Many people have literally built their own pole buildings – from digging the holes, until the last screw is driven. Some do portions of the work themselves and hire a builder to drive the nails, while others employ a general contractor to do everything for them. Most adore their new buildings. Some are deeply disillusioned.

Before you commit all your time and money to building your “perfect” pole building, check with a Hansen Buildings professional and consider these common pit falls:

Not doing homework in advance…

Pole Barn Planning.

There are rural/remote areas in some states which actually have no building code requirements and no building inspectors. You can take the axles off your fifth wheel or throw a tarp over some straw bales and regard it as home. You could be planning something more serious.

However. Before you ever begin to shop for a price on a pole building, contact your local planning department to find out if permits are required, what their restrictions might be, as well as any building code requirements.

In the event no permit is required, you may want to hire an engineering firm to do inspections on your work during construction. In the event you resell your property, either a Certificate of Occupancy (issued by a building department) or an independent inspection may be required, to assure the building was built properly.

Ignoring financing.

It’s no fun paying daily interest for a building you cannot use. Construction loan interest is generally 3 to 4 times dearer than long-term lending. For instance, if current long term rates are 4%, expect to pay about $30-35 a day in interest for each $100,000 loaned. Construction loans usually have stiff rate rises if not paid back within half a year.

Time is definitely important when building! Plan for the surprising. What happens if your builder finishes on time, but the only inspector is on a two week fishing trip? Your local Building Department won’t be responsible for the additional interest.

Letting the lender set your financial position.

Imagine your lender has pre-qualified you for $350,000. Many people take the number a lender gives them and build primarily based on what they can get instead of what they want. Say they find a bit of land for $75,000 and get a bid from a contractor of $255,000 for a home and a pole building. They’ve picked the location and structure they desire for $330,000. The $20,000 difference between the pre-qualification and the original estimate offends their subconscious.

They’re forced to find another $20,000 in extras and options. What happens if a local employer lays off 1,000 folks during construction and the appraisal for the home and pole barn drops to $345,000? What if interest rates change during construction and now you are qualified for only $340,000? Building to the maximum amount you can borrow is an awful risk. Life is ever changing. One adverse change and you may need to bring an additional $10,000 to closing or perhaps not be able to close!

Avoid these common mistakes by keeping your eyes wide open, taking time for careful pole barn planning (which includes asking a lot of questions), and not succumbing to adding features and options you didn’t need to fill your loan cap.  Do your homework and you will pave the way to a “no-surprise” fast track to your dream pole building.