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Old 07-08-16, 08:20 AM   #61
pinballlooking
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I have five mini split heads at my house and on top of that I have a 4 ton AC unit.
Three on the mini splits are single head units they are more efficient than the other units.
If you don’t put all the outside units on the same side of the house it really is not a big deal.
Yes it is different than what we are used to looking at. Mine are on the back and side of the house.Your really don’t pay them much attention and they are not noisy like my 4 ton unit.

My 4 ton unit has not run in three years my natural gas heat has not run in two years.
We all like different temps. I keep my office cooler my kids each keep their rooms at the temp they like.
The living room is more of a compromise our house temp is much more comfortable that when we used forced air my wife like using the mini splits better than the forced air we use to use.

Our cooling cost are so much lower. Our cooling and heating cost are covered by solar power. The cost of installing all mini splits was less than just the main unit of the geothermal system.
My neighbor has a small track hoe and I have 8 acres I thought about a self-install geothermal system. I came here for advice and was swayed to install mini splits and I am glad I did. These mini splits will pay for them self with savings but solar helps that calculation.

I am not saying you should do what I did. Each house systems needs are unique and your goals need to be meet. I just wanted to give you our experience when we had to decide between geothermal and mini splits. You have the advantage of planning it for the start and not retrofitting like I did.
Good luck and whet ever you decide.

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Old 07-08-16, 11:30 AM   #62
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So I was just looking at the Hamilton county ground water map.. It's not looking good for where this property is at.. Says at best 3 gallon per minute..
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Old 07-10-16, 08:11 PM   #63
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fordguy64 View Post
So I was just looking at the Hamilton county ground water map.. It's not looking good for where this property is at.. Says at best 3 gallon per minute..
3 gallons per minute isn't a killer, it's not great but that is 4320 gallons per day. 3 gallons per minute is about what I have, but my well is also 600' and that flow is rock steady year round. There is also minimal agricultural irrigation around me so there is only a very low chance of it running dry.

You might try looking for another piece of land as well. I'd much rather pay a bit more for land that meets my needs than to try to figure out how to get the land I have to meet those needs. The more challenges there on on a site the more money you are going to have to spend to address those challenges. Typically it is cheaper to find raw land that has the fewest challenges than to try to address additional challenges other ways.
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Old 07-18-16, 05:55 AM   #64
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So we met with the owner last Friday. Really nice guy. Brought is side by side out and took us on a tour of the property. And well it was absolutely beautiful. He explained a lot of stuff that he had already figured out. I told him about the well flow issue and he said that the drilling company said they should be able to get better flow out of the well than 3gpm. But I haven't been able to find any info to back that up. I downloaded one of those sun tracker apps before I went out and it looks like I will have a clear view of the sky year round!

I'm still leaning towards the rainwater catchment idea. I can get 6000gallons of storage for 3k plus about another 1500 or so in pumps and filters. That's just my preference. The guy said he had an estimate for 4k for a well and about another 1k to get it to the house.


So our current plan is to get a realtor to my house to verify what it will sell for. If that looks good we are going to head to the bank and see if we can get a loan for it.
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Old 07-19-16, 12:14 AM   #65
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Yeah the well driller can frack the well. Sort of the same concept as fracking in the oil industry, increase the surface area of the well to allow more fluid to flow through. Fracking in water wells however mainly cleans out existing fractures in the rock and soil within the water table allowing easier water flow.

I also want to suggest that you talk with a mortgage broker. You may not be able to get a mortgage with rain water collection (as your sole water source) in your area. While that may not be an issue now, and you think this will be your forever home, life circumstances change, and often when they do it's unforeseeable and needs quick movement. Basically run your ideas by someone knowledgeable in mortgages and your area about anything you plan to do out of the ordinary that way you can make a more informed choice.
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Old 07-19-16, 12:00 PM   #66
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The part of getting a loan for the house part was out the window when I mentioned building it myself. I am currently in process of looking into financial end of things. My cousin is a banker and I've asked for her help.
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Old 07-20-16, 03:09 PM   #67
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Fordguy,

I have built two houses and I got construction loans for both - but I told them I was functioning as the general contractor.

Had to build it to code and had to get the necessary inspections as we went along.

There is absolutely NOTHING to stop you building your own home as the GC. Just be quiet on who you are choosing as a sub contractor!

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Old 07-20-16, 04:32 PM   #68
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I will have to see what she says about me being my own general contractor. But we hit another road block for the time being. That being most places require 25% down for a construction loan and or a lot/land loan. I'm a few thousand away from that lol but we will keep pushing on. More on that as it happens
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Old 07-20-16, 04:55 PM   #69
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A 25% level of equity (cash or land value) is a common issue with construction loans. Many construction loans will rotate into permanent financing as well. But you only have 365 days to finish with a construction loan (to get occupancy permit). So think VERY carefully on your time sequence chart.

Do what you have to do to get occupancy quickly. For example, put the PEX tubes in the concrete, but hook up a radiant system (heater) at a later date. Buy a cheapie used propane gas furnace to get your occupancy permit (OP). I find these all the time for a few hundred $.

You don't have to have the dishwasher in. But you may need floor coverings and of all things, steps to the front door. Usually 100 A service is a minimum. I would put in a 200A panel as the cost to do this is so little and it is a BEAR to change a service panel when you are living in the house.

Check with your building inspectors to see what is minimally required to get the OP. All this will be in writing.

The other thing to carefully examine, is construction insurance. This is not expensive, but is HUGE protection in the event of fire, flood or other terrible thing while you are building. You can't get a home owners policy until you have an occupancy permit.

Yes, you don't have to have construction insurance (sometimes called builders insurance or constructing insurance) and many don't have it.

But it is one of those things with insurance . . . . you win if you loose and you loose if you win.

I think the last construction risk policy was just a few hundred $ for a year of construction time.



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Old 07-23-16, 01:00 AM   #70
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You'll likely need to find a specialty lender to be your own GC. Another option is to find a GC that will work with you to allow you to take on some of the work. The advantage to that is you get access to his subs, a relatively quick construction time, a good chance of higher quality construction, you can save some money, and you have a resource to teach you and help you solve problems.

The issue with that is a lot of new builders underestimate the time and skill level to do something themselves, this can throw the GC schedule out the window. That schedule is where GCs make their money. The longer you take to do something correctly the more money the GC loses, by not being respectful of their schedule your relationship with them will quickly sour.

I know I sound like a wet blanket for most of this tread, but I really would love to see you be able to build your own house. There really is nothing more satisfying than to be able to look back and see what you have accomplished. In construction this gets to happen everyday. The flip side to that is there is nothing more frustrating than not meeting expectations, either your own or other people's (though hopefully your own expectations are higher than other's are).

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