Building Your Own Home For Dummies


Book Description

Keep construction on track with helpful checklists Turn your dream of a custom home into reality! Thinking about building your own home? This easy-to-follow guide shows you how to plan and build a beautiful home on any budget. From acquiring land to finding the best architect to overseeing the construction, you get lots of savvy tips on managing your new investment wisely -- and staying sane during the process! Discover how to: * Find the best homesite * Navigate the plan approval process * Obtain financing * Hire the right contractor * Cut design and construction costs * Avoid common mistakes




Everything You Need to Know About Building the Custom Home


Book Description

This book helps the reader save a great deal of money by demonstrating how to manage the project and act as one's own contractor.




Building Your Own Home


Book Description

Building Your Own Home A Step-by-Step Guide "This is an impressive undertaking. I've seen plenty of books about home construction techniques but this is the first one I've seen that packages construction information with the whole process of acquiring the property." --P. Gilbert Mercurio, Executive Vice President Westchester County Board of Realtors "Written by an expert in both design and construction, the book is highly readable and addresses each aspect of the home building process in terms of cost-effectiveness, quality and aesthetics." --Michel Sargious, PhD, P.Eng. Professor Department of Civil Engineering The University of Calgary Now Building Your Own Home puts complicated material into terms anyone can easily understand. From managing the construction process like a pro to mastering every legal and financial detail, you get step-by-step instruction to guide you through the entire construction process. It explains with 132 clarifying photographs and illustrations how each part of the house is built. You'll learn how to: * find a good lot and select an appropriate design * apply for a building permit, secure the best financing terms as well as the best insurance coverage * handpick top-notch independent contractors--and successfully manage their work * control every stage of construction, from door knobs to deck installation to the plumbing and electrical work Easy-to-read and filled with practical information, Building Your Own Home contains everything you need to build a customized house of your dreams.




The Book on VA Loans


Book Description

For 75 years, the VA loan program has helped U.S. service members and their families achieve the dream of homeownership. Today, in the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown and ensuing foreclosure crisis, this no-down payment loan is more important than ever. VA loans have emerged as a lifeline for veterans and active duty personnel who understand their unmatched safety and buying power. The Book on VA Loans takes service members and their families on an insider's journey into VA loans, from credit scores and interest rates to the unique opportunities and challenges of this long-cherished program. Readers get insider tips and expert advice from the country's largest dedicated VA lender, Veterans United Home Loans. They also receive a buyer-friendly education in a sometimes complicated world that can trip up even seasoned real estate veterans.Featuring simple, straightforward language and voices of previous VA borrowers, this resource helps ensure service members are in the best position possible to maximize the benefits earned by their service.




Building Your Custom Home For Dummies


Book Description

You deserve a home that meets your specific needs and desires! If you find yourself dreaming of the perfect patio, the ideal kitchen, and inviting rooms where you love to spend time, it might just be time to start building! With Building Your Custom Home For Dummies, you won’t have to feel intimidated as you plan, finance, and oversee construction on your new oasis. You’ll learn what it takes to build a custom home, including which pros to call and when. This updated edition also covers the latest in real estate and home construction trends, including smart homes, green building, and banking options. It's more important than ever to live in a home that’s truly how you want it, truly your own. Now is the perfect time to get started—if you’re still in the dreaming stage, this book will help you identify your style and articulate your vision. If you’re further along in the process, you’ll benefit from checklists and pointers on reviewing architects’ plans, evaluating contractor bids, flipping the home you build, and more. The latest guidance on building a beautiful home on any budget New ideas for high-tech homes with low carbon footprints Step-by-step instructions for securing financing, hiring architects, and finding reliable contractors Advice on how to invest your home-building budget wisely and plan for the future Building Your Custom Home For Dummies takes you from finding the perfect homesite through laying the foundation to framing and finishing—in the friendly Dummies style you can trust.




So... You Want To Build a House


Book Description

Shows homeowners how to stay within one percent of their budget Delivers the perfect balance of information--covers everything homeowners need to know without overwhelming details Ready-to-use worksheets save time and money Tells homeowners who to meet with, when to meet, and how to track progress and control costs







Pretty Good House


Book Description

Pretty Good House provides a framework and set of guidelines for building or renovating a high-performance home that focus on its inhabitants and the environment--but keeps in mind that few people have pockets deep enough to achieve a "perfect" solution. The essential idea is for homeowners to work within their financial and practical constraints both to meet their own needs and do as much for the planet as possible. A Pretty Good House is: * A house that's as small as possible * Simple and durable, but also well designed * Insulated and air-sealed * Above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible, and resilient.




Building Your Own Home


Book Description

A clear, concise, up-to-date guide on all aspects of deciding, designing, hiring, financing, building, and enjoying a home that's really your own. -- Covers all aspects of the home building process, from deciding what kind of house to build, to designing it, planning it, hiring the people to build it, and financing it. -- Less intimidating than many do-it-yourself books which are 600+ pages and either assume some knowledge of the home building process or are geared towards those who plan to do some of the actual constructing themselves. -- Written by an experienced consumer rather than a contractor, banker, realtor, or other biased author. The Complete Idiot's Guide "RM" to Building Your Own Home is a clear, concise, up-to-date guide on every aspect of the home building process. It answers every question readers have about building a custom residence-and a few questions they may not have considered. With clear instructions and illustrations, this book takes readers through every step of the home-building process from figuring a budget to finding labor and materials to all aspects of home construction. Whether they plan to build it all themselves, build some and hire some done, or hire it all done to their specifications, The Complete Idiot's Guide "RM" to Building Your Own Home will do the job.




Early Retirement Extreme


Book Description

"How to retire in your 20s and 30s (without winning the lottery). This book provides a robust strategy that makes it possible to stop working for money in less than a decade."--Page 4 of cover.