All Forum Posts by: Luke Texidor

@Jo-Ann Lapin

I will be out of town until the 27th of April. Would love to set up a meet and greet when i get back. I will contact you when I return.

@Manolo D.

When you apply as Owner Builder, you do not need to provide a license and is legal to do work on your own. Keep in mind that the big trades that I used (Framing, Foundation, Roofing etc.) have to register with the city and I would not tackle that on my own anyway. I used day labor for such things as landscaping, backfill, pavers etc.  It was my understanding that she was asking for an estimate for all building on a SF basis. That is hard to do. If you have a set of plans, of course you can give an estimate on the Hard Costs. Finishes can change a build from 150$SF to $600SF or even higher. I was stating that it is hard to give a price per square foot without knowing exactly what kind of finishes you are planning to do. There is never a perfect build. I work for a developer and have never seen a build that was completed with no surprises whether small or large.

@Jo-Ann Lapin

Thank you! It was quite the experience I would say. City of Agoura Hills is not a walk in the park to build in, which also makes it more satisfying. I see that you are in finance. Do you do Construction loans? 

@Deborah Cavallaro

I am new to biggerpockets but I am familiar with the permitting process as well as owner building. I just finished Owner Building my home in Agoura Hills. One thing I can tell you is check for a soils report if you are in west LA, most likely you are on a hill and building setbacks such as H/3 requirements can really drive the cost of your foundation up. Also for city of LA, a remodel of that size will most likely require you to fire sprinkler the whole house which is another unexpected cost. It is very hard to put a price per SF on home in LA, which is why many GCs do a cost plus contract. Pre-development can vary depending on the size and if you are asking for a variance or not. When I built my home in Agoura from the ground up I spent close to 35K in pre-development alone. My hard costs came out to 165$ SF. I also did a lot of labor only projects where i would buy the materials and pay the guys by the day to get it done. If you stay on them you can cut costs by 50% sometimes. Keep in mind that managing this on your own is time consuming and you have to have eyes on at all times during the finishes or it will cost you more in the long run. Managing it myself worked for me, but may not work for you. If you have a good team to help you out, it can save you a lot of money. 

I am a newbie that just finished building our home in Agoura Hills California. I was very fortunate to find a piece of land for a very good price in Agoura Hills. After running the numbers I deciding to develop rather than flip the land. It took a lot of will power but paid off in the end. I instantly gained over 300k in equity upon closing. Now I have the bug and I'm looking for more. I am looking to network in the Los Angeles, Colorado as well as the southern Wisconsin areas. Looking to connect with good people and develop relationships to benefit all.