Closing on our lot this Friday in Belle Oaks and plan to start construction in June/July. Would greatly appreciate recommendations for an architects and builders.
Thanks.

Budget range? Preferred style of house? Timeline?

Construction budget is $600k - $650kish for a 3k square foot house. Land is already paid for. I'll handle any additional clearing.
Style home is southern/Greek style. Front porch, with 3 dormers - much more common in the south than around here, about 2800 sq ft down with rest on 2nd level. Limestone exterior, all hardwood floors except for entry, bathrooms, utility/mud room, outdoor kitchen with wood burning fireplace. Gas log fireplace in den and MBR. Smooth walls and ceilings - none of the knockdown/textured crap.
Double hung windows, quartz counter tops.
Timeline start July 2021 and finish in ~ 12 months.

04.arch.ag said:

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As an Architect I would comment that you dont really need to hire one.

Your budget at $200/SF wouldnt get you very far on a true architect designed house. Our residences regularly are north of $400/SF and thats even for houses larger at 5,000 to 7,000 SF. Best bang for your buck is to work with a builders "designers". Maybe pay an Architect on an hourly basis to review their plans and make comments/suggestions.

There's also a lot of younger architects and interns that work for firms that will moonlight as well and charge a much lower rate than going thru the firm. Something to look into.

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Ok, that is some major sticker shock. I just shared that information with my Aggie b-n-law who builds in Dallas and he was a bit shocked. 1.2M for a 3,000 sq ft. home? In this crazy a** world I didn't think anything could shock me but I am shocked. If that's reality I'll sell the lot.

Ok, my b-n-law can as he stated "easily" build for $200 a ft. He states that's a huge budget amount and has an architect on staff that can take my existing plans and finish them out.

04.arch.ag said:

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Yeah I am not suggesting it will cost $400/sf. Houses can easily be built for your $200 range. I was just commenting that Typically when an Architect gets involved it can get pricey.

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Got it. I'm lucky to have an old architect friend (UT, TN grad) who just returned my call and stated no way should it cost more than $200 a ft. Great to have good friends.

I believe architects in town typically charge 2-3 dollars per square foot to draw up plans.

From what you described in earlier posting, you'll be pushing $200/ft on just cost not including mark up from builder and soft costs (interest, soils testing, engineering and architecture). It's a builders market right now.
Patio adds $30k-$50k. Landscaping is hugely variable too.

I just finished up here and GC'd myself and was pushing $200/ft for my cost. I didn't shortcut anything and did it right which I expect you will do too.

Try the local designer builders, the Weston Dean, G Morris, Whitestone, and the like. They can build a good enough house that looks great but a true custom builder would spot the cost savings.

Yes. $2/ft should get you a good one around here.

Thanks for the advice!

My neighbor is a builder. They build very nice homes and have one for sale at $1.3 million over 5000sft. They will build on your land.
https://www.pencsakbuilders.com

Thanks Jim,

What area of town are you in?

Nice looking homes. Looks like they are already building in my neighborhood. Will need to look into them.

Genuine Custom Homes. Michael Bryant 210-387-6109. Good people and builds a lot in that range. Believe he has a house or two going in belle oaks right now.

The timing may not be in your favor but the 2021 San Antonio Parade of Homes is going to be in Belle Oaks in late May. The website says there will be 9 builders showcased. My wife and I typically go every year and have enjoyed talking with the builders to hear their sales pitch and see their work and we have a handful in mind to talk to when we decide to build on our lot. In my experience, almost half will turn you off because of their arrogant attitude and another 1-2 will turn you off because they are either really annoying or seem very disorganized. The rest will be contacts you can add to your list and continue the discussions. Everyone will have their pro's and con's but I just try to imagine working with them for over a year. No company will be perfect but I'd rather start out on the right foot and go from there.

Highly recommend all of these:

Westridge Custom Homes - Beau Walker, 830 438-4520 (Aggie, built our house)

Platinum Classic Custom Homes - Bradley Ynostrosa, 210-389-6100

Genuine Custom Homes - Michael Bryant, 210-387-6109


All three are great men. You can't go wrong with any of them!

Howdy! I'm a residential designer and specialize in custom homes throughout Texas, mainly the Houston area and hill country. As mentioned, architects will charge you absurd prices per sq ft. I typically charge $1. With a good custom home builder you can expect a price range from $130-$175/sqft. I'd be happy to answer any questions and possibly help you out with your custom home design.

Thanks. I'll pm you.

Dale Sauer homes is the best for high end TRULY custom builds.

He built ours and it's modern minimalist, but also does a variety of traditional, transitional homes.

One of the advantages is he's able to efficiently schedule his subs to get the job done right in a timely manner. We're watching a home go up in a cpl yrs. Ours was up in under 6 mos.

He's overall the best value in the state!
[url=https://dalesauerhomes.com/][/url]
https://dalesauerhomes.com/

Architect: Eric Morrison
Morrison Designs
210.415.7518
https://www.morrison-designs.com/

He's my cousin, and I've been in several of his homes and if I ever build custom, he'll be my designer. His plans are $1-$2.50/sq ft. He has designed some Parade of Homes houses and many high end customs. Also, his stock house plans start at $950, and he's got some really nice ones under his belt! Find one you like, or one that just needs a minimum of modifications and that might save you some time/money.

Anyone have a contact in Pennsylvania?

Thanks again for the advice.

Ttt

Sorry to Hijack this thread but how does everyone feel about idea of buying land for custom home build? Wife and I are looking for homes in west to northeast San Antonio around or outside of 1604 and market is insane. Things are flying off quickly so we are trying to stay on top of the mls search and realtor and Redfin. I originally wanted to buy a lot and then build but I'm concerned with how expensive materials and labor will be. Is this something worth considering?

davetapia03 said:

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Dale Sauer homes is the best for high end TRULY custom builds.

He built ours and it's modern minimalist, but also does a variety of traditional, transitional homes.

One of the advantages is he's able to efficiently schedule his subs to get the job done right in a timely manner. We're watching a home go up in a cpl yrs. Ours was up in under 6 mos.

He's overall the best value in the state!
[url=https://dalesauerhomes.com/][/url]
https://dalesauerhomes.com/

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Two of the homes in his gallery are in my neighborhood

My wife and I are a probably 4-5 or so years away from doing our custom build so aside from casual conversations with various custom builders, we haven't gotten much into pricing. That being said, I recently attended the parade of homes in Belle Oaks and was a little surprised that one of the builders was so forthcoming with what they charge and it seemed a bit odd. After answering a number of my questions he said that they charge $250/sq ft for custom/semi custom builds and upwards of $275/sq fr for totally custom. Both options included us completely designing the home with their in-house design team so I was curious on why the "set" price. He explained a number of their standard features they include with each build and said if I didn't want to get them, I could apply the cost savings elsewhere. Not sure if it would be a truly 1:1 exchange of the savings towards what we would want but this struck me as being unique. Is this normal? Granted I haven't gone too far in depth with builders at this stage but I'm not to excited about having a set price going into it but I don't have much experience dealing with these custom builders. I'm curious to hear what others experiences have been. We'd like to have a builder nailed down in the next 2-3 years so we can begin the process.

Weekly's quote was $275 a ft. We were at Belle Oaks on Saturday.

Thanks. The pricing seems to be where I was thinking so definitely not balking at the price but I guess I expected there to be more of a range rather than a set price/sq ft. I figure once you design the house and go over all options they determine the price. In my mind, there are thousands of ways you could go so it seems odd that a "custom" builder has the price predetermined. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

I totally agree and I'm not paying that price. A friend is becoming a builder. He's built a couple homes and is building a custom spec house in NB. He's decided to do this full time. I'm going to get a quote from him. I'll let you know how it goes. I forgot to post that the wife of one of the builders (the home with an amazing pool and sim shade for the porch) told me prices could be between $210 - $275 depending on finishes construction changes etc. I like the u-build it concept but I don't think the HOA will let allow it.

Thank you, I'd appreciate hearing how that quote goes. That range sounds more reasonable based on finishes, etc.. I also know the home you are referring to. What an amazing pool. For a moment, I forgot that the prices we are being quoted are coming with a significant markup with lumber and materials prices being off the charts. Will be interesting to see if and how much they come down once things normalize.

NastyNate said:

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Thanks. The pricing seems to be where I was thinking so definitely not balking at the price but I guess I expected there to be more of a range rather than a set price/sq ft. I figure once you design the house and go over all options they determine the price. In my mind, there are thousands of ways you could go so it seems odd that a "custom" builder has the price predetermined. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

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No, you're not overthinking it. That's exactly how it should be. There are tons of variables on every custom build from site work considerations, how the home is built structurally and the actual finish out of the home.

David Weekly is very likely quoting that as a starting point. The question to ask is what exactly that includes.

Builders don't even all quote price per square foot to include the same things. Some are quoting just house proper and not including any necessary site work etc.

Make sure you're getting quotes / estimates based on the same scope of work and finish out.
Unfortunately there is no industry standard and it varies greatly from builder to builder.

Civil here who has done residential subdivisions over the last 30 years in Bexar County. If you don't mind telling me, what did you pay for the lot and how many AC was it?

1.15 acres - $155k

Have you found a builder yet? We've got an opportunity to take on a couple project and if you're interested we may be able to help out. Our principal has been a home builder for over 20 year and is an Aggie too. Let me know if your interested in having a conversation.

Thank you!

Patrick Thompson '10
Joseph Creek Homes
210-422-2074