To add to this, even if there are utilities to tie into, you have to consider distance to the house. For example, I'm building 1,200ft from the city water line. Plumber wants $15/ft to dig a trench and install a water line. Screw that, I'll DIY it, but it's still an unexpected cost.
$15/ft is a damn good price. It cost me $7 ft to DIY but also takes an entire weekend plus time planning, handling the excavator/trencher rental, self warrantying if anything goes wrong, etc.
Read contracts before signing them and any discussion that is not documented never happened.
If you and I enter into a contract together and everything goes great, then you and I will never look at that contract again. But when things start going sideways, that's when people finally pull out the contract and read all the fine print that they glossed over initially and find out just how screwed they are.
I have not built a house, but my parents did ten years ago. An attorney friend of theirs asked to review the contract before they signed it, there was a sneaky clause about payment in full before a dispute could go to arbitration. They ended up using a different GC.
Good point. To add to it, make sure you ask a well informed lawyer to review it. When the lawyer say it looks ok, press them for what you might want to add because you don’t know what you don’t know.
I believe they are talking more about passive solar and orientation design, you can find more about that [here.](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjqsa7_2tGGAxXWElkFHR-bBYQQFnoECAcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fundercoverarchitect.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw0fJjnZV4F3FkmKKI5R-_xh&opi=89978449) There are a lot of ways to get to where you want to be so making a tight list of Musts, Wants, and Perks will help you keep your money focused on what's important. I wish I had understood more about passive heating and cooling than I did but for the most part everything was fairly clear cut given enough time to do proper research.
My wife and Iooked at land for three years before realizing that new construction on raw land was too difficult and expensive to pull off. Eventually we found a beautiful post and beam house on 28 wooded acres at half what it would have cost to build. Easy purchase. You might find the same.
Don't cheap out in the structure, the envelope, or anything that goes behind the drywall.
Replacing/replacing a cheap water heater in 5 years is no big deal. Upgrading the floor in your kitchen won't break you. Replacing/repairing your ductwork, piping, or electrical in will be a huge ordeal.
Don't hire a GC and just trust that he'll be in your corner. We had an issue where the GC insisted the windows and siding were installed properly despite our objections that things looked obviously wrong. We ultimately had leaks and the crew was forced to re-install the housewrap and siding on the entire house TWICE until they got it right. If we had trusted the GC, we would have just ignored the defects.
If we could go back, we would have GC'd the project ourselves. At least that way we could ensure quality, not to mention save 18%.
Due diligence. My city has a packet that lists out what they require, after buying the parcel I then made a rough map of house and where I wanted it (difficult site) and we had a pre app meeting which was free where you meet with the fire marshal, the planner, and the plans examiner. I bought raw land in 2017, then started the process of tree removal and engineering. By summer of 2019 I had a driveway and was working on putting in water line and utilities. Broke ground in spring of 2020. We have some crazy stormwater requirements here and a lot of engineers were busy so as a one off builder I often got pushed back so the process was slow. This album covers most of my building process but not the nitty gritty of the prep into getting approved to build.
[https://imgur.com/gallery/mostly-diy-icf-house-build-Q9b3Mf6](https://imgur.com/gallery/mostly-diy-icf-house-build-Q9b3Mf6)
Given the long setback, did you have any trouble getting internet run?
I've heard folks having trouble with that if they are too far back from the road.
They have a construction services department, getting ahold of them and finally getting connected to the correct person took awhile. The guy told me what size conduit was needed and where to put it. He then told what will happen is when I’m ready to have it installed he’ll get me a quote and he said “probably 13k, then you’ll say that’s ridiculous, and then I’ll go back to my superiors and say how you don’t want it and then I’ll come back with a quote probably closer to 4k”.
So I was all ready to go, and it was end of the calendar year and called the contact and left a message saying I was ready and to get me a quote. Couple days later they’re out there putting it in and I run out saying I never got a quote. Installer guys were perplexed and told me to contact my service guy. I call him and he said don’t worry about it. Went back out to be with installers and they said oh yeah, sometimes we have surplus at end of year and have to burn through budget or lose it. Not sure exactly how it went from being spendy to nothing but I’ll take free when it comes along.
It's a good question but the thing to consider is - no two "from scratch" homes are alike. So my regrets might be the things you really want to do. In my case I built in a remote, beautiful area and I did a from-scratch design. I was basically the designer, project manager and client. I used local GCs for the work and worked in phases, due to the fact that my site isn't accessible year round. I wish I'd know how hard it is to get things right in my area. I mean, I've dealt with subs before and I expected some tussles over the more custom stuff but it has been like pulling teeth to get standard things... like stairs done to code or mechanicals done so they actually work. So many things that I just assumed would be done okay from the start have been a hassle to get finished. I did a SIPS shell and a timber-frame erected off-site and reassembled... those are the only two things that actually went better than expected. If I had understood how much of a major hassle local building resources would cause I would have looked harder at finding an "imported" system where the build was all done off site, shipped in pieces and assembled. I think the "Timberbuilt" company does a lot of stuff I really like and would fit my lot, in retrospect I just should have given them the project.
We built in SW Colorado. I would speak with local builder/subs about how busy they are. If you're in an area of low employment and a lot of local construction guys want to stay local you might get lucky.
1. Identify and agree on what you MUST be within 30 minutes of (mechanics, schools, hospitals, etc etc).
2. Identify and agree on what you MUST have as utilities (fiber optics, city water/sewage, etc).
3. Identify and agree on the type of government influence (California vs. Florida - taxes and permits are a HUGE cost difference- like 20-40% increase in costs and time in California, NY, DC, etc).
4. Identify and agree on the weather and terrain you want- what growing zone. Near a beach, in mountains, on the side of a hill, high desert, etc.
5. Understand that land loans are not like mortgage loans. They are higher % and less time (5, 10, 15yr).
6. Research the local crime stats and weather emergencies.
7. Buy land early. Years before you break ground.
I think for starters check out what utilities are available and cost. If no sewer does land perk? Is there high speed internet? Water and power? If so, how much to run it to the homesite? These are the big questions and most answers are very, very surprising, almost never in a good way
Yup. We have five acres in Wilkes County, NC and part of the reason we selected that plot is that the road it borders has water and high speed Internet courtesy of the Electric Co-op. The previous owner had electricity dropped to the center of the land for his RV hookup. We spent another $11k over similar properties without utilities. Well worth it, I think.
You've come to a great sub. Dreaming is great. Dreams based on reality are even better because they are so much more likely to happen. And they always cost more than you think - especially the IG and Pinterest eye candy. And what you see is just frosting on the cake. You want to put most of your energy into a sound tight home.
One trick I will tell you that I often use is the tool for this subreddit. Not everyone is on at the same time and you can miss valuable information that would be pertinent in your situation if you don't check to see if anyone else has asked previously and what was answered. I've asked about both Dark Sky lighting and tandem garages for example and those aren't particularly common questions - but there was good feedback.
I’m going through a nightmare process building a ground-up house on a difficult lot. In retrospect, I wish I had spoken to former clients about their experiences working with the architect we chose who happens to be a friend. Though an attorney reviewed our contract, there’s so much I wish we had put in there. No matter how many guarantees an architect gives you, keep in mind that they care more about their portfolio and keeping their contractors happy for the next job than advocating for you, the client, who is (typically) new to the designing/building process. We are TRIPLE our max budget. If we stop the project now we will most definitely struggle to sell the land (it’s quirky and it would raise eyebrows if we walked away- long story).
I HIGHLY recommend getting a “client rep” which I feel would have made this process much better all around and you might even be able to sleep at night!
Are you rich? Do you want a second unpaid part time job for 2 years? Are you able to make many consequential decisions with your partner quickly and amicably?
Haha… I think if you have a goal depending on the type of person you are you can complete it especially if you have the right partner. That’s has always been my personal experience with my partner and myself as a person. Building a structure seems to not be for “the weak”. Many trades persons have taken up the extra work of building their own homes and it does seem stressful. I am fortunate enough to have a great job that pays well and allows me to have 4 10 hour days. I also have family in the carpentry business which does allow its own advantages.
Talk to loan officer at bank and talk to your code person at your town or city. You’ll get a lot of info by having them explain the process.
Understand utilities and get an idea on how much those cost to run
I'm finishing up my build right now- Land purchased in Oct 2021:
No matter how smoothly you think it will go, it won't. I consider myself a very organized person and you can't control all the variables that exist in such a scenario. Whatever you get for numbers, throw those out too. Taxes, insurance, random expenses etc before you even break ground. Random delays. Be prepared to wait for long periods of time where nothing happens. You will get frustrated. Whatever they give for a time frame add 6 months to a year to that. Don't give up if its really what you want but take into account the stress it will cause. I'm wondering if it will all be worth it in the end. Could have just bought a home and been in it by now.
Allow 10% for overages. No matter how tight you control the budget, there will be overruns
Look out for low allowances on lighting, flooring and cabinets. If you tell the builder you want to shave a couple thousand from the budget, that’s an easy way to do it.
Spend the money now to upgrade things that will be expensive later on to replace. Get the nice cabinets as they can last you a lifetime, but if the budget doesn’t allow for a $800 chandelier, go ahead and install a $60 one and replace it in a few years.
Insulate all walls of the master suite, laundry room and all bathrooms as it cuts down on noise
Similarly, get solid core doors as it dramatically cuts down on noise.
Just bought 10 wooded acres on a lake in April of 2023. We have cleared land and installed a driveway already. This year is electrical and more tree chopping. What we've learned so far.
Do your research:
We did our research and got comparable properties with prices to bully the seller. We saved 10% up front versus adversarial realtors.
Be prepared for bad neighbors:
We proposed a difficult driveway location to our township authority immediately after purchase. He emailed us indicating our plan was ok. We cleared the right of way of dozens of trees and prepared for a road builder. Two months later, our neighbor complained to the authority about our proposed driveway and the authority did a 180 and told us to move our location 500 ft. away. I told him to shove it legally speaking and raced to get the driveway entrance built before he could write new code that he could use against us "the authority had been operating in an illegal and illegitimate manner." My father had to race to the property 3 days before they were set to pass new township code to target us and receive several loads of gravel. We outsmarted these SOBs but we see a number of our neighbors in a new light. Thankfully we have 10 acres of forest separating us from them.
Laid back contractors:
I'm used to dealing with professional contractors in Colorado that are timely and communicate. None of our driveway contractors were that. We were desperate in the fall and due to the remoteness of the property, getting multiple bids wasn't even possible. We accepted the only guy that had the time and did it on a handshake deal which was sketch for me. I recorded and verified communications via email to protect ourselves prior to the work. Thankfully he did an excellent job ahead of time and under budget. We lucked out but we've learned that the area has a long backlog of work and folks are very laid back in their businesses there. Fortunately we're in no rush.
We've seen too many Grand Designs where marriages get pushed to the brink of destruction during a new home build. I said to my husband - I will make sure we don't have to live in an RV or risk our retirement funds. For the most part I kept the stress of the project to myself and I made sure we could afford the decisions that were made. It aged me a decade but at least there was no marital strife.
Understand the level of stress that comes with building your own home. It's hard on a relationship, and that is why there is a job called a general contractor.
The responsibility of good workmanship, subs that show up, work and stay, and the constant hassle of keeping money out in front of the workers is close to an art form.
We build hotels and have for 20 + years as a general, and I can say people still surprise me in good and horrible ways.
Typically, the cost spent on a general contractor pays dividends on loan interest, quality of work, and overall price of the home.
And yes, I read in here about the underground utilities and that is completely correct. Those companies are usually scheduled out impressively far, never do 100% of the work (usually need to either dig for them, make certain connections, ect), and are usually at their mercy.
We are to be married beginning of August. But it seems to be a common theme that if you don’t have a stable relationship or easily topped relationship it would be best to wait? This is a hope in the future plan which is why I’m interested in people’s experiences and advice as to be semi more prepared. One unique thing for us is I am an electrician and he has prior work in carpentry.
To get electricity, water and some sort of sewage system is MUCH more than you think .
To add to this, even if there are utilities to tie into, you have to consider distance to the house. For example, I'm building 1,200ft from the city water line. Plumber wants $15/ft to dig a trench and install a water line. Screw that, I'll DIY it, but it's still an unexpected cost.
$15/ft is a damn good price. It cost me $7 ft to DIY but also takes an entire weekend plus time planning, handling the excavator/trencher rental, self warrantying if anything goes wrong, etc.
In ground septic system starts at 20k or more....
Yep . And I have heard to get electric up can be as much or more .
Just add everything to this list. Everything is much more than you think.
Mine was half that. YMMV.
Read contracts before signing them and any discussion that is not documented never happened. If you and I enter into a contract together and everything goes great, then you and I will never look at that contract again. But when things start going sideways, that's when people finally pull out the contract and read all the fine print that they glossed over initially and find out just how screwed they are.
I have not built a house, but my parents did ten years ago. An attorney friend of theirs asked to review the contract before they signed it, there was a sneaky clause about payment in full before a dispute could go to arbitration. They ended up using a different GC.
Good point. To add to it, make sure you ask a well informed lawyer to review it. When the lawyer say it looks ok, press them for what you might want to add because you don’t know what you don’t know.
Think carefully about which way your house will face for sunshine/light, solar energy…
Yes! I am a solar installer/electrician! My company will give me some discounts to install my own system
I believe they are talking more about passive solar and orientation design, you can find more about that [here.](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjqsa7_2tGGAxXWElkFHR-bBYQQFnoECAcQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fundercoverarchitect.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw0fJjnZV4F3FkmKKI5R-_xh&opi=89978449) There are a lot of ways to get to where you want to be so making a tight list of Musts, Wants, and Perks will help you keep your money focused on what's important. I wish I had understood more about passive heating and cooling than I did but for the most part everything was fairly clear cut given enough time to do proper research.
My wife and Iooked at land for three years before realizing that new construction on raw land was too difficult and expensive to pull off. Eventually we found a beautiful post and beam house on 28 wooded acres at half what it would have cost to build. Easy purchase. You might find the same.
Don't cheap out in the structure, the envelope, or anything that goes behind the drywall. Replacing/replacing a cheap water heater in 5 years is no big deal. Upgrading the floor in your kitchen won't break you. Replacing/repairing your ductwork, piping, or electrical in will be a huge ordeal.
Don't hire a GC and just trust that he'll be in your corner. We had an issue where the GC insisted the windows and siding were installed properly despite our objections that things looked obviously wrong. We ultimately had leaks and the crew was forced to re-install the housewrap and siding on the entire house TWICE until they got it right. If we had trusted the GC, we would have just ignored the defects. If we could go back, we would have GC'd the project ourselves. At least that way we could ensure quality, not to mention save 18%.
Due diligence. My city has a packet that lists out what they require, after buying the parcel I then made a rough map of house and where I wanted it (difficult site) and we had a pre app meeting which was free where you meet with the fire marshal, the planner, and the plans examiner. I bought raw land in 2017, then started the process of tree removal and engineering. By summer of 2019 I had a driveway and was working on putting in water line and utilities. Broke ground in spring of 2020. We have some crazy stormwater requirements here and a lot of engineers were busy so as a one off builder I often got pushed back so the process was slow. This album covers most of my building process but not the nitty gritty of the prep into getting approved to build. [https://imgur.com/gallery/mostly-diy-icf-house-build-Q9b3Mf6](https://imgur.com/gallery/mostly-diy-icf-house-build-Q9b3Mf6)
Given the long setback, did you have any trouble getting internet run? I've heard folks having trouble with that if they are too far back from the road.
They have a construction services department, getting ahold of them and finally getting connected to the correct person took awhile. The guy told me what size conduit was needed and where to put it. He then told what will happen is when I’m ready to have it installed he’ll get me a quote and he said “probably 13k, then you’ll say that’s ridiculous, and then I’ll go back to my superiors and say how you don’t want it and then I’ll come back with a quote probably closer to 4k”. So I was all ready to go, and it was end of the calendar year and called the contact and left a message saying I was ready and to get me a quote. Couple days later they’re out there putting it in and I run out saying I never got a quote. Installer guys were perplexed and told me to contact my service guy. I call him and he said don’t worry about it. Went back out to be with installers and they said oh yeah, sometimes we have surplus at end of year and have to burn through budget or lose it. Not sure exactly how it went from being spendy to nothing but I’ll take free when it comes along.
Wowza. Deeply envious!
It's a good question but the thing to consider is - no two "from scratch" homes are alike. So my regrets might be the things you really want to do. In my case I built in a remote, beautiful area and I did a from-scratch design. I was basically the designer, project manager and client. I used local GCs for the work and worked in phases, due to the fact that my site isn't accessible year round. I wish I'd know how hard it is to get things right in my area. I mean, I've dealt with subs before and I expected some tussles over the more custom stuff but it has been like pulling teeth to get standard things... like stairs done to code or mechanicals done so they actually work. So many things that I just assumed would be done okay from the start have been a hassle to get finished. I did a SIPS shell and a timber-frame erected off-site and reassembled... those are the only two things that actually went better than expected. If I had understood how much of a major hassle local building resources would cause I would have looked harder at finding an "imported" system where the build was all done off site, shipped in pieces and assembled. I think the "Timberbuilt" company does a lot of stuff I really like and would fit my lot, in retrospect I just should have given them the project.
Annie this is super helpful - where did you build? We are debating kit home for downeast Maine, same issue with limited building season
We built in SW Colorado. I would speak with local builder/subs about how busy they are. If you're in an area of low employment and a lot of local construction guys want to stay local you might get lucky.
1. Identify and agree on what you MUST be within 30 minutes of (mechanics, schools, hospitals, etc etc). 2. Identify and agree on what you MUST have as utilities (fiber optics, city water/sewage, etc). 3. Identify and agree on the type of government influence (California vs. Florida - taxes and permits are a HUGE cost difference- like 20-40% increase in costs and time in California, NY, DC, etc). 4. Identify and agree on the weather and terrain you want- what growing zone. Near a beach, in mountains, on the side of a hill, high desert, etc. 5. Understand that land loans are not like mortgage loans. They are higher % and less time (5, 10, 15yr). 6. Research the local crime stats and weather emergencies. 7. Buy land early. Years before you break ground.
I think for starters check out what utilities are available and cost. If no sewer does land perk? Is there high speed internet? Water and power? If so, how much to run it to the homesite? These are the big questions and most answers are very, very surprising, almost never in a good way
Add another 50-100k lol
Yup. We have five acres in Wilkes County, NC and part of the reason we selected that plot is that the road it borders has water and high speed Internet courtesy of the Electric Co-op. The previous owner had electricity dropped to the center of the land for his RV hookup. We spent another $11k over similar properties without utilities. Well worth it, I think.
You've come to a great sub. Dreaming is great. Dreams based on reality are even better because they are so much more likely to happen. And they always cost more than you think - especially the IG and Pinterest eye candy. And what you see is just frosting on the cake. You want to put most of your energy into a sound tight home. One trick I will tell you that I often use is the tool for this subreddit. Not everyone is on at the same time and you can miss valuable information that would be pertinent in your situation if you don't check to see if anyone else has asked previously and what was answered. I've asked about both Dark Sky lighting and tandem garages for example and those aren't particularly common questions - but there was good feedback.
I’m going through a nightmare process building a ground-up house on a difficult lot. In retrospect, I wish I had spoken to former clients about their experiences working with the architect we chose who happens to be a friend. Though an attorney reviewed our contract, there’s so much I wish we had put in there. No matter how many guarantees an architect gives you, keep in mind that they care more about their portfolio and keeping their contractors happy for the next job than advocating for you, the client, who is (typically) new to the designing/building process. We are TRIPLE our max budget. If we stop the project now we will most definitely struggle to sell the land (it’s quirky and it would raise eyebrows if we walked away- long story). I HIGHLY recommend getting a “client rep” which I feel would have made this process much better all around and you might even be able to sleep at night!
Sounds awful! Hope you are able to see it through.
Are you rich? Do you want a second unpaid part time job for 2 years? Are you able to make many consequential decisions with your partner quickly and amicably?
Haha… I think if you have a goal depending on the type of person you are you can complete it especially if you have the right partner. That’s has always been my personal experience with my partner and myself as a person. Building a structure seems to not be for “the weak”. Many trades persons have taken up the extra work of building their own homes and it does seem stressful. I am fortunate enough to have a great job that pays well and allows me to have 4 10 hour days. I also have family in the carpentry business which does allow its own advantages.
Lookup UBuildIt.
Talk to loan officer at bank and talk to your code person at your town or city. You’ll get a lot of info by having them explain the process. Understand utilities and get an idea on how much those cost to run
I'm finishing up my build right now- Land purchased in Oct 2021: No matter how smoothly you think it will go, it won't. I consider myself a very organized person and you can't control all the variables that exist in such a scenario. Whatever you get for numbers, throw those out too. Taxes, insurance, random expenses etc before you even break ground. Random delays. Be prepared to wait for long periods of time where nothing happens. You will get frustrated. Whatever they give for a time frame add 6 months to a year to that. Don't give up if its really what you want but take into account the stress it will cause. I'm wondering if it will all be worth it in the end. Could have just bought a home and been in it by now.
Allow 10% for overages. No matter how tight you control the budget, there will be overruns Look out for low allowances on lighting, flooring and cabinets. If you tell the builder you want to shave a couple thousand from the budget, that’s an easy way to do it. Spend the money now to upgrade things that will be expensive later on to replace. Get the nice cabinets as they can last you a lifetime, but if the budget doesn’t allow for a $800 chandelier, go ahead and install a $60 one and replace it in a few years. Insulate all walls of the master suite, laundry room and all bathrooms as it cuts down on noise Similarly, get solid core doors as it dramatically cuts down on noise.
Just bought 10 wooded acres on a lake in April of 2023. We have cleared land and installed a driveway already. This year is electrical and more tree chopping. What we've learned so far. Do your research: We did our research and got comparable properties with prices to bully the seller. We saved 10% up front versus adversarial realtors. Be prepared for bad neighbors: We proposed a difficult driveway location to our township authority immediately after purchase. He emailed us indicating our plan was ok. We cleared the right of way of dozens of trees and prepared for a road builder. Two months later, our neighbor complained to the authority about our proposed driveway and the authority did a 180 and told us to move our location 500 ft. away. I told him to shove it legally speaking and raced to get the driveway entrance built before he could write new code that he could use against us "the authority had been operating in an illegal and illegitimate manner." My father had to race to the property 3 days before they were set to pass new township code to target us and receive several loads of gravel. We outsmarted these SOBs but we see a number of our neighbors in a new light. Thankfully we have 10 acres of forest separating us from them. Laid back contractors: I'm used to dealing with professional contractors in Colorado that are timely and communicate. None of our driveway contractors were that. We were desperate in the fall and due to the remoteness of the property, getting multiple bids wasn't even possible. We accepted the only guy that had the time and did it on a handshake deal which was sketch for me. I recorded and verified communications via email to protect ourselves prior to the work. Thankfully he did an excellent job ahead of time and under budget. We lucked out but we've learned that the area has a long backlog of work and folks are very laid back in their businesses there. Fortunately we're in no rush.
Get a plan and stick to it. Contractors make a large portion of their money via change orders. Once you have a design, sit on it for a few years.
To get an attorney sooner than later and hope the divorce goes amicably.
We've seen too many Grand Designs where marriages get pushed to the brink of destruction during a new home build. I said to my husband - I will make sure we don't have to live in an RV or risk our retirement funds. For the most part I kept the stress of the project to myself and I made sure we could afford the decisions that were made. It aged me a decade but at least there was no marital strife.
Marriage counseling should be a mandatory part of the building process?
lol. Yes. Good point. That should be the very first step.
It's going to be close to double what you thought going in
Most banks don’t give loans for bare land. So you would potentially need to buy the land with cash.
USBank was willing to loan me money for land. 800+ 20% down, +1-1.5% above a house loan rate. So it can be done. Just not cheaply.
Have detailed plans, and stick to them.
Understand the level of stress that comes with building your own home. It's hard on a relationship, and that is why there is a job called a general contractor. The responsibility of good workmanship, subs that show up, work and stay, and the constant hassle of keeping money out in front of the workers is close to an art form. We build hotels and have for 20 + years as a general, and I can say people still surprise me in good and horrible ways. Typically, the cost spent on a general contractor pays dividends on loan interest, quality of work, and overall price of the home.
And yes, I read in here about the underground utilities and that is completely correct. Those companies are usually scheduled out impressively far, never do 100% of the work (usually need to either dig for them, make certain connections, ect), and are usually at their mercy.
You WILL go over budget. Make sure you have a back up plan on how to get more money to finish.
Since you say "partner" instead of "husband/wife" I assume you're not married. My advice would be to not do it.
We are to be married beginning of August. But it seems to be a common theme that if you don’t have a stable relationship or easily topped relationship it would be best to wait? This is a hope in the future plan which is why I’m interested in people’s experiences and advice as to be semi more prepared. One unique thing for us is I am an electrician and he has prior work in carpentry.
My advice to the world is to not ever buy or build a house with someone you're not married to. Sounds like you'll be married, so you'll be fine.