How to Build Your Own Home: Owner Builder Costs, Control and Real Equity Explained

Show Notes:

What does it really mean to be an “owner‑builder,” and how does that translate into real equity and savings on a new home? In this episode, Steve breaks down the owner‑builder model Landmark is built around: you act as the general contractor (and optionally do some hands‑on work), while Landmark handles the heavy lifting on design, structural engineering, energy codes, and a guaranteed‑price panelized framing package. He explains how serious, well‑designed plans empower owner‑builders to control quality, budget, and schedule—and why relying on a cousin’s sketch or cheap internet plans usually leads to missing structure, duct runs, insulation space, and endless change orders. You’ll learn how eliminating a general contractor’s 20–30% markup, negotiating your own materials and subs, and avoiding constant mid‑build changes can instantly create tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity, plus additional long‑term interest savings. Steve also compares Landmark’s one‑price, full‑service design and materials approach to the open‑ended costs of hiring separate architects, engineers, and lumberyards, and he shares how the company navigates lumber price swings, tariffs, and “never‑ending crises” by staying lean, efficient, and focused on one thing: helping owner‑builders get the exact custom home they want, in any state, at a controlled cost.

Transcript:

Steve Tuma: If someone goes and gets an architect, a structural engineer, all these different people and put it together, the costs are just high — and it’s still not controlled.

Interviewer: Hello everyone, and welcome to Episode 82 of the Panelized Prefab Kit Home Building Show.

With me today, as he usually is, is the President and Founder of Landmark Home and Land Company — a company which has been helping people build their new homes where they want, exactly as they want, in all 50 states and around the globe since 1993 — Mr. Steve Tuma.

Steve, how’s it going, buddy?

Steve Tuma: It’s a great day, another great day. You know, it’s interesting you say “all 50 states” — isn’t that amazing? We help people build houses in any state in the United States: California, New York, Florida, Colorado, Arizona, all these places.

But even within those states, there’s variations. Rarely, but occasionally, there’s cities at or below sea level. There’s the highest populated city of Leadville, Colorado. There’s the beach communities all along California. There’s the Northeast — those beautiful little towns, picturesque towns.

And we’ve literally worked in pretty much every condition — in mountain ranges, on waterfront, beach areas, lake areas, Midwestern situations, on the sides of hills, on the sides of mountains, earthquake zones, high snow loads, high wind zones. So it’s pretty incredible, the voyage this has been, to be able to completely support an owner‑builder in building their own home — no matter where they want to build.

Interviewer: Yeah. It’s a lot of fun.

Steve Tuma: Yeah. I mean, it seems like you like your work.

Interviewer: Steve?

Steve Tuma: Well, it’s pretty energizing when someone calls up and says, “Hey, I want to build this big house here in Carmel, California,” or, “Hey, I want to do something in Orlando or outside of Chicago or New York,” or whatever it is.

So it’s not necessarily just the designing of the home — it’s what’s happening to the family or people that are building. They’re newly married, they’re starting a new life, you know — retirement home, helping the kids get a house, helping mom and dad get a house, building an ADU for income, building a duplex for income, an investment situation.

So it’s kind of neat. It’s not just like, “Hey, let’s just get a house.” It’s a transformation of what really happens in people’s lives and how taking the time to make sure that the house is built right, designed right, works within their budget — of how much we can help them achieve their goal as an owner‑builder.

It’s an incredible situation. I think we’ve been doing it almost 33 years — since 1993. It’s pretty amazing.

Interviewer: Yeah, I think you guys have it down by now.

Steve Tuma: Pretty good, I think.

Interviewer: You know, today I thought we’d talk about the — we always talk about owner‑builders. What is the whole — what’s behind that phrase, “owner‑builder”? Let’s talk about the owner‑builder model and how exactly that work is laid out by Landmark Home & Land Company.

Steve Tuma: Well, what’s interesting about that is our customers are owner‑builders. So that means the person that is likely to live in the home is also the general contractor or the subcontractor.

So an owner‑builder is pretty much making sure that they’re building the house the way they want it, to stick to their schedule, to stick to their budget. A lot of people also do it because they want to know what’s going in their home — they want to make sure it’s done right. They want to make sure the quality’s there, the design elements and other features are put together.

So that’s generally what an owner‑builder will be — but it can span various degrees. Someone could literally be involved in every step of building the home — excavating, the foundation, framing the home, and continuing on. Or an owner‑builder can also be someone that manages the subcontractors that are building their home.

So a lot of people do it to control the quality. Sometimes it’s just a dream. We have a lot of people that are like, “When I was 12, I always wanted to build my home. Now I’m capable of doing it.” Some people do it for financial reasons — to save the money or get a nicer home for the same money. Other times, just affordability seems to be the big word that’s flying around now — homes are expensive. And if someone can save a considerable amount of money by building their own home, why not?

So our model kind of helps them get the biggest, one of the hardest components — designing the home, make sure it’s structurally sound, make sure it’s energy‑efficient, make sure it fits on the lot, and then supply the framing process.

As a one‑stop shop, we’re able to take care of a big component so that they can control their project. So they’ll tell us how they want the house — where they want walls, what the general look, what the garage is like, what the kitchen is like — and we’ll design the complete home with them.

So they understand it, they know our costs up front, and then they can go through and execute the building of the home with our excellent set of plans. Because with our great set of plans, they can talk to a knowledgeable contractor and get an accurate estimate.

Without accurate plans, it’s garbage in, garbage out. So if you give someone a bad set of plans — something you hand‑sketch, something you swipe off the internet — the details probably aren’t there. So you’re not going to get as accurate a cost.

But also, with a real set of plans, people are going to know you’re serious — you’ve put some effort into making sure the house is designed right.

So with our model, we help them understand the project, help them work to get the plan set that they need for easy permitting process and then also building. And then we deliver the panelized home package, which then is the complete wood structure that they can assemble — get a local contractor, or assemble themselves on site — and then get subcontractors to go through.

It’s a tremendous money savings.

Interviewer: How often do people come to you and say, “Well, I’d have you design it, but my cousin Dave took architecture in junior high, so I’m going to have him do it”?

Steve Tuma: You know what — usually that happens where they’re like, they’ll come to us with that. And… everyone’s got their capabilities, everyone’s proud of what they do. But the reality of needing us to do a professional design — we’re not just drawing a cute picture so someone could say, “Hey, look at this.”

We’re making sure it works for energy efficiency. We’re making sure it works for structural concerns. We’re making sure it fits the architectural needs that you need. If there’s ...