House - building or buying?

[Absinthe]

We have been discussing and researching the options we have when it comes to our next home, which will be our "Forever Home". This is not planned to happen for a while, but preparing and knowing what you want should help.

The options are:

a) Buy existing house in move in condition
b) Buy existing house and fix it up
c) Have it built
d) Buy existing house and have a house built a while later
and finally
e) Buy existing house and build new house ourselves

When it comes to e) there are several options regarding how and what we could do. We have been looking at building with straw bales (non load bearing option).

One important point about the place is land. We will be looking for several acres. :)

We have not made a decision yet as we are having plenty of time to do so.

If you could buy/build, what would you do? Are there any building styles or materials that are non-conventional that you are interested in?

[CrAnIuM]

f you could buy/build, what would you do?


I think the only way all of our concerns are going to be met is to design and build it ourselves, or to have our ideas built for us.

But I am really ... really feeling good about the tiny house and lots of land idea. Tiny as in sub 1000 sq/ft. (out buildings and under ground portions not included in footprint)

[Firestorm]

e) Buy existing house and build new house ourselves

This is what I did with the Texas property. Bought a large property with an old farmhouse on it and lived in the farm house while my house was built. It takes time, a little more money and a LOT of patience to have a custom home built (contractors will push for cookie cutter design, but fuck them it's your money). Don't settle. The most important feature if you're going to build is the lot. Get the lot you want and build what you want to live in. Cookie cutter homes suck (living in one in Idaho that blows even with the add ons we have done).

Shop around for acreage. I found the ranch in Texas by getting on the Bureau of Land Management mailing list and looking for properties that back onto BLM land since BLM land can't be used for anything but green space (no neighbors). Also, the larger the acreage, the more grants you can apply for to do improvements for free (homestead grants can build Gary's workshop if he calls it "barn space" as an example).

Lastly, make the freaking seller do some work. They need to pay at least half of your closing costs (ideal is they pay all) and they need to pay for things like title insurance (covers your ass in case of back taxes and the like) and for at least a year warranty on the home your going to live in while your place is built (prevents them dumping a home with plumbing, electrical and other expensive issues on you).

Hope that helps.

[KommieKat]

f) Find home you like and have it moved to your lot

[Zeabot]

Cookie cutter homes suck
They sure do. I'm living in a whole cookie cutter neighborhood right now. I hate this place. Every home looks 95% the same.

[Firestorm]

They sure do. I'm living in a whole cookie cutter neighborhood right now. I hate this place. Every home looks 95% the same.

My thing with cookie cutter homes is not only do they have NO originality from one home to another, its just too damned complicated to find your house when you're stinking blind drunk and I'm getting too old to sleep in the damn truck.

[Zeabot]

damned complicated to find your house
Haha, while I was not drunk, I did get lost on a walk with my little one when I first moved in. I had no idea where I was and just decided to walk east until I hit the main road.

[Absinthe]

Tiny as in sub 1000 sq/ft.

Our current house is about 1000 sqft. So it wouldn't be much of a change for us... :)


Don't settle.

There is no way we are going to settle. It will be our forever home and it needs to be the way we want it. Building a home is high on our list of possibilities.


of your closing costs

The seller of our current home paid the closing costs. I think they were happy finally sell the place. They had already moved into their new house and the previous sale fell through. So they had two mortgages to pay.


f) Find home you like and have it moved to your lot

Yes, I looked into that already. Financing something like that isn't easy to find ( but not impossible). Unfortunately, you have to have everything lined up. Buying the new lot, selling your own house, finding and moving the other house. That's a logistical nightmare. Also, every time I see a house I would like, it is way to far away and moving it would cost a fortune.



whole cookie cutter neighborhood

Yeah, cookie cutter house is a NO-NO.



its just too damned complicated to find your house when you're stinking blind drunk

Smartphone with GPS - problem solved. "Your destination is on the right."

[Firestorm]

Smartphone with GPS - problem solved. "Your destination is on the right

Blind drunk, so smart phone not an option when walking is barely an option, lol

[Manis_B]

I know this is old, but as someone who worked as the right hand of Fannie Mac, I feel I should weigh in.

Building a home is awesome, getting a foreclosed home is stupid cheap.

Look in your local legal newspaper (ask someone at the courthouse if you dont know) for listings that will be auctioned off. Once you find one in the area your'e looking for, you've got 2 weeks to do your homework on it. Take cash or certified funds to the auction (some states are once a month, some weekly, some biweekly). The auction should be held at the main courthouse of the county of the house. Post a bid for $1 over asking price. The chances of someone else bidding are slim to none, so expect the auctioner to speed read the docket to go home as quickly as possible. Some firms will have multiple auctioners, based on county volume. Several firms can auction at once.

If you win you can walk away with a house or condo for substantially lower prices.

[CrAnIuM]

If you win you can walk away with a house or condo for substantially lower prices.

Our main issue is layout of the property ( road frontage .. water source, wooded area, etc..)


Finding a home that preexists on "the" parcel of land that we want is proving to be difficult.

[Absinthe]

auctioned off

I have looked into auctions as well. But I also keep an eye on what is on the market right now. If house A has been for sale for months and suddenly disappears, just come back a few months later as a new listing - I will notice (if it is something I wanted to look at). If house B has been on the market for 12 months for the same asking price... well, that's something that can be used to make a lower offer.