Cost Per Square Foot In Marin Ca.

dnebout

I was given a piece of land to develop by my father. He has improved the property with a road and all utilities. I've been given the job to finish his plans to develop. Structural is about done as well as the architectural. What are the costs per square foot to build top shelf homes in the Bay Area that are on a 1 to 2 slope about 3000 sq feet? I would like to do 2 of the 5 lots and am wondering if I will even be able to get my fathers money back out of the project. Thanks in advance

Bob Kovacs

The cost per SF could range from $200-400 (or higher) depending on the engineering required for the sloped lot and what you consider "top shelf".

More important than the construction cost is the approval costs. From what I've been hearing from friends in northern CA, it's almost impossible to get a new home permitted and approved by all of the absurd agencies you have out there in less than 4-5 years, and for less than $300,000 in fees, studies, and engineering. Have you looked into any of that mess yet?

Bob

dnebout

Everything was approved for the subdivision. All of the infrastructure is in (PG&E, Cable, Phone, water, sewer, ect.) and I have all of my soils, structural, arborist reports, Architectural. All in all it cost my dad 2 million over the past 4 years. The only thing I don't have are the permits yet. How much do you think that might cost on 5 homes?

When you say 200 to 400 per square foot, does that include the soft costs such as architect, engineer, loans, ect. and the infrastructure, or is that just for material and labor on the house itself?

Thanks,
dave

TimNJ

If all those costs are already done how can you lose. What are comparable size houses going for in the immediate area?
I was in the Sacremento area a couple years ago and couldn't believe when I was told a 5 acre lot sold for $5million.

dnebout

That's what I'm trying to figure out now. I need to know if 200 to 400 a sq ft includes the infrastructure (2 million already spent), loan interest, soft costs(architect, engineer, ect...), and the actual labor and materials for the house itself.

Bob Kovacs

No- my 200-400 would be hard construction costs- no design, engineering, infrastructire, or soft costs.

Bob

dnebout

That's what I thought. When you say soft costs, can I say that Realtor points, construction loan interest, and permits are considered soft costs?

How much should I figure for overages and extras?

dnebout

bump

Bob Kovacs

Yup- those are all soft costs. Your amount for "overages and extras" is going to depend on how good your plans are, and how well you bid-scope and buy the subs. If you start with sloppy plans, you'll get change order'd to death. Same thing if you don't accurately scope the subs to make sure you're buying a complete package from them and get it all in writing.

Bob

dnebout

Thanks for the info Bob. What exactly do you do as a consultant?

Bob Kovacs

Most of my work is helping contractors understand the true costs of doing business- I help them figure out labor rates, overhead, etc. I also do a lot of estimating (for both contractors and owners), and general construction consulting.

That's all in addition to running the estimating department for the NJ office of a commercial contractor who did $75 million last year and will probably sell $400 million this year.

Bob

dnebout

Wow! Thanks for the info. I should have a set of final drawings this month. I've been interviewing contractors and seem to like this one, so we'll see what kind of price I get from him.
If you know of any consultants on the west coast, let me know.

dnebout

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