Self Contract New Home Build.

if you have construction project management experience, a friend that can sort of guide you, and access to subs, it's not bad at all.

i have those three things and would do it again in a heartbeat if it wasn't so cost prohibitive (building a house in general i mean).

I've done it. While my day job has nothing to do with residential construction, I've done some investment properties and design work. Despite being very familiar with construction, I still needed to lean on some contractor friends for help. I was able to save money doing it on my own, but there are some things you need to consider before going that route.

Typically a subcontractor isn't going to give you the same rate that they give a contractor unless you are paying cash. Paying cash has some drawbacks and I wouldn't suggest doing that either. The material supplier may offer discounts to the contractor that you don't get. In other words, you'll spend more than a contractor would to build your house. You are going to spend money on mistakes that a contractor wouldn't have. The only savings you will have will be the contractor fee minus those differences.

One of the biggest issues self-contractors have is getting subs to come back and fix things. However, the contractor can make a call and the sub sends someone over to fix it b/c they have that relationship. The licensed subs will be better at this (foundation, framing, brick, plumbers, elec, hvac, roofer, etc) b/c they have to be licensed. But your subs for drywall, flooring, painter, countertops, etc will be harder to get down the road.

I don't recommend self contracting to people unless they are tied into construction already in some way. If you still want to do it, the absolute best advice I can give you is this. Only hire subs that you know OR that come highly recommended by someone you trust. Do NOT hire a sub based on their price.

hire a GC, GC takes on the risk
self-contract, owner takes on the risk

only you know whether the risk/reward equation is likely to be in your favor. I would suggest to you that you consider the risk as you make the decision

I went with a GC so I could use his subs. I would have no idea how to contract reputable sub on my own. I talked to a few home owners that the GC built their homes to get feedback from their experience. Also, the GC’s subs gave discounts if I used them.

It is a rough way to save 10-12% of the build cost. We built in 2022 and hired a builder at cost + 10%. Best decision I ever made.

The lighting, plumbing, appliances all came with a nice contractor discount I would not have had contracting itself.

In real terms, I think the material savings likely shaved 2-3% off the build price alone.

I did it, twice!

What “notbilly” says is the most accurate thing, I could not have said it better myself.

I got my subs by visiting active job sites and talking with supply houses/lumber yard.

Also, those little signs Subs put in front of houses they work on are very good sources.

I use to build and flip houses. A builder is only as good as the subs he uses. I never had to check behind subs, they knew what I wanted, they did their job. Whatever you do, always hold back money. I’d rather write 100 checks than 5. I told a buddy of mine this, his house was finished, all but the punch list. He was still $13,000 to the good. Couldn’t get his builder to do the punch list. I had everything done for a couple thousand.
I could go on, but you get what I’m saying. I’m leaving now, a friend is building a new home, wants me to do a walkthrough. Let me know if you need more info.

I was the GC on our home in 2013. It’s a 2 story on a chain wall foundation to give it a farmhouse look. For the most part everything went well with a few exceptions. We did quite a bit of work ourselves to make sure we stayed in budget. I didn’t spend less doing it this way. The money I “saved” was spent on upgrades and changes as we built. All in all it wasn’t bad but you have to dedicate yourself to it. I was here every day and night . The subs were all local and did what we’d agreed to. The plumber was the only one that was hard to deal with but it all worked out in the end.
Don’t pay a sub fully until all the work is completed as agreed. Once they don’t have a reason to come back they won’t.