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Name:	Maverick -	Reply
Subject:	The Ridge Open House Tour
Date:	4/30/2007 6:58:54 PM

Went through this weekend, all but 2 of the open houses. Think there are 9 open houses in total. Worth the trip to see some beautiful lodge style decor homes, but leave your checkbook at home.

Highest price was like $3.95 million for, I think 7,000 sq feet and you have a great view of the Chimney Rock bridge and the Ridge Marina. Neighbors dock is like 50 feet from yours. So at $564.28 per sq foot I passed, because of the dock situation, that is. Do not get me wrong this home was gorgeous, but not worth $564 per sq foot.

Saw another 7,000 square foot house down the street at like $400 per sq foot. Yes house #1 had better amenities, etc. but not $1.1 million by any means.

Then one of the last houses we visited, walked around for a few minutes and went out on back deck and said to myself this deck has been here for a while. Went back in and asked the realtor when the home had been completed and he said winter of 2005, but it did not sell last year because the great room and kitchen stain colors where to dark. Then I looked closer at some of the construction details and said yea I now know why the house did not sell must have definitely the main living areas color - LOL.

Basically the overall was typical of any subdivision:

Both good and average construction
Good and bad floor plans
Good and bad locations
etc, etc.

Only overall negative I saw was the lowest sq foot cost was like $300 per sq foot, I think. And that was for the low end house that had not sold yet.
Think the average sq foot cost was somewhere in the neighborhood of $400, but could be wrong. Talking about overpriced. Guess when you give a 28' foot Sear Ray away with every purchase the asking price for the house has to be increased to cover the cost of the boat - LOL.

Legacy Townhouses appeared to be priced between approx. $900k and $1.4 million. For a townhouse none the less.

John C - You know the answer to average sq foot cost of the open houses at The Ridge, excluding the townhouses?

Name:	LifeTime Laker -	Reply
Subject:	Real reason for boats
Date:	4/30/2007 7:52:43 PM

Come on Mav, you know the boat giveaway and boat show was just to have all those extra boats in the water in order to rasie the water level.....lol.

But with everything over 1m I would think you should see NOTHING BUT top notch construction. But sadly that is not the case.

Name:	roswellric -	Reply
Subject:	The answer is...
Date:	4/30/2007 9:31:39 PM

These builder-boys were spoiled early by very high margins. The new inexperienced guys got "creative" As always reality will set in. This is just a normal shaking out of the amateurs.

The pro builders have not been hurt as far as I can see. They will remain active and will stay.

I have to hand it to Russell, they got it going in an area that nobody would take a chance in. They are spending a lot of money that is helping all of our property values including their own of course. The latest marina marketing piece is first class. Finally they are doing a good job of marketing and merchandising.

The net effect of their efforts is that it makes property values go up. Everybody's. Nobody is complaining about that.

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	The Ridge Open House Tour
Date:	4/30/2007 11:17:57 PM

Maverick, if I'm not mistaken at least four of the nine homes were on the Tour of Homes LAST YEAR, including the $3.95M house on the causeway--that home is supposed to be the personal home of the Legacy Homes builder. IMHO, the best of show this time was Lot 63, Phase I, for $2.245M but on a terrible, shallow water lot. We went Saturday morning to the boat show and the salesmen out numbered customers by at least 3 : 1. Hope they had a profitable weekend, because they really put on a show.

Name:	Maverick -	Reply
Subject:	The Ridge Open House Tour
Date:	4/30/2007 11:52:19 PM

Yes to Lot 63, extremely nice home, appeared well built.

The builder is a CPA in Bham, still has CPA practice in Bham off Hwy 119. Building houses to get out of the office and down to the lake.

Nice sideline business.

Name:	John C -	Reply
Subject:	Mav- give me some time
Date:	4/30/2007 11:52:22 PM

and I can try to calc that. Some of them don't have sf info on the mls. and also I am not sure exactly which ones were on "the tour," I can figure that out too.

I hate to drag out more caveats, but let it be noted that, while it is fun, interesting food for thought, I would advise against using price / square foot at Lake Martin as my major tool of analysis. The lot's value will render that fact almost entirely unusable (except in condos). But it is fun to play around with the numbers on occasion. See below for full caveat.

URL: 5 Mistakes Made When Buying Real Estate on Lake Martin

Name:	Maverick -	Reply
Subject:	John C.
Date:	5/1/2007 12:12:16 AM

John:

I am in fact a CPA myself, as are you, my point was lets see $564 sq foot vs. same sq foot for like $400, let see are the lot and house of the higher priced house worth $1.1 million more than the lower price house, did not see it at all.

Yes the higher price house had a better lot, but not double the price of the other 7,000 sq foot house. Yes the higher price house had some nice amenities, but again both combined not worth $1.1 million, etc.

My point was some of these builders are living in a fantasy world. I agree these houses probably cost in the neighborhood of around $200 or so per square foot, excluding the lot, but lets assume the higher price lot is worth $1.0 million which it is not. So the price of the house is then $2,950,000 / 7000 = $421.67 per square foot.. So estimated profit $221.67 x 7000 = $1,551,690 before commissions. Nice profit for around a years worth of work + carrying costs. And the carrying cost would be minimal if the home was priced within the market, as it is a very nice home and appeared not details where spared.

Actually wrote down Legacy Homes and Bob Harris (Lot 63) as builders I would like to speak with when I finally decide to tear down the cabin and build my private lake lodge / retirement home in about 20 years or so - LOL.

Name:	Bhamcpa -	Reply
Subject:	Lot 63 Phase 1
Date:	5/1/2007 6:57:26 AM

Thanks for the kind words on Lot 63 Phase 1. I would be happy to talk with you when you decide to build. Also, I would point out that your cost numbers for building quality houses in The Ridge is too low.

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	It's absolutely amazing...
Date:	5/1/2007 7:39:38 AM

who reads this forum!! Everybody must read it. Welcome aboard. I agree with your post concerning building costs, at least on lot 63. Your stone work outside, and pine trim and flooring drove up your sq ft costs,

Name:	Bhamcpa -	Reply
Subject:	It's absolutely amazing...
Date:	5/1/2007 7:54:40 AM

That plus alot of other extras really drove the cost up. Also, that lot has deeper water than you might think. The floating pier has year round water

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	Did you use...
Date:	5/1/2007 8:02:52 AM

local subs, or did you import subs from B'ham or Montgomery. If you imported, those subs have to charge a huge premium for travel, it would seem.

Name:	Bhamcpa -	Reply
Subject:	Did you use...
Date:	5/1/2007 8:24:25 AM

We use a combination of subs from Alex City and Birmingham. We started out 3 years ago trying to use all local subs but could not get the quality of work we wanted. We now have a good mix from both areas.

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	Importing subs...
Date:	5/1/2007 8:40:09 AM

will eat you alive. As you know, they cost you, or your customer, at least 3 hours of dead labor per day (or the cost of local housing) per man per day. It's a shame that there's no local talent to fill the gap--where there is local talent they try to price with the big city guys--including the extra travel costs. Good luck on Lot 63.

Name:	fountain -	Reply
Subject:	The answer is...
Date:	5/1/2007 1:02:29 PM

WISH THEY WOULD DO A GOOD JOB -------SERVICE!!!!!!!!!

Name:	fountain -	Reply
Subject:	The Ridge Open House Tour
Date:	5/1/2007 1:04:26 PM

Wonder how many of the Houses on the tour were on it last year?????

Name:	Maverick -	Reply
Subject:	Bham CPA
Date:	5/1/2007 6:47:07 PM

What is the overall average cost per sq foot for the lodge style homes in the Ridge, ((( excluding the price of the lot, seawall, piers, etc .))).

Assume all the nice wood floors, timberpeg beams, wood walls and ceilings, granite countertops, etc., rock exteriors, hardi board, etc etc you know what I mean., etc.

Also assume an average footprint with finished basement, and 2 stories above. Like your house on Lot 63.

As you stated $200 per sq ft was to low.

We will not hold you to the actual number, just curious more so than anything. Ballpark figure will do.

Thanks

Name:	Maverick -	Reply
Subject:	Bham CPA
Date:	5/1/2007 6:47:09 PM

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	C'mon Mav, the Man's..
Date:	5/1/2007 7:30:43 PM

trying to sell that house--you don't think he'd really answer that do you? My unsolicited and semi-educated guess would be $200-225 range. He used a lot of tile that looked like travetine. and carpet in some of the bedrooms that lowered the cost. High cost exterior because of the stone retaining walls, etc. It could be built for $200/sq ft with local subs on a lot that worked better--I've learned that building on a hillside is EXPensive.

It is a Nice house.!!

Name:	Maverick -	Reply
Subject:	C'mon Osms
Date:	5/1/2007 8:01:37 PM

That is what I used in my assumption was $200 per sq ft and he said I was low (AND YOU AGREED), so is it $250 per sq ft or $300 per sq ft, not looking for the exact number just a ballpark.

As I thought around $200 was reasonable, excluding the lot. But Bham CPA stated I was low in my assumption and you agreed with him. As I excluded the lot, etc. from my $200 per sq ft assumption.

Not looking for exact number by any means, just a ballpark.

Name:	Ulysses E. McGill -	Reply
Subject:	Don't forget
Date:	5/1/2007 8:05:19 PM

his time and effort, interest on construction loans, and the willingness to take the risk. The man deserves what profit the market will allow. If it were me, I wouldn't disclose cost either....... but I'm sure I'd include a nice boat for a willing buyer.

Name:	JohnGalt -	Reply
Subject:	Don't forget
Date:	5/1/2007 9:17:41 PM

What color is the boat?

Name:	Ulysses E. McGill -	Reply
Subject:	Any
Date:	5/1/2007 9:42:49 PM

color you want, as long as it's black....oh wait, that was the Ford.

Name:	roswellric -	Reply
Subject:	One thing
Date:	5/1/2007 9:59:27 PM

is that you need to differentiate between the hard costs and the soft costs. I would like to know what the typical hard costs are for those houses with some qualifying as the the site work for difficult lots.

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	C'mon Osms
Date:	5/1/2007 10:17:30 PM

My point is--he's not going to publish what he paid--I wouldn't. He could have paid a lot more than $200 if he had to import subs-and a lot of the Ridge builders do import, but I stick by my numbers. With the exception of the outside stone work, old pine flooring, and lots of stained ceiling wood, the other costs are manageable and predictable..

Name:	Osms -	Reply
Subject:	White SEA RAY...
Date:	5/1/2007 10:20:04 PM

you need it!! Just buy the house and it's yours.

Name:	JohnGalt -	Reply
Subject:	White SEA RAY...
Date:	5/2/2007 6:07:10 AM

Already have a white searay and can't afford the house. Problem solved.

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