by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Much like a house itself, building and purchasing a home is a sum of all parts.
From land purchase and concept to financing and permitting, the steps to transform from potential homebuyers to actual homebuyers who want to build their own home aren’t exactly as they used to be.
In a feature each month for the next several months, Realty/Builder Connection will profile several key areas of the “anatomy of a home” in greater detail and feature their part of the homebuilding process. The stories will include land purchase, permitting, design, construction and move-in.
“Over the last 25 years or so, things have definitely changed,” said Richard Dostie, a retired second-generation and longtime homebuider in Northeast Florida.
Dostie founded Richard R. Dostie New Home Collection in 1974 and after almost 30 years sold the business to national homebuilder Toll Brothers. He remains in the area assisting his son Christopher, who founded KingSouth Construction.
The biggest change, he said, comes from the advent of the Internet, which has provided a wealth of opportunity for potential homebuyers to research before making decisions.
Dostie said the changes start with the home concept itself.
Earlier in his career, he said, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home was typically an industry standard. But, much like everything else, people want bigger and better and nowadays most homebuyers – especially those with children – often seek a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home for their families.
Choosing where is as important as how, Dostie said, as communities have changed over time as well. Traditional neighborhoods still exist, he said, but now communities have featured amenity centers and retail within their confines — it’s all a matter if choice.
“It’s a matter of lifestyle,” he said.
Tougher economic times have led to dried-up financing, but if homebuilders have the cash they can purchase the land. But, getting to the point of building on it has become an increasingly more difficult task, Dostie said, as permitting requirements have increased over time.
Permits required on everything from environmental analysis to archeological studies can slow the process and increase costs.
“It can take anywhere from 60-90 days when we know what we’re doing,” he said.
And, that’s often a problem for those who go into the land purchasing and permitting themselves. Without a little guidance or work done by builders selling lots, home seekers often don’t realize everything they need until they’re told they need it, which can grind production to a halt and raise costs.
“A lot of times, they don’t know until they know,” Dostie said. “It can lead to quite a few headaches … and it can get expensive, too.”
One of the largest industry overhauls Dostie has seen in his career has been the rise of the design centers. Now, most builders have one to help people customize to their hearts desire — within reason.
“People have options nowadays that they didn’t have 25 years ago,” Dostie said. “But, many times you can only do so much because you have your 2,000-3,000 square foot home that’s finite space.”
The down economy has created a sliver of a silver lining to the industry as construction materials have come down slightly in price the last five years or so, Dostie said. Homebuilders looking to build who have plans have a leg up on both price and time, he said, and for those who choose to use a builder can often use one of their set plans for different communities.
With the permits, plans and all the I’s dotted and T’s crossed, Dostie said a typical home can be built in five- to seven months.
And after that, the fun part: the move-in.
Next month, be sure to check out a detailed feature on the different aspects, process, services and vendors associated with land purchase.