Be Your Own House Contractor: How to Save 25% Without Lifting a Hammer

This handbook comes on cue in an era of belt-tightening in the home-building industry. And the fiscal corner Heldmann helps us cut with this book, enabling us to serve as our own contractor, may well represent the largest slice of the pie. But did we really pay that contractor 25% of the cost of our house, as the author suggests? Does Heldmann count the price of one's own time spent on the project? And what about his advice that we hire a good real estate attorney if in doubt at any of the planning stages outlined in his book? How much would that lawyer's fee turn out to be, and could it erase the advantages we've gained from taking his advice? The assumption of the book is that we must enjoy the challenges of buying land, reading plans, making estimates, getting permits, arranging loans, buying supplies and picking subcontractors-which may or may not be true or practical for most homebuilders. And then, Heldmann's examples apply mainly to the Northeast; rules differ state to state, which limits his book's usefulness. Yet it does make sense to attempt an overall view of home-building before undertaking it yourself-to get to know how a house is planned, paid for and built, from basement to roof. (Jan.)