Consumer Construction Resources

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	Need a Contractor? Building A Home?
	Planning a home is a large project and most people need direction and assistance. The Placer County Contractors Association can help you. Below you will find information that will assist you with your project.

On this page you will find:

Wildfire and Storm Water Pollution Prevention		Placer County Contractors Assoc.
Risks of Becoming an Owner / Builder		Check your contractors license
Where to Start		CSLB Guides and Pamphlets
Finding the Right People for your Home Process		CSLB Most Wanted!
Construction Sequence		Emergency & Disaster Preparedness
		Job Site Safety

Wild Fires and Stormwater Pollution Prevention

Many parts of Placer County are in high risk areas for Wild Fires. To see the fire risk where you will be building or currently living ~ click here.

How to protect your home and wildfire information links ~
2007 Fire Hazard Severity Zones Maps
Residential Wild Fire Toolkit
What is the required Defensible Space around my property?
Why 100ft defensible Space?
How can you help keep our waters clean?
How homeowners can prevent pollution?

Don't Let This Be You
burning house

The Risks of Being an Owner/Builder If you are considering doing a construction job as an "owner/ builder" there are a number of important issues to be aware of. Legal obligations and risks may outweigh the financial benefits. This section will guide you through some of the facts that owner/builders face. Please read this notice from the Contractors State Licensing Board NOTICE!
What is an owner/builder? This section defines what an owner builder is and the laws surrounding the practice. An owner/builder is what the term indicates. The person owns the property and acts as their own general contractor on the job and either does the work themselves or has employees (or subcontractors) working on the project. The work site must be their principal place of residence that they have occupied for 12 months prior to completion of the work. The homeowner cannot construct and then sell more than two structures during any three-year period.
The responsibilities of an owner/builder. This section outlines the job responsibilities of a property owner when they decide to handle their own construction projects as an owner/builder. When you sign a building permit application as an owner/builder, you assume full responsibility for all phases of your project and its integrity. You must pull all building permits. Your project must pass codes and building inspections. The owner/builder is responsible for ordering materials and making sure all suppliers are paid. An owner/builder is also responsible for supervising, scheduling and paying subcontractors. If you use anyone other than your immediate family or a licensed subcontractor for work, you may be considered an “employer”. Employers must register with the state and federal governments and are obligated to participate in state and federal income tax withholding, federal social security taxes, workers' compensation insurance, disability insurance costs, and unemployment compensation contributions. TIP For more specific information about your obligations under federal law, contact the Internal Revenue Service at (800) 829-1040 [and, if you wish, the U.S. Small Business Administration at (800) 359-1833]. For more specific information about your obligations under state law, contact the Employment Development Department at (916) 653-0707, the Department of Industrial Relations at (415) 703-5070, and the Franchise Tax Board at (800) 852-5711.
The downside of being an owner/builder This section presents some additional issues that should be taken into consideration before deciding to become an owner/builder. Unless you are knowledgeable about construction, mistakes can be costly and take additional time to repair or do it right. Subcontractors and suppliers who are not paid on schedule may file mechanic’s liens against your property. Educate yourself about mechanic’s liens and how to prevent them. If your workers are injured, or your subcontractors are not licensed or do not carry liability insurance or worker’s compensation and they are injured, you could be asked to pay for injuries and rehabilitation through your homeowner’s insurance policy or face lawsuits. You should be cautious of unlicensed individuals claiming to be contractors who prey upon homeowners. They may promise to guide you through the owner/builder process for a consulting fee, but they are breaking the law. REMEMBER As an owner/builder, you assume full responsibility for all phases of your project and its integrity. Licensed contractors must demonstrate knowledge of their craft, be tested, fingerprinted, bonded and FBI background checked before they are licensed to work in California. Illegal contractors can bungle a job or skip with the down payments leaving the owner/builder pretty much on their own to deal with the issue.

Where to Start

Many people say they would like to build a home but do not know where to start. Well the simple answer is start at the beginning. The beginning for any building project is the land. Before you can fully design a home, you must have a specific site. You can make some decisions about how many bedrooms and baths you require and the general size of home you want, but the actual home plans must be created around a specific site. Oh sure, you can pick out a plan from a magazine, but that is sort of like buying a "one size fits all" set of seat covers. It sort of fits, just doesn’t quite work on every piece of land. Be aware that some plans from magazine(s) may still need to be structurally engineered to fit the elevations levels of your land choice.

Choosing your Land.

Before you rush out and start looking at every piece of land listed in the newspaper or real estate MLS. You can save yourself a lot of time spent driving around by eliminating the land that does not fit in your budget. To determine your land budget, decide how much you are going to spend on the whole project. If you decide that the maximum you want to spend on a new home is $200,000, the land should not cost more than about $50,000 to $66,000, 25% - 33%.

Paying for your Land.

OK, once you find a piece of land that you like and it fits your budget, you have to figure out how to pay for it. Cash is nice, but maybe not realistic. Try and avoid a land loan. Land loans are expensive and if you are planning to build right away, a waste of money. A better option is to have the seller allow an extended escrow, 60 - 90 days or to carry the land loan for a short term, three to six months. This will allow you time to hire an architect or designer and generate a set of building plans. Once you have plans, even preliminary plans, we can appraise your proposed home and fund both the land and construction costs with one loan. There are many lenders out there, but using a lender that is local has it advantages.

Preparing to Build Your Own Home.

As you can imagine, this process needs to move along at a pretty fast clip to save money. There are several options you can hire a contractor, a project manager or become an owner builder. To find a contractor or project manager you should bring your plans to the PCCA for bidding or pick up a membership directory. You will find the type of contractor you need through our specialty listings. Just make a few phone calls, and schedule appointments to meet with some of our quality licensed contractors.

Consumer Resources

The Risks of Being an Owner/Builder

What is an owner/builder?

The responsibilities of an owner/builder.

The downside of being an owner/builder