Building Your Own Home For Dummies (eBook)

Kevin Daum has 22 years of experience in the realestate and mortgage industry. He is founder and CEO of StratfordFinancial Services, and is the leading expert in custom homefinancing. Daum has financed more than 800 custom homes and haspublished numerous articles on construction financing,mortgageeducation, and entrepreneurship. Janice Brewster served as editor of Log HomeLiving magazine for five years. Brewster has beeninvolved in the custom home industry for more than 10 years. Peter Economy is Associate Editor for the DruckerFoundation's award-winning magazine Leader to Leader and a featuredexpert for AllBusiness.com. He's the coauthor of the booksLeadership Ensemble: Lessons in Collaborative Management fromthe World's Only Conductorless Orchestra, Strategic Tools forSocial Entrepreneurs: Enhancing the Performance of YourEnterprising Nonprofit, and many others, includingConsulting For Dummies, Home-Based Business For Dummies, andRaising Capital For Dummies.

Introduction.

Part I: Getting Started: The 411 on Custom HomeBuilding.

Chapter 1: The Custom Home Process in a Nutshell.

Chapter 2: Preparing for the Process.

Chapter 3: The Land Grab: Selecting the Perfect Site.

Chapter 4: Defining Your House Style.

Chapter 5: Architects and Design: Time Spent Is Money Saved.

Chapter 6: Engineering and Plan Approval: Bureaucracy MadeSomewhat Easy.

Part II: All You Need Is Dough: Financing Your CustomHome.

Chapter 7: Cash Is King: Using Debt to Your Advantage.

Chapter 8: Knowledge Is Power: What You Don't Know AboutConstruction Loans Can Hurt You.

Chapter 9: Qualifying: It's the Bank's Way or theHighway.

Chapter 10: Show Me the Money.

Part III: Hammers and Nails: The ConstructionProcess.

Chapter 11: All the King's Men: The Contractor and HisCohorts.

Chapter 12: Excavation and Foundation: Getting a SolidStart.

Chapter 13: Framing and Rough: So Much Goes Behind ThoseWalls!

Chapter 14: Heading for the Finish: So Much Detail.

Part IV: All the After Stuff.

Chapter 15: Home Sweet Nest Egg: Moving In and Managing Your NewInvestment.

Chapter 16: Refinancing: More Money, Cheaper Payments.

Chapter 17: Taking It Outside: The Art of Landscaping.

Part V: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 18: Ten Common Custom Home Mistakes and How to Avoid'Em.

Chapter 19: Ten Great Ways to Lower Construction Costs.

Chapter 20: Ten Common Stuck-in-the-Middle Problems and TheirFixes.

Chapter 21: Ten Helpful Custom Home Resources.

Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Make Your Home Green.

Index.