Be Your Own Builder

I really want to write this review to inform people that if you are thinking of being your own GC, then you really need to know how much work, etc. it is going to be. I am pretty good with a hammer so I did a lot of my own work and when it all shook out, I didn't come away with a ton of equity. In fact, if I had to contract all the work I don't think I would have had any equity and most likely may have been in the hole. If you are thinking about this, do a very thorough financial analysis of what your house will be worth when you are complete because it might not be worth it. Unless you are able to do some work yourself or have friends who will do it for a discounted rate, I really think it's better to use a builder (they get better rates) and save yourself all the work. Now, all that being said, onto Be Your Own Builder. I used them as my building consultant because I could not get a construction loan without them. They are cheaper than U Build it and all the others (quite a bit cheaper). I know people who have built with UBuild it and their experiences led me to believe Larry would be a better choice. Larry was pretty good early on (where I really needed him to get me out of the ground). He has a guy that does plans fairly cheap and they're decent plans but it took quite a while for my plans to get done. I would seriously consider using someone that charges just a little more (Fillmore or Gibson) It just depends how pressed you are for time and how detailed you want your plans. Extreme detail is not really necessary so if cost is your main concern, James is a really good option, just takes a little time. Larry also had a good concrete guy whom I used for my foundation and flatwork (post tension true monolithic pour, lots of "monolithic" pours are not). The positives are that Larry was cheapest, he's an extremely nice guy, and put together a really nice folder for the build (this will be your bible for the next year, never leave home without it). He sent emails to me along the way with one or two contractors for each trade. He was pretty knowledgeable and helpful when I got ahold of him. The negatives are that I almost always got his voicemail but he usually got back with me that day or the next, a lot of the contractors in his sub list had disconnected numbers, so you may be on your own to find some trades (but if you call Larry, he will usually have a guy or two), as the build went along I heard less and less from Larry (in fairness, I didn't necessarily need him and when I called him he usually helped me). I asked him for a countertop guy and got essentially no help. This, along with the sub list, would be my main negatives. He told me he gave my number to a couple of guys who should have called me but they never did. Long story short, I used a guy who ended up flaking out on me and this cost me about $1500.00 but more importantly time. (I'll insert here use James Stout at Take it for Granite in Edmond, he'll definitely treat you right, he went above and beyond to help me and he was very reasonable cheaper than most people). Some of his subs I were happy with other I was not. I found a lot of my subs on my own. All in all I'd use Larry again. The next time will be easier because I already know which Subs I would use. I want to be very clear that you are the main person if you do this process so don't expect Larry to do the GC work or you will be disappointed. Also, I wouldn't expect a lot of support from him. He's not going to hold your hand through the entire process but if you call him he will definitely try to help. Also, Larry is an extremely nice man, so that goes along way. He was always very pleasant and easy going, which I admire. Maybe if I'd called him more he'd been more helpful. I don't expect the other building consultants would have been any better, I'd have just spent more money, but that's only my inclination.

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We hired the company based on the recommendations of some friends, and we were very happy with the company's services. Larry, our contact, was very responsive and helpful whenever we had questions or problems, he was very knowledgeable, and he made a potentially stressful experience go quite smoothly.

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Review of Be Your Own Builder By Don & Deana Howard For Angie?s List 3/11/2014 We had been looking at open houses, and drove by one that was obviously not for sale. It was so attractive, though, we decided to ring the bell and talk with the owners. They were home, and told us they had actually just built it themselves with Be Your Own Builder, and saved thousands of dollars. We decided it was a good idea to meet with this company ourselves. On our first meeting with Larry Oesterman and Carol Angel, the owners of Be Your Own Builder, was extremely informative and very ?low pressure?. We didn?t have the feeling they were trying to sell us anything. They even gave us a free job cost estimation. We had some financing questions, and Larry explained how Be Your Own Builder could help with that as well. They also gave us names of current customers and those that had already built with them. We were told that most people had 20% instant equity. Larry?s cost estimation was much lower than the bids from custom builders. After meeting with the lender and other clients, we called Larry and told him we wanted to move forward. Larry started the initial bidding process with the sub-contractors. We scheduled meetings at his office with foundation contractors, framers, plumbers, electricians, heat/air people, and sent plans to various lumber companies to bid on the framing package. In just a few weeks, we had most of the major bids in place. The most stressful part of the process was getting the project to the completed framing stage. Larry and Carol were always available to assist with any problems or issues we had along the way. The sub-contractors on the Be Your Own builder list were very talented and professional. With a project this size, there were some problems, but with Larry?s help we got through them. Our finished home was beyond all expectations, complete with more upgrades than the custom builders were going to provide! It wasn?t always easy, but we maintained control of the building process from beginning to end. Since we made all the decisions, we know the quality of everything that went into our house. We did go a little over budget on our 4000 sq. ft. dream home, but that was because we added some extra things as we went along. With that said, we still came in $200,000 cheaper than the $750,000 custom builder bid, and we had many more upgrades to the house. We are thrilled with that kind of savings. After going through the building process, we would definitely do this again. Even though we do have much of the knowledge necessary to build another home in the future, we would still rely on Be Your Own Builder for their help. We absolutely recommend them to anyone wanting to build their dream home. Thank you Carol & Larry!! Don & Deana Howard Edmond, OK

We met Larry Oesterman, owner of Be Your Own Builder, at the Home & Garden Show a few years ago. At the time we were considering building a house and were very interested in his services. His pitch is that he will assist you during the construction process as you act as the general contractor, saving you thousands of dollars and instant home equity when the project is finished. Since we?ve had several rental properties that we renovated as well as a couple of flip houses, we thought we could handle the task, but we felt that hiring an expert who had been a builder himself provide his expertise and assistance in resolving issues along the way would give us the confidence we needed since we?d never built from the ground up before. We were incredibly dissatisfied. The only real assistance he provided was helping us acquire a construction loan which we might not have been able to get on our own, but it went completely downhill from there. One of the worst things he did was give us a budget that in the end turned out to be almost 40% too low for the house we wanted to build, probably because he never asked us a single question about what we wanted in it (tankless hot water systems, hardwood floors, custom cabinets, high end appliances, etc). We built on a street with executive homes on a golf course, many worth over $1 million so we assumed his budget would be based on the high end finishes required to maintain the value of a home on that street. Larry?s budget for our home was $467,000 ($104/sf) but it actually cost $685,000 to build ($157/sf), an increase of 47%, and that didn?t include the land cost. After a construction loan increase (and an additional $5,000 in new closing costs), we ended up putting in almost $150,000 of our own money to finish the house ? thank God we had it or we might have lost it to the bank (we had to sell a rental property and my husband?s rare BMW along the way to liquidate assets). His budget also left out the cost for guttering, landscaping and sod (an out of pocket expense of over $17,000) because ?you don?t need it to close on the house,? but at the very least you need it to meet any neighborhood covenants! Larry told us at our initial meeting that he only refers subs that are vetted by his other clients, so we felt confident at using any subs he referred because at the end of each project he meets with the home owners to rate the subs, and any subs receiving a bad rating are dropped from his referral list. He also told us he would assist in contract negotiations with the subs, which he did for the trades involved in getting the house dried in, but after that we found our own subs, mostly because we weren?t impressed with several contractors he introduced us to during the first phase. When we had technical questions, his response was always ?I don?t know, have you asked your sub?? and never gave his own advice. He also advised us to ?trust your subs? but on several occasions we ended up paying them more money to fix their mistakes, and Larry would not help us resolve the issues. Larry will tell you not to pay your contractors until the job is finished to your satisfaction, yet his contract requires his full payment when the house is dried in, and believe me you have a lot of work to do getting the inside completed and finishing construction after that! It took us almost 17 months to build our 4358 square foot house, and to my knowledge Larry only came out to the job site about six times, and some of those times were to show off our house to his prospective clients, not to check on our project. We began construction in January 2012 and finished in June 2013, but the last time we saw Larry was October 2012, and that was at our request to meet the banker at the job site to discuss what it would take to increase our construction loan so we could finish our house. He did not come to closing like he initially said he would, and he certainly didn?t ask us to rate our subs even though he knew we had issues along the way. Our advice is to keep his $3.75 per square foot fee because in our experience it was a total waste of money. We feel strongly that we didn't get what we signed up for, let alone what we paid for. His fee would have gone a long way toward paying for our guttering, sod and landscaping!

We had lived in our house for 25 years, and decided it was time to move to a bigger one. After doing some research, I decided I wanted to build one myself because I felt we could save alot of money. I went to another big owner/builder company, actually three times, but I got the feeling all they wanted to do was get our money. There was pressure to make an appointment, and a lot of talk about what I needed to pay upfront. I just wasn't comfortable with how they wanted to do business. I continued looking, and even put an ad on Craigslist looking for someone to help me through the process. After basically deciding to go with one individual, I answered an ad for Be Your Own Builder and met Larry Oesterman. I didn't need an appointment... I just called, and Larry said to come by. After talking to him for an hour, I knew his company was the best choice for what I wanted to do. Larry was personable, friendly, and there was no pressure to put any money down, pay an up-front fee or buy anything. In fact, Larry suggested I talk to a recommended bank to see what we could qualify for BEFORE any money changed hands. In addition, Be Your Own Builder's fee was about one-third of what the other company was going to charge, and you basically get the same program. Step-by-step instructions, hands-on guidance, and great subs to work with. During the process, Larry alway answered his phone or called back the same day. If I had any question with a sub, Larry stepped in and took care of it. It seems Be Your Own Builder is able to keep their costs down because they have much less overhead than other owner/builder companies. I would highly recommend Larry and Be Your Own Builder. He and his partner Carol are honest, down to earth people that want to see you build your own house and save alot of money. If you're interested, we built a 3275 square foot home and have about $70,000 equity, INCLUDING LAND!