I have heard stories about the nightmares of getting plans approved in Del Mar and RSF. There are “design police” that want to make sure your plans fit the look/feel of the community. I know several architects that charge extra to deal with these communities.
Not sure about other areas in N.C.
I have personal experience with the development services department in San Diego. But it sounds like that would not be applicable here.
We built a companion unit (detached granny flat) on our property, in San Diego. The permit process was just the start. We had very bad experiences with our first contractor, and only medium experiences with our 2nd contractor (after the first one ripped us off and abandoned the job.)
Some things you need to consider.
* It will take longer than you think it will.
* It will cost more than you think it will.
* It will stress you out more than you think it will.
From a cost point of view – it’s more expensive to build a custom house than to buy one built by a developer. You can buy a nice “used” house for $250/sf. Good luck getting property and construction for that price. Heck, it’s challenging just to get construction (if the land were free) for that price.
Are you planning on hiring a General Contractor or do Owner/Builder? There are pros and cons of both.
If you hire a general – do your due-diligence and even then you might get burned. Check the status of the license. Don’t just call the references – ask if you can come visit and see the work. Make sure the references are of the same scope as you are contracting. Check the bond company to make sure the bond is in force. https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicense/LicenseRequest.asp
Even if the CSLB shows the license is clean – be aware that a complaint can take up to 2 years before it shows on the website. And most homeowners are exhausted by the process and give up before it ever gets posted. Be sure you check that the license number they give you matches the name of the contractor. (Yes, fraud happens.)
If they are being sued (or are suing) call the counter party and find out what the complaint was.
yes – I’m bitter because I’ve been burned. Learn from my mistakes.
Edited to add: Sometimes it makes sense to build custom. In our case it did – we need a detached house for the in-laws that was handicap accessible. There was nothing on the market that met our needs.
