I have just finished The Owner-Builder Book. Very good read. It inspired what I already felt like I could do. Mary Beth in Dublin, OH

Annie's Forum Posts: 1
Journal Entries: 3
Interview Answers: 77
Average Forum Rating: 4.50



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We have the land-for sure!

Posted to Vistoso-Green-Home by Annie in Tucson, AZ on 6/28/2007

So this looks like this could be it. After several days of searching for the right piece of property to match the floor plan we have wanted to build with - we finally found it. With our design company, we were able to fit the floorplan and landscaping to the lot and its setbacks. It is in the subdivision of Vistoso Pointe in Oro Valley. It is a nice property right on top of the hill that looks at all the mountain ranges. We are excited, and are looking to have our plans completed with the landscaping details within the next 3-4 days and then will hopefully work on engineering after that point.

I will attach a couple pictures of the property, and then when we get the plans we will post those. The property was listed at $260K and we offered $248K and the owner took it with no counteroffer. We should be done with escrow about the 20th of July. We have looked forward to this day for a long time. We will keep you posted.

Photos

No more land!

Posted to Vistoso-Green-Home by Annie in Tucson, AZ on 6/16/2007

We thought we had found a nice piece of property that would fit our floor plan.  We put in our offer and had a 15 day inspection period to make sure everything would work out.  Unfortunately we tried several different options but it just didn't seem to work out.  The deal for the land was canceled and we are in search of another piece of property.  We have a couple in mind and hopefully will be able to make a decision and offer before the end of the week.

We purchased our land!

Posted to Vistoso-Green-Home by Annie in Tucson, AZ on 6/11/2007

We have purchased our land and are in the process of submitting our house plans to the CC&R for Vistoso Highlands. We purchased a lot just off the fourth hole at the Rancho Vistoso Golf Course. We are extremely excited, this will be the first home that my husband and I will have built together. We already know we are going to use energypanelsystems.com for our walls. We have talked with some other green builders in the area and found the cost per square foot to be the best and their testimonials from other owner-builders who have built with them as well. I searched everywhere and was only able to find one thing where the customer was not happy in the last 36 months.

The company was told the sizes of door openings and they built them to those specifications, but the doors were pre-hung, which was not discussed, so the openings were different than the standard raw opening. Energy Panel Systems accepted the blame and paid the contractor a couple thousand dollars to correct the problem. That sounds like good business to us - they just require a signed document now confirming opening sizes of all openings. We have several other subcontractors lined up and just have to play the waiting game for the next month or so, unfortunately. We are excited and will keep everyone posted.

Annie

Posted by S.A. in Grass Valley, CA on 11/22/2007 S.A.'s Forum Posts: 2 Interview Answers: 1 Randomly Selected Image 11/22/2007	There is a new SIP company in Prescott; you should check them out: gbsi-step.com. They have all of their testing completed and certified. This is important for any SIP.
Posted by Annie in Tucson, AZ on 11/23/2007 Annie's Forum Posts: 1 Journal Entries: 3 Interview Answers: 77 Average Forum Rating: 4.50 Image from Annie's blog 11/23/2007	There was more to the problem than just the doors and openings. If you send me a PM I'll send you the details. I would never recommend this company. CM
Posted by Annie in Tucson, AZ on 11/23/2007 Annie's Forum Posts: 1 Journal Entries: 3 Interview Answers: 77 Average Forum Rating: 4.50 Image from Annie's blog 11/23/2007	Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to Energy Panel Systems, not to gbsi-step.