New Construction - Vacant Lot to Showstopping Success!

New Construction - Vacant Lot to Showstopping Success!

Residential Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 325 posts · 335 votes

Here's another project we are just wrapping up and it involved so many "Firsts" for me I figured I'd share.  Most of the new construction I've done in and around Atlanta has been Infill teardown which didn't involve much site development.  This project was the COMPLETE opposite, a veritable SHERWOOD FOREST  on the side of a CLIFF! 

I'll detail out some of the build over a couple posts, but here is a sneak peak of the finished project.

Since I didn't have much experience in land development, AND I couldn't really get a good feel for the lay of the land because of all the trees...I only budgeted 5k for extra dirt to make the lot "buildable", well over 130 TRUCK LOADS of dirt and 27k later did I finally end up with a lot fit for a house!

Bringing in the extra dirt to raise the lot also required a Soil Engineer to be ONSITE for several days to test the compaction of the soil as we lifted the site, and also some additional heavy machinery that we don't normally run across...like a "Vibratory Sheeps Foot" which kinda sounds like something you would find at one of those trucker stores...

After a hundred and twenty something loads of dirt, we were close...but not quite close enough, so we decided to stop bringing in dirt for the moment, and incorporate a SUBWALL into our foundation so that we could bring in dirt only for where out house sat and stop "bringing up" the whole lot.

With the "development" portion almost done, it's time to go vertical!

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Rental Property Investor · Gambrills, MD · Member since 2014 · 372 posts · 88 votes
11y

@Todd Whiddon

 Stunning.  Just stunning.  Whenever I get ready to move, I'll have to have you design and build our new house.

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  • Investor · Peachtree Corners, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Todd Whiddon:
    Originally posted by @Suvir B.:

    Those decks are impressive indeed! Does all the additional cost and effort lead to a higher sales price, though? I haven't seen too many property listings tout the complexity of the deck buildout. 

    One of the HDTV shows had a well "decked out" lower deck which showed real well and stuck in my head:

    Suvir- 

    The decks themselves don't necessarily add directly to the sales price... but they are part of the "package" that I felt was required to sell this home.   Since we built the house on the side of a cliff, the back yard SUCKS!   So to help make up for the lack of a nice flat backyard, we thought it best to create an OUTDOOR ENTERTAINMENT OASIS of gargantuan proportions with the decks.

    Same thought that went into the deck on our last POPTOP / FOUNDATION UP NEW BUILD the backyard was abit tight, so we went overboard on the back deck.

    Also same thought in another house we just got under contract today WOOHOO!, the worse the backyard the BETTER the deck!

    LOL... Come to think of it we actually just SOLD another house today "Today was a GREAT DAY!" and it had pretty epic decks as well, even though it had a nice

    Congratulations for selling a house!  Can we get pics and commentary for that one?  What is the neighborhood like?

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 325 posts · 335 votes
    11y

    @Cal C. It's really close to the house we're yappin about over at the Latest Project Photos - BP Partnership Thread I'll see what I can do about showing it off complete with numbers next week, but here is a SNEAK PEAK!

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 325 posts · 335 votes
    11y

    Going Down..Down...Down...

    Here's a few tricks we do on most of our basement's and ceilings these days, from open rail design to finishing "A" room, to mixing up the molding patterns to set our houses apart!

  • Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 902 votes
    11y

    That is some top quality work and design Todd, you should be very proud of the end result! Any bites yet? I know it's a big place and top of the market price-wise but that level of quality and design should get it sold quick. 

  • Colin SmithBusiness Member
    Realtor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2013 · 988 posts · 447 votes
    11y

    Wow! Truly a beautifully designed house!!!

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 325 posts · 335 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Troy Sheets:

    That is some top quality work and design Todd, you should be very proud of the end result! Any bites yet? I know it's a big place and top of the market price-wise but that level of quality and design should get it sold quick. 

     Thanks Troy!  We've got a couple fish nibbling the line, hope to hook one "or MORE" soon!

  • Taneytown, MD · Member since 2015 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    11y

    Amazing, I would buy it if I was in the market :) Great job.

  • Rental Property Investor · San Marino, CA · Member since 2011 · 398 posts · 144 votes
    11y

    excellent job!  congrats and best of luck with the sale!!

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 325 posts · 335 votes
    11y

    Welcome BP Newsletter Readers!

    WOW! Thanks AGAIN to the BP Editors for spotlighting one of our projects in the weekly newsletter!  Be sure to check out our other featured project here LATEST PROJECT PHOTOS - BP Partnership

    Also Thanks AGAIN to everyone who has checked out this thread and left comments! We TRULY appreciate it! 

  • Littleton, CO · Member since 2013 · 5 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    The house is gorgeous! Very nicely done!

  • Waldorf, MD · Member since 2012 · 43 posts · 5 votes
    11y

    Awesome! @Todd Whiddon .... What are the numbers if you don't mind sharing?

  • Investor · Willis, TX · Member since 2014 · 245 posts · 124 votes
    11y

    @Todd Whiddon

    The BP Newsletter got me here and it DID NOT DISAPPOINT!  Exceptional work!  

  • Certified Public Accountant · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2008 · 279 posts · 151 votes
    11y

    Very nice! That dirt work looks like it was quite a job. 

    On building spec homes what kind of margin do you try to get?

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 325 posts · 335 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Michael Rogers:

    Very nice! That dirt work looks like it was quite a job. 

    On building spec homes what kind of margin do you try to get?

    The dirt moving was quite the task! Lucky for us there were a couple other homes being built in the same neighborhood at the same time who all needed to get RID of dirt, so we we're able to source it pretty close which cut down on the costs abit.

    We usually aim for 20% +/-, but that really just depends on the deal we get on the land. Like most things in Real Estate, you make your money on the buy.  You can only value engineer and negotiate so much on material. But if you get CHEAP DIRT, you can make a Killing!

  • Anchorage, AK · Member since 2015 · 83 posts · 27 votes
    11y

    Its insane the amount of moving parts that goes into a project like this. I'm new to REI but this to me is the bigger game, especially here in Alaska where we have lots of undeveloped land and cities are continually expanding. Great inspiration!

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 325 posts · 335 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Princeton Washington:

    Its insane the amount of moving parts that goes into a project like this. I'm new to REI but this to me is the bigger game, especially here in Alaska where we have lots of undeveloped land and cities are continually expanding. Great inspiration!

    INDEED The Amount of DECISIONS and SELECTIONS that have to be made in New Construction are kinda DAUNTING!   Also everything is interconnected from start to finish. Like you need to know what kinda window trim you are installing when you are framing the house so that you space the windows far enough apart so that the trim doesn't touch each other when installed.

  • Anchorage, AK · Member since 2015 · 83 posts · 27 votes
    11y

    @Todd Whiddon

     so do you have the developer bug? Are you going to do another one? Seems like this is a whole lot of fun! Ideally one day I'd like to build my own home from scratch rather then working with existing floor plans and I eventually want to get into spec building cause it's a huge opportunity here in AK! Can't wait till you upload your next project this is truly awe inducing. 

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 325 posts · 335 votes
    11y

    Design Quick Tips

    Here's a couple quick tips on design from this house!

    - Sconce Lights

    - Freestanding Tubs

    - Wood Look Tile

    - Floor / Shower Tile Coordination

    - Low Cost High Impact Closet Systems

  • Roy N.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Fredericton, New Brunswick · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    11y

    @Todd Whiddon

    You've got too many project threads on the go and I had somehow overlooked the palatial one until now.   Very nicely executed ... I can smell the money through the pictures ;-)

    Since I am late to the open house, I do have a few rewind questions:

    1) What wood and stain did you use on the stairwell railing - in particular the newel post in your first set of photos?

    2) What wood/finish is the flooring in the same photo?

    3) Do you use hemlock for your deck framing down there?

    4) In your roof, was your radiant barrier pre-laminated to your roof sheeting or did you lay your own rolled or sheet foil?

    I also take photos of walls ceilings before insulation and drywall ... the deciding moment was curtesy of a 4" hole saw passing through a vent stack :-|   I've also been know to run along behind the drywall crew with coloured pencils to mark the various no screw zones.

  • Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 677 posts · 309 votes
    11y

    CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!! 

    You did a beautiful job. However I hope people are really paying attention and very much aware of the fact that you are someone that knows how to pull something like this off. I read so many posts from newbies that think they can take the cost of of lot simply add the going per square foot cost and start dreaming of the big gains they are going to realize. 

    There are so many complicated engineering issues with land, drainage, erosion, retaining walls,  etc. that are significantly expensive and are aside from the cost of the building. 

    You were able to get this project done at only 70% over budget. 

    I was reading a post on here by someone with no construction experience whatsoever thinking they could buy a $2.2M lot on which they could build 5 each $1.5 Million dollar houses and end up with $500K profit plus have one of the houses free and clear to own and live in. Their all in starting budget was $750K plus financing. I wonder after doing this project what you would say to them?

  • Homeowner · Geneseo, NY · Member since 2015 · 1 post · 0 votes
    11y

    This looks fantastic! Very well done!

  • Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 902 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Todd Whiddon:
    Originally posted by @Princeton Washington:

    Its insane the amount of moving parts that goes into a project like this. I'm new to REI but this to me is the bigger game, especially here in Alaska where we have lots of undeveloped land and cities are continually expanding. Great inspiration!

    INDEED The Amount of DECISIONS and SELECTIONS that have to be made in New Construction are kinda DAUNTING!   Also everything is interconnected from start to finish. Like you need to know what kinda window trim you are installing when you are framing the house so that you space the windows far enough apart so that the trim doesn't touch each other when installed.

    This is gold! Any other tips like that off the top of your head? Maybe start a new thread or blog post with some of these gems! 

  • Investor · Sun Valley, ID · Member since 2015 · 16 posts · 0 votes
    11y

    Nice!  But did you make money?  Anywhere I have lived, it is impossible to build a new house for less than buying an existing one.  I can't imagine how you could have made much money on this.

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