Home Purchasing - Building Your Own

**Goldy1** · 08-28-2009, 01:17 PM

Personally, I am frugal and I would go crazy having to get the best price on everything. I got about 6 quotes on heating and colling systems before I decided. I would go nuts having to do this for dozens of items. WE bought a used home lived in already.

**Radiance** · 08-28-2009, 03:12 PM

The couple who claims being able to live off 5000 a year did just that; found a lot, buy, gather materials, build. No mortgage.

i've found a few sites that discuss this option and even offer a comprehensive guide

Can you share some of those resources?
Sorry I am coming with more questions than answers.

Does anybody has any experiences to share?

**Seeker** · 08-30-2009, 03:36 PM

There are many such instances... look up "Prefab Homes" on the internet. There are huge numbers of people whom do this, but there will be extra costs beyond the house itself. Permits also very by state and these companies do not, or will not ship/deploy to states too far away from the property. Ultimately it's a way of having a structure "built" rather rapidly. Though it's really only the basic structure.

We're looking at this potential after we retire and move out of California.

**EEinNJ** · 08-31-2009, 06:17 AM

Sorry, but building a custom home is almost always much more expensive than buying an existing home, or (ick) one in a development. It's also a lengthy, aggravating process filled with decisions, hassles with contractors, and delays. Pre-fab can reduce that, but cost per square foot runs higher.
Even if you can find reasonably priced land (not in 100 miles of NYC!), improving it to be buildable, with water, electric, septic, excavation, a driveway, etc will add 10's of thousands before you even start on a foundation.

I don't mean to discourage, I have a couple of family members building their dream houses now, and it's an exciting process.

**happygirl** · 08-31-2009, 06:37 AM

We had our house built for us several years ago. I learned how to draw out a basic house plan and went to a draftsman and had it made into blueprints. He knew the specifications etc, but it is without a doubt my plan.

We interviewed several builders and got quotes, but the main reason we chose our builder is that he seemed to have integrity. Fortunately for us, this turned out to be the case. We were actively involved in the process. I visited the site every day, sometimes multiple times a day if there was something going on that I wanted to oversee. My builder never had a problem with me being there and actually appreciated that he didn't have to make any big changes along the way since I was there to notice anything I didn't like before it went too far.

I found building a high quality house with an independent small name contractor to be less expensive than the big name builders or buying an existing home, but I really think I got lucky with my builder.

Oh, I live in a rural area so I think that's another reason I got so lucky.

**Radiance** · 08-31-2009, 06:40 AM

That is what I would want, to buy a lot and custom build in a rural area!

**Ima saver** · 08-31-2009, 06:52 AM

Well, my husband is a builder and has built almost 100 custom homes in the past 25 years. I could not imagine living in anyone else's home; I have always had a custom built home.
We furnish a reference letter from the owners of every house we have ever built. I pay all the bills, give them a copy of everything and take care of their money as if it were our money.
My husband builds every home as if he was going to live in it himself. It has to be perfect. He does not subcontract out very much. Once he is inside the home, he finishes it all by himself, the paint, the trim, the tile, the hardwood floors, and builds all the cabinets, fireplaces, mantles, etc. by himself. He does the plumbing and electrical and charges much less an hour. He can build all the cabinets for the kitchen, baths, fireplaces, etc. for less than $10,000 materials and labor. Try getting that price at a cabinet shop. He build all the cabinets in place also, so they are a perfect fit.

Just get reference letters and call many of the people the builder has built for. One of my reference letters says, "you will be lucky to get him" Another one says, "you are the best builder in the state". Sorry for the brag, but darn, he is talented!

**wincrasher** · 08-31-2009, 07:02 AM

If you start looking at older homes you'll see they have alot of shortcomings compared to what you can build today. Open floorplans, heavy insulation, thermal glass, efficient heating & cooling, large closets, etc - you are not gonna find these in an older house.

In the NYC area I assume location is everything and there would be great differences in price. Are you paying much for the building, or is it the lot? How do empty lots compare? Assuming you can find one. A tear down is certainly one way to go, but maybe not very cost effective.

**Radiance** · 09-01-2009, 08:13 AM

Called a couple of builders, about $70-$80 per sq ft (Without the lot or land prep)

Still an interesting proposition.

**am_vanquish** · 09-01-2009, 09:21 AM

Originally posted by Ima saver View Post

Well, my husband is a builder and has built almost 100 custom homes in the past 25 years. I could not imagine living in anyone else's home; I have always had a custom built home.
We furnish a reference letter from the owners of every house we have ever built. I pay all the bills, give them a copy of everything and take care of their money as if it were our money.
My husband builds every home as if he was going to live in it himself. It has to be perfect. He does not subcontract out very much. Once he is inside the home, he finishes it all by himself, the paint, the trim, the tile, the hardwood floors, and builds all the cabinets, fireplaces, mantles, etc. by himself. He does the plumbing and electrical and charges much less an hour. He can build all the cabinets for the kitchen, baths, fireplaces, etc. for less than $10,000 materials and labor. Try getting that price at a cabinet shop. He build all the cabinets in place also, so they are a perfect fit.

Just get reference letters and call many of the people the builder has built for. One of my reference letters says, "you will be lucky to get him" Another one says, "you are the best builder in the state". Sorry for the brag, but darn, he is talented!

That's awesome! Would he happen to be within a reasonable distance from North Atlanta (Buckhead)? If so, make sure you keep him out of retirement for another year or two until my wife & I are ready to buy! I'd love to say that I found the guy who built my house from SavingAdvice.com.

**Ima saver** · 09-01-2009, 11:47 AM

We live in the same subdivison as a guy from Buckhead. (He owned and developed this subdivision) We are about 100 miles north of Atlanta in Blairsville, Ga.! He won't be retiring anytime soon.

**mnpqrd** · 09-02-2009, 04:29 AM

Get a floorplan that you like then take it to several builders to get estimates. It depends on the house size, type of house, siding, floor, other upgrades such as fireplace, fancy tub, bay window, skylight, basement, garage, etc.. If you know owners whose homes were built by the builder you're going to pick ask if there were any problems with their homes. Would they recommend the builder?

**MonkeyMama** · 09-02-2009, 05:46 AM

Wait, you are talking NYC? (Well, clearly somewhere commute distance?)

I am not sure what the surrounding areas of NYC are like.

We live in an expensive area, and building a custom home is not cost efficient here, at all.

let's face it - you don't get a bulk discount on anything - so it is going to be more expensive than anything else. That is my experience in a pricey area (similar to NYC). & even if you can find someone to build a house for pennies, it's the LAND that is the expensive part. In our area there are a lot of permits and hoops to jump through - which make it more expensive. I can't help but feel NY would be similar (I am in California). I have a lot of architect friends here and so hear about all the red tape in home building. Paying someone to jump through all those hoops is not cheap.

We are actually kind of particular about our house, and didn't like much out there. In 2001, in the midst of the boom, we found it was a great deal to buy a new home in a new development. We were able to customize it a bit (nothing particularly major - though we did add and remove walls) for pennies. Plus we got to customize everything inside the house for pennies. Total cost in the end was cheaper than any "old/used" home. LEt's face - this is as close to a custom house as we will ever afford, and we got it at a discount instead of a premium.

I am not sure that kind of deal can be had today. When we were shopping around, in the boom, "top of the line everything" was standard. The builders were just so flush with cash. Things have clearly changed.

I would love Ima's husband to build me a house - no doubt about it.

It would just probably cost a million dollars here because I don't want to move.

Adding on to an existing home is what is cost efficient in areas like this. Old homes tend to be smaller but have more land. Then you can get the land at a discount (for buying the older home) and can add on to the structure. That may be more cost efficient in your case.

**cantretire** · 09-02-2009, 04:49 PM

If I ever get the money (i.e. win the lottery) I want to build the 3-bedroom version of this...(plus a basement)

Tumbleweed Enesti

I just love it!

Home Purchasing - Building Your Own