Owner Builder for new home build in San Jose

[Sanjay Sinha]

Planning to build a spec home in the San Jose area. We have already put in the earnest money on a lot with a very old house. The question I have is how easy it is to be the owner builder on this construction project and hire the sub-contractors directly instead of hiring a GC. We're planning to build a 3,500 sq ft house. With a construction price of $300 per sq ft. So construction price can be in excess of a million. If we're able to cut out the GC and save 150K to 200K, that is substantial savings.

However me and my wife don't have direct construction experience. I did study Mechanical Engineering many years ago and have some sense of how things come together and my wife has done quite a few interior design projects but no direct interactions with subs, only GCs. But she is willing to put in the time to manage the subs. Are we foolish to take this on? Ideally we would like some one with experience to do some project management as well as direct us. Where can we get such people? Where can we find such kind of construction project managers? Would some retired GCs be willing to do this?

[Forrest Gobble]

Hi Sanjay, I work for a commercial general contractor here in the Bay and just graduated with by BS in Construction Management this past December. I've learned a considerable amount about the construction process though take my advice with a grain of salt. 

I would say managing the construction of a 3500 sqft house through demo of an existing structure, new site work, at carrying the project all the way through to the end would be quite an undertaking - especially with minimal construction experience. When you plan on spending the amount you're spending per square foot I would personally recommend hiring a professional who really understands sequencing (savvy with the flow of construction), building to industry standards, and how to manage people well, and what quality work should look like at $300/sqft. There are also a lot of unknowns or issues that can come up in construction where it is extremely valuable to have a professional who can solve problems quickly because in construction - time is money. 

I only really have experience in the commercial construction general contracting realm so your guess would be as good as mine as far as finding residential builders/CMs. 

I hope that provides some insight and I wish you best of luck with your new house!