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Buidling a new house

L

LuckyTaxi

Diamond Member
Looking to build a new house on a lot of my choosing.
I know damn well it doesnt cost that much to build a home, since these new construction houses are like $300k, but I know it's probably costing them less than that. Let's say I have a lot and I find a contractor to build a nice house for me.

How much we talking about? Nothing spectular, but good enough for me to live in.
 
haven't done it, but from what i've read, it takes a lot of supervision on your part to make certain the builders aren't cutting corners, pissing in corners, etc. heh
 
i have been thinking of buying a house lately but i don't need much, like 2 bedrooms, bath, kitchen, and living room, and basement. doesn't have to be anything special. i wonder if it owuld be cheaper to build or try to find one already built?
 
I built a 2100 sq ft house for under $50 a square foot a few years ago, but with the increase in prices on materials I'll bet you couldn't do that now. I bought the lot and contracted the work myself. Took me about 8 months start to finish due to some weather delays in the beginning.
 
Originally posted by: pontifex
i have been thinking of buying a house lately but i don't need much, like 2 bedrooms, bath, kitchen, and living room, and basement. doesn't have to be anything special. i wonder if it owuld be cheaper to build or try to find one already built?
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Well it depends on a lot of things. For me, it's the thought of these old houses (50-70yrs old) and the winter bills. Gas is like $400/month whereas my friend's 4000 sq ft home is like $200!!!! New houses have better insulation, hence, why I wanna build a new home. Nothing spectacular.
 
Originally posted by: DeadByDawn
I built a 2100 sq ft house for under $50 a square foot a few years ago, but with the increase in prices on materials I'll bet you couldn't do that now. I bought the lot and contracted the work myself. Took me about 8 months start to finish due to some weather delays in the beginning.
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where at? how many bedrooms.
 
Originally posted by: lilcam
Originally posted by: DeadByDawn
I built a 2100 sq ft house for under $50 a square foot a few years ago, but with the increase in prices on materials I'll bet you couldn't do that now. I bought the lot and contracted the work myself. Took me about 8 months start to finish due to some weather delays in the beginning.
Click to expand...

where at? how many bedrooms.
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In MO, 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms, plus an office area that you could turn into a small bedroom if you wanted.
 
Originally posted by: lilcam
Originally posted by: pontifex
i have been thinking of buying a house lately but i don't need much, like 2 bedrooms, bath, kitchen, and living room, and basement. doesn't have to be anything special. i wonder if it owuld be cheaper to build or try to find one already built?
Click to expand...

Well it depends on a lot of things. For me, it's the thought of these old houses (50-70yrs old) and the winter bills. Gas is like $400/month whereas my friend's 4000 sq ft home is like $200!!!! New houses have better insulation, hence, why I wanna build a new home. Nothing spectacular.
Click to expand...

argh...thats something i forgot about with a house...heating bill...gas/oil bills...those aren't cheap...i don't think i'm ever gonna be able to own a house by myself...
🙁
i guess as much as i hate to do it, i may have to get an apartment instead...
 
Originally posted by: lilcam
Originally posted by: pontifex
i have been thinking of buying a house lately but i don't need much, like 2 bedrooms, bath, kitchen, and living room, and basement. doesn't have to be anything special. i wonder if it owuld be cheaper to build or try to find one already built?
Click to expand...

Well it depends on a lot of things. For me, it's the thought of these old houses (50-70yrs old) and the winter bills. Gas is like $400/month whereas my friend's 4000 sq ft home is like $200!!!! New houses have better insulation, hence, why I wanna build a new home. Nothing spectacular.
Click to expand...


Insulation is not that expensive. You can easily make an old house energy efficient.
 
Originally posted by: SpongeBob
Originally posted by: lilcam
Originally posted by: pontifex
i have been thinking of buying a house lately but i don't need much, like 2 bedrooms, bath, kitchen, and living room, and basement. doesn't have to be anything special. i wonder if it owuld be cheaper to build or try to find one already built?
Click to expand...

Well it depends on a lot of things. For me, it's the thought of these old houses (50-70yrs old) and the winter bills. Gas is like $400/month whereas my friend's 4000 sq ft home is like $200!!!! New houses have better insulation, hence, why I wanna build a new home. Nothing spectacular.
Click to expand...


Insulation is not that expensive. You can easily make an old house energy efficient.
Click to expand...

True, but a lot of it is behind the walls. You wont believe the amount of insulation that is lacking behind some of these old houses. As a real estate investor, I found that a lot of these old houses dont have much insulation.
 
It all depends on where you live and the market value for materials and housing. Generally a good quality new build home will run you from $80-$120 a sq ft.
If you can find a set of contractors that will build for under that cost I would jump all over it. Remember that contractors are out to make money, not to help you get a great deal.
I find that smaller contractors that have been in the business of custom homes for a long time will give you the best price and do the best job.
 
Originally posted by: SampSon
It all depends on where you live and the market value for materials and housing. Generally a good quality new build home will run you from $80-$120 a sq ft.
If you can find a set of contractors that will build for under that cost I would jump all over it. Remember that contractors are out to make money, not to help you get a great deal.
I find that smaller contractors that have been in the business of custom homes for a long time will give you the best price and do the best job.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I wanted to get a feeling for what the going rate is. So, let's say I called a builder, they CAN build a house outside of their "zone." You know how you go no their website and they have existing houses they built in a community?

I just think if I came to them, they'll charge me X amount of dollars, whereas if they're building 10 new homes on a lot and then sell them to people, would probably cost them more?
 
the cost will vary quite a bit, depending on labor costs in your area and the degree of supervision. If you can spend part time for a few months and have some skills, it will bring the cost down.
It also helps to make some connections first in the trades. If you don't, you could get screwed by shoddy workmanship, a blown schedule, or even fraud.

$80/ft^2 is a minimum, if you contract it all out.

Top of the line? Marble and tile, interior designwork, a real custom home?
I'd figure $120 per ft^2 to contract it out these days, so a 2000 ft custom home would be 240K on your lot. Sounds like too much, but go shopping for one with all the bells and whistles.
 
Originally posted by: lilcam
Originally posted by: SampSon
It all depends on where you live and the market value for materials and housing. Generally a good quality new build home will run you from $80-$120 a sq ft.
If you can find a set of contractors that will build for under that cost I would jump all over it. Remember that contractors are out to make money, not to help you get a great deal.
I find that smaller contractors that have been in the business of custom homes for a long time will give you the best price and do the best job.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I wanted to get a feeling for what the going rate is. So, let's say I called a builder, they CAN build a house outside of their "zone." You know how you go no their website and they have existing houses they built in a community?

I just think if I came to them, they'll charge me X amount of dollars, whereas if they're building 10 new homes on a lot and then sell them to people, would probably cost them more?
Click to expand...
Typically a custom job will cost them and you more to build. When a builder is developing a subdivision or many of the same style house in the same area their costs are lower. They already have the plans and specs range for the houses. They have permits and subcontractors lined up. Materials are accounted for and typically they have banks that will automatically finance a construction loan for the houses. All they have to do is pull the trigger and it's done.

A custom job requires them to start from the ground up and deal with something they havn't already calculated a plan for. Sometimes the best thing to do is find a contractor building a number of houses in the area you like with the style of house that you like. They are usually willing to let you make custom modifications to their canned plans for a lower cost than a totally new project.
 
This has always been a dream of mine.

I'd probably build a 4 bedroom, 2 bath ~3,500 square foot home with fully furnished basement (home theater anyone?). Now I just need to find $500,000 or so lying around.

/me looks underneath seat cushions.
 
Originally posted by: RossMAN
This has always been a dream of mine.

I'd probably build a 4 bedroom, 2 bath ~3,500 square foot home with fully furnished basement (home theater anyone?). Now I just need to find $500,000 or so lying around.

/me looks underneath seat cushions.
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Too bad builders don't accept (stackable) coupons 😉


Tom

 
I did construction as a teenager for some extra cash and from what i saw it was a decent solution but not an easy one. Even though cost is down, you have to deal with all the supervisors, building codes, water rights, sewage rights, electrical stuff, material supply, and then the workers, some days there will be enough, others not enough. You will be given a date and then that date will be pushed back MONTHS if your not on their backs AND have the $$$ to back up your words. In the long run you may end up spending 30-50K less (depending on house size) but in reality the headaches and stress i think would be more than worth that price to let someone else deal with it and buy the house afterwards.
 
Originally posted by: Budmantom
Originally posted by: RossMAN
This has always been a dream of mine.

I'd probably build a 4 bedroom, 2 bath ~3,500 square foot home with fully furnished basement (home theater anyone?). Now I just need to find $500,000 or so lying around.

/me looks underneath seat cushions.
Click to expand...

Too bad builders don't accept (stackable) coupons 😉


Tom
Click to expand...

Hehe wouldn't that be awesome? Also if they accepted competitors coupons? Double coupons? Mail in rebates? eBates? Citi Credit Card dividend rewards?
 
You have to stay on their butt every single day and make sure it is being done to your specifications/liking. They will try to skimp on every corner they can.

It's a lot of work but can be very rewarding because you get exactly what you want.
 
I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but my relatives built a weekend home on Lake Michigan. They went the kit route: bought a pre-designed exterior, those people came and put up the foundation, outer walls, roof, etc. Then they did the rest of the work themselves. I mean that's really the hardest part. Stuff like hardwood flooring, hanging drywall, wiring, plumbing, can be done by you if you are knowledgeable. And certainly the finishing work can be done by anybody (paint, hardware). If you are that worried about getting it exactly how you want, that's how you have to do it. Or meet somewhere in the middle, contract out the plumbing, electrical, and drywall, do the flooring and finishing work yourself for example.

Something to look into.
 
Originally posted by: Triumph
I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but my relatives built a weekend home on Lake Michigan. They went the kit route: bought a pre-designed exterior, those people came and put up the foundation, outer walls, roof, etc. Then they did the rest of the work themselves. I mean that's really the hardest part. Stuff like hardwood flooring, hanging drywall, wiring, plumbing, can be done by you if you are knowledgeable. And certainly the finishing work can be done by anybody (paint, hardware). If you are that worried about getting it exactly how you want, that's how you have to do it. Or meet somewhere in the middle, contract out the plumbing, electrical, and drywall, do the flooring and finishing work yourself for example.

Something to look into.
Click to expand...

That's sorta how we did our house. I paid somebody to do the concrete, framing, drywall and roofing. We did the rest ourselves. Saved a bunch of $$$
 
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