Cost of building a home

I built a house last year in Shreveport - I know it's a different market, and gas money up here has kept housing prices above market, but the going rate was $135/sq. ft. all-inclusive for a house in the 1500-2000 sq ft range.

Are yall talking about sq foot living or total?

$135 for total sq foot sounds rediculously high.

$10k to pay a builder to build in U club South sound like a good deal. Heck, see if he'll build you one about a 1/4 mile away for $10k and be in U Club. Then you're getting a real good deal.

We have a home for sale in our neighborhood that the builder is asking around $165/ ft2. I figured $135 wasn't too bad considering.

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$135 for total sq foot sounds rediculously high.

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this. you can buy a house in an established neighborhood in baton rouge for those types of numbers...

but if you want to live in a cookie cutter out in P-ville do ya thing

I am building a house for myself right now in Prairieville.My cost is $91/sqft living and $60/sqft total area. Thats without the lot price included. Usually a builder will charge about $10-20/sqft on top of that as their fee depending on the customization of the home. My best advice is do it yourself. It isn't that hard and you can save a ton of money.

I had a builder do mine and it took about a week to realize I made the right decision. No way did I have the time needed to dedicate to build myself. Our builder took 51/2 months. There's a guy down the street who started the same week as us and it took him a couple months longer and a lot more frustration than me. He saved on not having to pay a builder, however he's also paid a good bit longer on his construction loan. In the end, you definitely come out better by building yourself, however, I'm not convinced that it is as significant as some people tell you.

I agree. We went with a 1 story, but ended up adding a bonus room over garage to bring down the cost/ft2 a little bit.

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In the end, you definitely come out better by building yourself

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Not the case, most people that build on their own will use the cheaper of the options they have. They end up with a cheaper house in the end.

Also most builders will get a discount an individual will never come close to getting.

IMO

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Yep. I knew the frame crew, brick crew, electrician I wanted to use, the rest I just priced out from contractors subs. If your doing heated floors, schluter systems, air/water purifiers, those guys save you a ton.

FWIW even getting the builders discount and kickback from appliance dealer, ajmadison.com was still cheaper apples to apples (All Bosch). Start pricing your appl now

Also have to see if hood has a builders guild, which if so, eliminates you from self contracting all together

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I should have said...It is more or a risk to build your own house. Some people are very good at it. Some people are not. It is alot more risk if you build your own. Alot of factors play into this. Builders average between 3%-8% profit. It's a judgement call on your risk level, and who you know.