Will We Build a Home on Your Lot?
Several times each year, we are asked the question, "Will you build a house for us on our Lot?" In the article, The Story of Jonathan Mark Homes, we outline how we began our building business by building in several communities. These homes were basically all custom homes built on the homeowners land. In other words, our company began that way, but obviously, we have changed our emphasis, but the answer to the question is "Yes," but there are a number of considerations. Sometimes when I tell these things to people face to face, they conclude that I do not want to build a house for them. That is the reason for the explanation, but many times it is a false impression that someone gets. Yes, we will build on your land, but please consider the following conditions and restrictions.
1. Within 30 miles of Venus.
Our offices are in Venus, Texas which means that we work out of Venus. Since we have to constantly check on the work being done, it isn't practical for us to build too far from Venus.
2. A plan that is in "our book"
It makes life much easier for us if we build a plan that we already have. Plans that we have are listed on this website by the communities where we build them. For a list of our plans, begin with the link Home plans for all of our Homes Check the plans available in our various communities. If you find a home that you like, that's a good starting point. Basically, we want to build the plan as it is drawn. What about changes? There are two kinds of changes: minor, and major. To many home owners, all changes are minor: I just want to add a game room over the garage, or I just want to add another garage, or I just want to add another bathroom, and the list goes on and on. We do not consider any of these to be minor changes. They may involve completely redrawing plans, and that is only the beginning. Now the cost of these changes have to be figured.
All of this takes time, and time is really all we have with which to earn a living. Minor changes are such things as: could I move this door from here to here? Could I enclose this open dining area so that I can use it for an office space, etc. There are minor changes that do not require major plan changes and where cost is rather easy to estimate.
3. What if there is no plan in "your book" that I like?
If you cannot find a plan among our plans that you like, then plans become an individual matter. If you have no plan at all, and want us to draw plans for you, then payment would have to be made for drawing the plans whether we build the house or not. If we do not, the plans would be yours, but we would have to work out a price that both you and Jonathan Mark Homes would consider to be fair. If you have a professionally drawn set of plans, we would still probably have to charge you to bid the cost of building the home you want. It takes our time to put together a bid for you. Remember, a bid is basically a contract price. If it is too low, we will make little money, or lose money. If it is too high, you will not want to build, so it does take time to do a reasonably accurate bid. That's why we would rather build a plan already on our books because we have already done the estimates and can rather easily give you a price if we have the soils report and can determine the cost of doing your foundation.
4. How much will it cost?
The home will probably cost less than the price shown on our website because the price on our website will include the cost of a standard lot. To help you with your thinking, it works like this: We will save the cost of the lot, but then complete the picture. We are out more driving which means the cost per mile plus the cost per hour of our building superintendent or whoever needs to check on your home. If you are building in an unincorporated area, then you are talking about the following expenses:
|
Item |
Estimated Cost |
|
Cost of traveling to your property |
$3,000 |
|
Other impact fees for your property |
? |
|
Cost of a soils test |
$1,500 |
|
Cost of Septic System |
$5,000 |
|
Cost of Water Meter and Tap |
$2,500 |
|
Total extra expenses |
$12,000 |
| Less wholesale cost of lot in Venus |
$14,000 |
|
The house on your lot would be $2,000 that the price listed in Venus |
The prices above should be somewhere close to the actual cost, but they are strictly estimates, not a bid price.
A soils test is almost always needed because it is needed to engineer the foundation. The only reason that we say "almost always" instead of "always" is that occasionally a soils test may be available from the developer or the one selling the property to you.
5. Financing on your land is very different.
When we build on our property, the home is ours. Whoever owns the land owns everything that is on it, or put on it. If you own the land, then we would put a Mechanics Lien on your property, and you would have to obtain an interim construction loan. Sometimes these are done as "One time closings" so that the closing for the interim and the permanent mortgage are both done at the same time before construction begins. There is a final "closing," also, but it is very different from the usual formal closing that takes place with closing on a mortgage.
As we build a home, we do draws as the house is being built. Since the note is in the homeowners name, they must sign the draws because they are the ones who owe for it. This can create problems. If the homeowner will not sign for the draw, then we cannot get our money to pay for sub-contractors and materials. We will not build homes on other people's property with our money. We may to the extent of a few thousand dollars, but we will not go on and on funding a construction project. When we have reached the point that we are due a draw, then we expect the homeowner to sign for the draw.
Problems come when homeowners do not understand the construction process. For example, painting is done in three stages: exterior, interior, and touchup. The problems arise when the exterior painting is done, and we ask for a draw. A significant part of the exterior painting is missing at that point because the touchup is still missing; therefore, the homeowner does not want to sign because the paint job still looks bad. Among other things, the highlight color still hasn't been done. In other words, there needs to be some degree of trust between the builder and homeowner, or many conflicts and problems can result.
| For Financing when you are building on your own lot, Contact Stephanie at: First Horizon Home Loans |
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6. We've tried to touch on some of the major issues
If you have further questions, please refer to our contact section for ways to call or e-mail us with your questions. Thanks for your interest in Jonathan Mark Homes, Inc. Contact Us