Are you planning on building a new home or have a home improvement project you want to get started, and your loan officer wants an itemized construction cost estimate in order secure a loan? Our expertise with preparing bank level estimates for professional builders around the country is exactly what you need!
Most loan officers with the banks, require owner-builders to submit an itemized estimate in order to secure a construction loan. We offer this service and specialize in preparing detailed home construction costs estimates which is indexed for your local area! Do not attempt to estimate this on your own, the bank will not recognize your estimate since you are not a credentialed professional estimator!
The estimate we provide to you will be on an Excel worksheet which you can edit, if need be, or we can follow the template provided by your bank. Check with your loan officer to find out what their requirements are.
How to First Secure a Construction Loan
Assuming you have been preapproved for a construction loan first, most owner-builders go about pricing their construction project backwards! You may think you need to get a list of building materials also called an “MTO” and then send them to their local home improvement stores to price out and then get labor bids. That is an extremely tedious and slow process, especially when you are not a professional. First of all, the home improvement stores will put you to the back of line since you are not one of their pro customers. Most importantly that is totally unnecessary without securing the construction loan first. We can quickly and accurately prepare an estimate detailed enough for your bank to award you a construction loan! We have a subscription to Craftsman Residential estimator which is the industry’s leading cost data subscription for preparing new home construction estimates, which is recognized by banks as being a reputable source. The estimate is itemized for every trade and discipline of construction. We also provide a set of takeoff drawings which provides a color audit trail displaying all the areas captured on the drawings.
Alert: Don’t let your designer prepare construction drawings until you know the costs first
Before you continue paying your designer to fully develop a set of “Construction Documents”, which is the set of documents that the building department needs, it is important to understand the potential cost to build upfront. We specialize in preparing a feasibility study based on just having either your schematic level drawings or conceptual drawings. With a feasibility study in hand, it will empower your decision-making process. You will have the peace of mind on whether you should continue with the construction design process. We have a fiduciary duty to provide you with a realistic expectation of cost, while your designer wants to get paid for additional drafting services. I hear time and time again from do-it-yourselfers who told me their designer lead them down an expensive path, only to discover the home was too expensive to build! The architect’s common solution is to downsize the house which is another drafting fee. Do not be lead down this path with an unrealistic expectation of cost. Leave it to us to give you a very accurate estimate with your building time frame in mind as well.
What do we need to get started with preparing a Bank estimate or Feasibility Study?
If you have a set of schematic drawings or conceptual drawings, with a lot survey, and want to get started with your home building project, the next step is to first fill out the form so we can vet your designs for a very minimal fee of $35! Once you complete the payment form you will be able to upload the follow documents:
- Schematic or Conceptual Drawings
- Lot Survey
- Bank template form (if required)