Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had good experiences with NDI. You do need lots of upgrades from their basic model though.

You build with NDI in Pimmit Hills, not McLean, unless you're on a shoestring budget.

Newsflash: there are tons of NDI in McLean. Most people ARE on a shoestring budget. It's not just Saudi princes, you know.

I can't see why anyone who pays a minimum of $700K for a 1/4 acre lot in McLean putting up a $500K NDI or Classic Home box.... You will never
get you initial investment back....especially in the expensive locales.

Most people who custom build will at least have a $1m minimum construction budget for a lot aquisiton price of $700K. Been there..done that.

a 800k lot + 400k NDI home can sell for 1.5-1.6 easily and they sell instantly

a 800k lot + 800k home can sell for 2.5 but it's gonna sit there for a long time and will run you another 200-300k capital cost

If you build 800k lot + 400k with NDI, there is no way you can sell 1.5-1.6m even in McLean. A 400k NDI house even without site work cost consideration (which is close to 100k) is a very very basic house.

NDI can build you a shell for 200k, plus another 200k in reno, which is already better than most of the 1.4-1.6 dated home you see on the market

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had good experiences with NDI. You do need lots of upgrades from their basic model though.

You build with NDI in Pimmit Hills, not McLean, unless you're on a shoestring budget.

Newsflash: there are tons of NDI in McLean. Most people ARE on a shoestring budget. It's not just Saudi princes, you know.

I can't see why anyone who pays a minimum of $700K for a 1/4 acre lot in McLean putting up a $500K NDI or Classic Home box.... You will never
get you initial investment back....especially in the expensive locales.

Most people who custom build will at least have a $1m minimum construction budget for a lot aquisiton price of $700K. Been there..done that.

a 800k lot + 400k NDI home can sell for 1.5-1.6 easily and they sell instantly

a 800k lot + 800k home can sell for 2.5 but it's gonna sit there for a long time and will run you another 200-300k capital cost

If you build 800k lot + 400k with NDI, there is no way you can sell 1.5-1.6m even in McLean. A 400k NDI house even without site work cost consideration (which is close to 100k) is a very very basic house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had good experiences with NDI. You do need lots of upgrades from their basic model though.

You build with NDI in Pimmit Hills, not McLean, unless you're on a shoestring budget.

Newsflash: there are tons of NDI in McLean. Most people ARE on a shoestring budget. It's not just Saudi princes, you know.

I can't see why anyone who pays a minimum of $700K for a 1/4 acre lot in McLean putting up a $500K NDI or Classic Home box.... You will never
get you initial investment back....especially in the expensive locales.

Most people who custom build will at least have a $1m minimum construction budget for a lot aquisiton price of $700K. Been there..done that.

a 800k lot + 400k NDI home can sell for 1.5-1.6 easily and they sell instantly

a 800k lot + 800k home can sell for 2.5 but it's gonna sit there for a long time and will run you another 200-300k capital cost

The NDI prices do not include basement and lot and Focal Point prices do not include lot. Your numbers are off, but overall NDI and Focal do sell for less. Focal doesn't even have 2x6 contstruction or the ability to do 10 foot first or 9 foot second/basement.

Anonymous wrote:What the construction cost could be if the new custom house sells in range 2.5 M to 3 M? Assume that the builder spent 800K on the lot.

Let me try to estimate builder's cost in this way: if you hire the builder as a general contractor and do a cost-plus approach, a builder usually charges 20% of the construction cost. So if a builder does it on his own lot (assuming acquisition cost of 800k), he would expect a higher than 20% margin (say30%) on the construction cost. Also assuming an instant equity of 10% of the house price, builder's cost would be:
House price Builder cost
2m 800k
2.5m. 1.1m
3m 1.5m
3.5m 2.2m

Of course if you want to hire the builder as a general contractor, you should add 20% on top of the costs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had good experiences with NDI. You do need lots of upgrades from their basic model though.

You build with NDI in Pimmit Hills, not McLean, unless you're on a shoestring budget.

Newsflash: there are tons of NDI in McLean. Most people ARE on a shoestring budget. It's not just Saudi princes, you know.

I can't see why anyone who pays a minimum of $700K for a 1/4 acre lot in McLean putting up a $500K NDI or Classic Home box.... You will never
get you initial investment back....especially in the expensive locales.

Most people who custom build will at least have a $1m minimum construction budget for a lot aquisiton price of $700K. Been there..done that.

You can't see why someone who has $1.2 million to spend might not have $1.6 million to spend?

Really?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had good experiences with NDI. You do need lots of upgrades from their basic model though.

You build with NDI in Pimmit Hills, not McLean, unless you're on a shoestring budget.

Newsflash: there are tons of NDI in McLean. Most people ARE on a shoestring budget. It's not just Saudi princes, you know.

I can't see why anyone who pays a minimum of $700K for a 1/4 acre lot in McLean putting up a $500K NDI or Classic Home box.... You will never
get you initial investment back....especially in the expensive locales.

Most people who custom build will at least have a $1m minimum construction budget for a lot aquisiton price of $700K. Been there..done that.

a 800k lot + 400k NDI home can sell for 1.5-1.6 easily and they sell instantly

a 800k lot + 800k home can sell for 2.5 but it's gonna sit there for a long time and will run you another 200-300k capital cost

Anonymous wrote:What the construction cost could be if the new custom house sells in range 2.5 M to 3 M? Assume that the builder spent 800K on the lot.

tell you the truth, max another 600-700k into the construction cost, but builder has other capital cost that can run up to another 200k-350k or even more....depends on how long the house sits

What the construction cost could be if the new custom house sells in range 2.5 M to 3 M? Assume that the builder spent 800K on the lot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had good experiences with NDI. You do need lots of upgrades from their basic model though.

You build with NDI in Pimmit Hills, not McLean, unless you're on a shoestring budget.

Newsflash: there are tons of NDI in McLean. Most people ARE on a shoestring budget. It's not just Saudi princes, you know.

I can't see why anyone who pays a minimum of $700K for a 1/4 acre lot in McLean putting up a $500K NDI or Classic Home box.... You will never
get you initial investment back....especially in the expensive locales.

Most people who custom build will at least have a $1m minimum construction budget for a lot aquisiton price of $700K. Been there..done that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There seem to be Focal Point affiliates on DCUM constantly doing self promotion.
I saw their $1.6m, 1.7m houses in McLean and falls church all the time and I think their houses are ugly Ms cheaply built.
Signs of their cheap quality:
1. Low ceilings even for the first floor
2. Thin exterior walls
3. Squeaky and shaking wood floors which is usually a sign of low standard joists used (in terms of both quality and quantity).
4. Poor finishing touch: you could see ugly brush marks and pimples on trim works and wood floor everywhere.
5. Gable roofs for all their houses.

I've only seen some of their houses from the outside and they look nice. From looking at their web site, it seems like they've sold lots of homes without generating much bad press. Their strategy seems to be only to build in areas zoned for Langley or McLean, which means they have to pay more for the lots than builders in areas zoned for other schools.

It's true that their houses sell. But that's only because their prices are among the most affordable for new builds with McLean schools.
Houses built by others sold pretty quickly as well if they price them in the $1.6m range.

Anonymous wrote:There seem to be Focal Point affiliates on DCUM constantly doing self promotion.
I saw their $1.6m, 1.7m houses in McLean and falls church all the time and I think their houses are ugly Ms cheaply built.
Signs of their cheap quality:
1. Low ceilings even for the first floor
2. Thin exterior walls
3. Squeaky and shaking wood floors which is usually a sign of low standard joists used (in terms of both quality and quantity).
4. Poor finishing touch: you could see ugly brush marks and pimples on trim works and wood floor everywhere.
5. Gable roofs for all their houses.

I've only seen some of their houses from the outside and they look nice. From looking at their web site, it seems like they've sold lots of homes without generating much bad press. Their strategy seems to be only to build in areas zoned for Langley or McLean, which means they have to pay more for the lots than builders in areas zoned for other schools.

There seem to be Focal Point affiliates on DCUM constantly doing self promotion.
I saw their $1.6m, 1.7m houses in McLean and falls church all the time and I think their houses are ugly Ms cheaply built.
Signs of their cheap quality:
1. Low ceilings even for the first floor
2. Thin exterior walls
3. Squeaky and shaking wood floors which is usually a sign of low standard joists used (in terms of both quality and quantity).
4. Poor finishing touch: you could see ugly brush marks and pimples on trim works and wood floor everywhere.
5. Gable roofs for all their houses.

Anonymous wrote:Here is another thing to think about. I would also consider a mid size builder like NDI, Focal Point or Relux homes etc.... because they are more likely to be building new homes in your neighborhood and will come back to fix issues even after the warranty period so they don't tarnish their name.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on price point. Sagatov is great but probably won't do under $4M

WTF are you talking about, he does sub-$4m all the time.

You may be correct. My info is dated. Before the crash he was way over that.

Two different Sagatovs. George B. is the one who does the crazy big homes, although he seems to not be such a big thing anymore, is he even still in business?

Yuri Sagatov does really fantastic contemporary homes.

I did not realize there were two of them. Assuming you are correct, George B was pretty old in 2007 when I met him. He may have retired.

+1

PP here. Agree I would go with Sagatov if it were me who had millions to spend (I don't. But I also don't begrudge those who do.)

OP, you want to meld with the neighborhood. If the neighborhood supports some NDI (MOST DO in McLean, believe it or not, if you do your research you will see for yourself) - just go with them, or you will be bleeding extra money. Don't out price yourself from the neighborhood. If the neighborhood has small lots, you are not going to want the best of the best, because that builder would not be able to maximize their talent on a small lot. Get it?

Be wary of asking the current neighbors - they have it in their interest to have you boost their comps. Think about it.

Pick a neighborhood first, OP. Then go with the minimum builder that neighborhood supports. Everyone else is (i.e.: people who bought old houses in the 90's are deciding their add ons are not working, so they knock down and start over on the cheap). I know this, because many of my friends have done it themselves. Be informed.

Anonymous wrote:Focal Point has some nice houses.

+1

Focal Point is on Dead Run and is in the reasonable range.

Sagatov is really high end, but beautiful.