Is anyone here familiar with the building restrictions / requirements of the various neighborhoods on Galveston Island? Are there any? I know new homes must be built on pilings, but other than that, there isn’t much info. Do Certain areas have restrictions on square footage / size, architectural style, etc? There are a bunch of great lots for sale on the west side, and we’d love to build our own, but are looking to do so on a budget and don’t want anything huge.
Developer · Houston area · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 26 votes
6y
You will need piling and WPI8 certificate. Pull up WPI8 engineer on the Texas website. Vett them to get a general design tip And who they recommend on contractors, submit the design to 4-5 contractors for bid. I do design and construct but I am loaded with work in Conroe now. I should be available in Mid-March.
Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2019 · 763 posts · 500 votes
6y
@Karie Heathcoat-Kieffer reach out to @Holly Kaufman. She is a fantasssstic agent who works with buyers/investors on the island and may be able to help you out!
Developer · Houston area · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 26 votes
6y
You will need piling and WPI8 certificate. Pull up WPI8 engineer on the Texas website. Vett them to get a general design tip And who they recommend on contractors, submit the design to 4-5 contractors for bid. I do design and construct but I am loaded with work in Conroe now. I should be available in Mid-March.
Is anyone here familiar with the building restrictions / requirements of the various neighborhoods on Galveston Island? Are there any? I know new homes must be built on pilings, but other than that, there isn’t much info. Do Certain areas have restrictions on square footage / size, architectural style, etc? There are a bunch of great lots for sale on the west side, and we’d love to build our own, but are looking to do so on a budget and don’t want anything huge.
Any insight is helpful! Thanks!
Yes to all the above lol. If you are on a budget you might try the peninsula also. You can still get close to the water lots for 25k in some areas. It's not the island but some areas are really appreciating good lately. I actually have some lots that went up 25k in the last 3 months. They are waterfront though. Not for sale...yet. I do know of some off market ones you could get on the semi cheap. I'm not a wholesaler so the info would be free from me.
Find a local contractor that knows the ins-outs and the inspector. I build myself but I actually would save money letting someone else do it for me down there. Mid March would be about right by the time you jump through hoops on the island. It would be a good time of year to build too.
You will need piling and WPI8 certificate. Pull up WPI8 engineer on the Texas website. Vett them to get a general design tip And who they recommend on contractors, submit the design to 4-5 contractors for bid. I do design and construct but I am loaded with work in Conroe now. I should be available in Mid-March.
Thanks! Bennie
How many have you done in Galveston? We may need to connect.
Developer · Houston area · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 26 votes
6y
@Karl McGarvey - Very fortunate and blessed on opportunities. Since I wear multiple hats I’m able to have low overheads and costs savings to my customers. Major business is from repeat customers.
@Mike Reynolds built 8, West Beach and Seabrook/Kemal area. Let me know.
Is anyone here familiar with the building restrictions / requirements of the various neighborhoods on Galveston Island? Are there any? I know new homes must be built on pilings, but other than that, there isn’t much info. Do Certain areas have restrictions on square footage / size, architectural style, etc? There are a bunch of great lots for sale on the west side, and we’d love to build our own, but are looking to do so on a budget and don’t want anything huge.
Any insight is helpful! Thanks!
I was also thinking about doing the same, but renting it out as a short-term rental (air bnb/vrbo) when I wasn't using it. Have you looked into the costs of building one yet? I'm curious what the price per square foot is approximately?
@Karie Heathcoat-Kieffer I'm a local remodeling and building contractor, I just bought a lot on the west end of the island in Lafities Cove for $40,000. Lafities is mostly higher end stuff and has pretty ridiculous HOA fees (3 different HOA's and they require $6,500 to have a 3rd party architect to review your bluprints). On the west end of the island theres 2 different flood vones AE and VE. A zone is much better but to my knowledge there are only 2 areas that are A zones. Spanish Grant subdivision wich does not allow vacation rentals and I believe Sea Isla is A zone but I would have to double check that. In the V zones your lowest horizontal structural member has to be at BFE (base flood elevation) but to get the best insurance rate you have to be 4 feet above BFE. So in Lafities my BFE is 14' so I will be building it up 18'. The Farther west you go the lots can get pretty reasonably priced and the building restrictions are much more reasonable and you can get close to the beach and possibly have bay views, but youd be pretty far from everyting in town, resturants, bars, etc. I work with Aran and Franklin Engeneering https://aranfranklin.com/ and they are awesome and super helpful. I hope this answered a few of your questions but if you have any more feel free to reach out to me.