Thinking About Becoming a Builder

[Siye Baker]

hello

I figure since I plan on reading all the books, I might as well take the exam. Plus I like the idea of having the option to pull permits on multiple houses, and being able to freely sell the houses once they are finished. It just seems like this will give me more freedom.

Since I don't plan on going over 2 stories anytime soon, so either Residential or Commercial will be more than enough. I plan on sitting for the General after the 3-4 yrs experience as a CB or CR. I will be calling DBPR monday to verify that my BS Mech Eng will allow me to sit for the exam.

My next task is to find all the study materials that I can. I was thinking about buying them 2nd hand.

1. Would say, the material from a 1995 or a 2004 course be completely outdated? I would imagine that outside of codes and osha- the course material is the same?

2. Anyone know where I can find the right material for the best price?

Sebastian

[Brian Mathews]

So you have any experience in the construction industry? I don't know what a CB or CR is. You do have a degree in mechanical engineering so that is a start and goes a long way towards getting you on the path. I think you probably need to go to work for a builder as a superintendent or project manager, maybe you already have. A lot of building homes is credibility with subs, people buying your houses, lenders, etc... I know a lot of guy that decided to be builders in the housing boom a few years ago that are no longer doing it. They thought it would be easy and it turned out not to be as easy as they predicted. And a lot of it was getting screwed over by subs and overall just not knowing what they were doing.