Acting as your own contractor

[Smiling JOe]

Good find, BR. Here is a quote from it regarding being your own contractor:

"[size=-1] To qualify for exemption under this subsection, an owner must personally appear and sign the building permit application."[/size]

 

[TooFarTampa]

Good find, BR. Here is a quote from it regarding being your own contractor:

"[size=-1] To qualify for exemption under this subsection, an owner must personally appear and sign the building permit application."[/size]

Thanks BR. I was wrong about the electrical, plumbing, roofing, HVAC. I guess owners can hire unlicensed subs for those jobs too as long as the owner takes responsibility for and supervises the work and inspections. It would scare me though.

 

[Beach Runner]

Good find, BR.

Thanks. I'm just interested in this because my husband is already thinking about what he's going to do when he's forced to retire at 65. He's not the type that can just sit around and do nothing. Night, weekends, at the beach, etc., he's constantly either working via email and phone or doing projects around the house. He is considering becoming a contractor in the Panhandle when he retires. He has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and among other things has been responsible for supervising the construction of many major manufacturing facilities. He was essentially the contractor for our house in GA because he micro-managed every aspect of its construction. He taught himself how to use AutoCAD and SketchUp (that's the software used by the architecture department at MIT) just for fun. He designed our FL house using those applications as a starting point for the architect and was on site every other week to oversee its construction as well.

So I've been meaning to look up the Florida laws for becoming licensed as a contractor; this thread was just a good excuse to do so.

 

[beachmouse]

There's a place in one of the strip malls by Best Buy in Destin that claims they'll help you save money by helping you act as your own GC. So it's possible in theory. But I'll agree with others and say that I couldn't imagine trying to hire subs if you aren't already down here to make sure they show up and build to code as they're supposed to.

Also, Florida generally does not have reciprical construction licensing agreements with other states unless we're in emergency conditions because of concerns that the out of staters won't do an adequate job of building to Florida codes. And even under emergency conditions, there are still some types of licenses that won't be honored here. (ie. roofing)

 

[yippie]

The liability is way to high. I have always been advised, by inspectors, NOT to act as my own GC.

Plus, you have no recourse if anything should go wrong with the house during the first year or so.

I believe it is the law in Florida that a GC has to give you at least a year's builder's warranty.

From personal experience, I am glad I didn't assume the liability because something DID go wrong with my home and am now in a situation where my builder is going to fix it many years after I purchased it. He has insurance to cover the problem because it was a construction defect.

 

[Sandcastle]

We acted as our own GC on our beach house. I?m not sure if we?d do it again, but it did work out well for us. We finished the house for about 2/3 of the lowest bid that we received from a GC.

We were in no hurry and we live fairly close to Old Seagrove where we built, so we were able to be on-site a lot. All of our subcontractors were licensed in Florida and we required proof of insurance from anyone setting foot on the construction site. We also had a very experienced licensed framing contractor who helped us tremendously (for a reasonable fee).

We had a professional engineer sign off on every phase of the construction, along with the county building inspectors.

If you use a GC you?ll want to make sure that the funds that you pay to him find their way to his subcontractors. You might want to consider paying his subs directly.

 

[Sandcastle]

Pattiw. There?s one thing that I forgot to mention. Regardless of who builds your beach house, please be sure that STAINLESS STEEL nails, deck screws, etc. are used on all exposed surfaces. Don?t let anyone tell you that galvanized are just as good ? they aren?t! If you aren?t careful, your house could look like a rusting WWII battleship in a couple of years.

 

[patticakes]

The advantage I have is that my family is in the business of home building and are licensed in Kansas, Missouri and Florida. Even if I use them for just the mechanical parts of construction, seems like I could save a considerable amount. Maybe I could find someone there to act as GC that would work with me based on this.

 

[Smiling JOe]

The advantage I have is that my family is in the business of home building and are licensed in Kansas, Missouri and Florida. Even if I use them for just the mechanical parts of construction, seems like I could save a considerable amount. Maybe I could find someone there to act as GC that would work with me based on this.

You mean for a discount? I don't understand what you are saying or asking. My family is in construction here at the beach, and I am still not crazy enough to take on being my own GC. Not to mention that the banks don't like giving loans for a project without having hired a licensed GC. Sure, I could have a permit pulled by a GC and do the work, but I not that crazy, even though I considered it many times.

Would you do your own dental work in Florida if your brother was a dentist in Kansas?

 

[Unplugged]

You mean for a discount? I don't understand what you are saying or asking. My family is in construction here at the beach, and I am still not crazy enough to take on being my own GC. Not to mention that the banks don't like giving loans for a project without having hired a licensed GC. Sure, I could have a permit pulled by a GC and do the work, but I not that crazy, even though I considered it many times.

Would you do your own dental work in Florida if your brother was a dentist in Kansas?

Would this be analogous to the favorite slogan of the legal profession: 'anyone who attampts to defend himself in a court of law has a fool for a client' ?