Be Your Own Contractor?

I recently ran across a new edition of "Be Your Own House Contractor," by Carl Heldmann on Amazon.com
This longtime best-seller home construction book is even better in its latest edition, which includes the author's Internet Web site resources. Heldmann also refers readers to his own web site for additional information. "You won't believe how easy it is to save money and get the house you want," Heldmann says.
Much emphasis is placed on construction financing. He encourages do-it-yourself home builders to compare several sources, especially community banks. He says that banks have become much more liberal in recent years, and it is now possible to obtain a home construction loan without having a general contractor.

A big advantage of this book is that it breaks down the home construction process into easy pieces that any reader can understand. He doesn't go into great detail, but just enough for you to know if becoming a do-it-yourself contractor is right for you.
Even if you decide that being your own contractor is not your thing, despite savings of as much as 25%, reading the fifth edition of his book will still help you immensely in dealing with general contractors. If you decide to hire a general contractor to build a new home or remodel an existing one, Heldmann explains how to keep costs down and to understand the home-building process.

While this book may not make the reader capable of building his or her own home without a general contractor, it alerts readers to what is involved, and advises reading more advanced home construction books and taking courses at local owner-builder centers.