One would think that building wouldn’t cost toooooo much more than buying, but I’m wondering if anyone here has any experience with the home building side of things.
A woman I know in Eden bought land for 30k, then built a house for 100k and I’m telling you this home is fucking awesome for 130k total. It’s a ranch with high ceilings, 3 bedrooms, 2 bath, 2 car garage, nice size kitchen. Basement is huge but just isn’t finished. I was told these numbers about 5 years ago, so I can’t say for sure whether or not they are accurate, but all I know is that the house is really nice.
What are the pros/cons of doing this? Does getting a loan work out the same way?
I’ve been browsing around a bit and am beginning to realize just how picky I really am. If all else fails, I’ll buy something decent and take a couple years before building something else, but it doesn’t hurt to ask how the cost comparisons work out.
Depends whether or not you have a contractor handle everything, or if you sub-contract it yourself, but you can build a pretty nice house relatively cheap.
You really need to check the comparable homes in Eden though. What does a 3bed 2 bath ranch go for in Eden?
I can’t find anything that’s too comparable to that house in Eden. It’s in a really desirable neighborhood, though. Anything that I find that’s somewhat like it, is MUCH older of a house, and doesn’t look that great at all. But those are going for more than $130k…
Well I’m asking in general. I’m not looking to build/buy a house in Eden. I’m seeing if anyone has experience with the matter. I’m just touching on this now so I know for the future. I won’t even be looking to do anything until next summer.
yeah, I don’t really think there is any general rule-of-thumb for this. I do know that it is significantly cheaper if you sub the job out yourself. I am sure you can save a ton if you do some finishing work yourself too.
The issue I’ve found with building is that you don’t REALLY know what you want until you have or don’t have it.
Soon after completion there are going to be butt loads of things that you would’ve wanted to differently. Its now difficult/stupid to dump more money into something so new.
Atleast when buying first, you’ll soon realize what you REALLY like in a house and therefore can build what you really want.
I built in the worst time to ever build in the last 75 years.
At this point there are a lot of contractors that are hungry so I would imagine now is the time to build.
Getting a construction loan is not always easy, if you want to spend $200,000 you will only get a loan for $160,000 at the very most. Most banks won’t let you be your own general either.
These are the only two I remember but I’m sure there’s more. If you have a house built, especially as nice as what you described for as cheap as you described, expect problems in the near future. Me personally, I wouldn’t have a house built let alone buy one that wasn’t at least 10 years old. You know that saying, things just aren’t what they used to be…
You’ll probably save 10-15% if you be your own GC, assuming you have some pretty well developed project management skills, otherwise you’ll probably spend more trying to DIY when you don’t have enough contingency built into your schedule and contractors start quitting when you try to push them back and they can’t move their schedules.
I wouldn’t build your first house just because of what Beck said. I never would have thought of it before I bought my first house, but now I’d give my kingdom for a mud room to lock the dogs in and keep all of the coats, boots, etc in to keep the rest of the house nice.
I built and i was there every singleday I was in this country. I went with a framing square and tape measure. You just have to know what you want and what you want in the future.
$120ish a square foot plus the price of the lot is the current standard formula.
It would seem that depending on where you build it could make all the difference in the world. A 2000sq’ house in East Amherst will fetch in the $300K range, the same house in attica will get half that. They cost the same “to build”
^$120?!? My Pella windows alone cost me $7.00/sq. foot.
Building your own home definately gives you more options, obviously. My point is you can “plan” for future upgrades. Example - If you love a home but it really isn’t big enough, you need to plan for an addition later which is kind of a big deal needing lots of cash at one time. If you build a new home that is big enough, you can cut costs in other areas that are easier to upgrade later like hardwood, ceramic tile, appliances, etc.
Another example - I built a walk-out basement with 8’ ceilings and open joist trusses which “hide” the mechanicals. This allows me another 2000 square feet of easily finished living space in the future.:carnut
It would be hard to find an already built house with this super valuable option.
I’m building. The biggest thing for me is building a house the way i want it rather then buying a house and making it what a i want. I rather build a new home and spend $X they buy an existing home only to modify it to what i WANT and have my total = the same as my intended build.
Paul…where you build make a big difference on whether or not it’s worth it. As mentioned, the same house will cost the same to build (negligable price difference), but the cost of land varies greatly.
If you plan on building your “dream” home where you intend on staying the rest of your life…don’t worry about the things that factory into trying to sell it.
Since i plan on building my dream home, i plan on relocating 2-3 more times so i can nail down where i wish to live. Also, by living a few different houses between now and build time, i can hone in the features that i find neccessary about a place and things i can do without. Hopefully i’ll get to the point in my life where i can establish a home and maybe have a couple other “holiday/vacation establishments” at the same time.
I’ve been designing my house for about 2 years now, making changes as i see fit.
Paulo I would recommend you buy a house first. When you buy an older home you will pick up on a few things.
Things you like / dislike
Time, and money needed to complete small projects
Time you really have to spend on said projects while working etc
Gives you time to buy things you don’t have over a few years such as good furniture
I just at a ton of food and want to roll over and go to sleep, yay turkey dinner lunch.
Gives you a little time in the job market, and in life in general to determine where you want to live for the rest of your life
Helps you understand total cost of living, including taxes, heat, water, cable, interweb etc.
Allows you to fill your garage with fun toys.
Yah know?!
Flat roof?! House is a little too contemporary for me. Link to 3-D file so I can get a full view on it. I’m going to start building my dream home soon.
LAFENGAS what program are you using? Do you have a rip of it? I only have 3-D CAD stuff…
