 out of 5 stars (29) $12.91
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 90 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

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.

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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)

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.

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69 of 72 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

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!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars This book was very good but the new 5th Edition is even better!
Heads Up! The book has been updated. The 5th edition just released in April of 2006 has been fully updated and includes Carl Heldmann's new Web site, where readers can get loan... Read more

Published on May 6, 2006 by Cooper 'n me

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Much Substance
Very little to work with here. Covers everything, but with little detail. For instance, there are only six pages in the book on sub-contractors. Read more

Published on March 14, 2006 by William Klein

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring reading with no information, WASTE OF TIME
I read the book since I am building a house soon. The book gave very little useful information. I have been doing my homework on building a home and consider myself above... Read more

Published on August 27, 2004 by Bonie K. Kane

2.0 out of 5 stars No good for Northeeasterners and midwesterners
The author of the book dwells on materials and methods that are commonly used only in the southeastern part of the country, where he is from. Read more

Published on July 12, 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars very good overview
The fellow who "knocks" this book doesn't know what he is talking about. The fact is...when you add up all of the fluff in the construction of a home, and if you have... Read more

Published on April 20, 2004 by alan bryant

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent step by step guide
Carl Heldmann breaks down build process into simple steps. His emphasis is that if you hire reputable subs for each job, being your own GC is simple - and he gives plenty of... Read more

Published on January 19, 2004 by J. Sahl

3.0 out of 5 stars Very General Overview
As an architect, structural engineer, and know a custom home builder, I have been around construction for several decades. Read more

Published on January 9, 2004 by Custom Home Builder

1.0 out of 5 stars Making a Toad look like a Prince
We design custom homes and sell a custom component package to customers in the USA. About 15% of my customers are owner contractors and I have worked with over 50 owner builders... Read more

Published on June 10, 2001 by Jon W. Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful information in building my house
I am very glad i read the other reviews of Mr. Heldmann's book besides that of the "reader from Hartford". Read more

Published on May 2, 2001 by Ken

1.0 out of 5 stars Of little use if you are serious about building
This book is a complete waste of time if you are serious about building your own home. Other than giving you a brief overview of the process, it lacks the important details... Read more

Published on February 19, 2001

› See all 16 customer reviews...

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