Buy or Build a house? Help!

[turbs01]

I have to decided to begin my search for a house. But I keep leaning toward building one because all the houses that I have seen around here I don't like. I have 70 acres of land in Colorado we are going to sell so I can pay off Turbs and to buy/build with. I have fully involved my boyfriend in trying to help find a house plan both of us like. It always helps to have a guys opinion. I have looked at so many house plans my head is about to explode. Any help is greatly appreciated. This is such a big purchase and I want to make sure I don't screw up

[GINA]

I have no experience with home ownership, but I have heard that when you build a house, there are many little things that go wrong when it's finished being built and it's impossible to get the contractors back to fix it. But I think it would be really neat to build a house to your own liking and specs! I am no help, sorry

[dnyed]

If you have the means, design and BUILD!!


This way, it will be everything you want. Have fun, and congratulations!

[deeceedub]

Hmmm, tough question, with lots and lots of variables...

We built our first house in 1993. We'd been there exactly one year when my husband found out he was being transfered to San Antonio, so we had to sell it. Fortunately, we were in a fairly hot market and we were able to sell for about $30k over what it had cost us.

We built again in 1996. When we moved out here in a very rural area, there were only a couple of places on the market that fit our needs (4 bedrooms w/acreage, etc) and they were priced so high that we knew we could build exactly what we wanted for the same money.

Here's a few things to keep in mind if you decide to build:

• Construction costs are high-- and have risen even higher recently after Katrina
• Actual building costs are going to be higher than your contractor will estimate. Make sure that he bids in carpet, cabinets, fixtures, etc. at a price that will buy you the quality you want. (example: he may figure your flooring allowance at $20/sq yd when you can't get decent carpet for less than $30/sy.)
• Landscaping is very expensive. It might be a good idea to have that cost built into your mortgage.
• You won't want to put your 'old' furniture in your new house, most likely. Don't forget to save some cash for a least a few new furniture pieces.

Having said all that, I'd build a house again in a New York minute! I loved the whole design and construction process. We used a basic floorplan from one of those plan magazines, and then I took it to a local architect who made the changes that I wanted for a minimal cost.

Good Luck!

[pdoel]

There's really pluses and minuses with each. You hear a lot of conflicting opinions on either choose, but really, it kinda comes down to what you really want.

When purchasing an existing house, chances are, your tastes aren't going to be exactly the same as the previous owners. So no matter how up to date the house is/was, you're gonna wanna make changes. So chances are, you'll have a couple years of changes to make. Also, when buying an older home, there are often updates needed, fixing stuff, etc. So it can sometimes seem like there's always something you need to do.

With that in mind, you often hear it's better off building. But, even when building, there's always gonna be stuff to do. Landscaping, painting. In a way, a new home is kinda like a shell, and you still end up going through and making it fit your personality.

Either choice can work well, it just depends on your personal taste.

[hoonbug]

Well, I've built, and I doubt I'll do it ever again. It was a horrendous experience and required so much effort. It takes about 12 months to build a place, from the day you sign on the dotted line, to the day you get the keys. I signed my initial contract in late September 2001, and moved in October 25, 2002. The construction phase lasted from February until the day I moved in.

You have to go visit every day, and look at the quality of the work. There was so many things wrong that I required them to fix up, and they tried everything to hide their shoddy work. After talking it over with my neighbors (this is a new suburb - everyone built), they also had similar issues.

The photo below shows a load bearing wall ... which is not quite on the slab, and there's a similar overhang at the back of the house. They tried putting the bricks up there even before the framing was finished in a vain attempt to cover it up. I luckily had visited the night before and taken that shot. The building inspector made them destroy the partially constructed wall and fix the footings properly. My house is now slightly wider and longer than the drawings indicate.

You cannot go just the four times they want you to - you MUST go every day. You MUST take photos every day - I took over a thousand, and you MUST get things fixed straight away, particularly if it's not to your specification or if it is dangerous.

Some friends of mine are building their dream architect designed house. It's been on the go since the end of 2003, and really stretched their marriage to the very limits. There is no such thing as an easy build with a custom designed place. Think very carefully about this path if you want an architect designed home. They cost about 40-200% more than an equivalent cookie cutter home. If you feel like you want to do this, there are some very, very nice cookie cutter homes which have been architect designed, but because they have been built a few times, they don't take much longer to build or cost that much more than a standard home.

Do not ever over-capitalize! Find out the average price for homes in your area and the average size. Work out the average $ per sq. ft, and do not spend more than about 20% more than this figure. You will never get more than that back. For example, my place is 38 squares, and cost $300k to build. Average prices for homes in my area was $250k when I built, but the average size was 27 squares. My spend was $7890 per square. Their spend was $9250 per square. Do this or you will lose very badly when you decide to move as either no one will offer the correct price for your home and it will not sell, or you will take a bath to get out of it.

After such a problem building, my personal belief is now to find a place that has the potential to be what you want, and pay someone to come renovate it to be exactly what you want before you move in.

Or if you're impatient, just buy a place that's new and doesn't need any work.

Andrew

[dnyed]

Geez, Andrew! What a nightmare!

[deeceedub]

Eeek! That's a pretty scary picture, hoonbug! Glad you finally got it done right!

I should have mentioned above that if you decide to build the whole success of your project will depend upon the quality, integrity, and dedication of your contractor. We were very fortunate to get a guy who was not merely a "contractor," but was a true "builder." He was at the house every single day and actally constructed all the cabinets himself on-site. We had to wait to get him because he only does one house at a time, but the wait was well worth it. He was great to handle post-move in issues, and even helped us out nine years later when something came up. I have heard more horror stories than I can count, though. Just make sure you check your guy out very carefully.

[Scribbles]

If you have the right builder, things can go pretty smoothly. However, if you do not, then the build will take forever and give you problems.

Hubby and I are building right now. We loked at dozens of builders before settling on one. They are a custom builder, and we are building a pretty neat mulit-level split design. I have been a realtor, and know that there can be problems with new-builds. However, if you hire a realtor to help you, and interview many builders before hiring one, you should be OK with a new build. It is true--you can usually get what you want with a new build over a "used" house.

Good luck!

[gilligan]

If you are going to pay someone to build it you might just as well buy one you wont save any money and it will take time to get it built and finished. now if you are going to build it yourself then I say do it, you should clear about $40,000 extra if you ever have to sell or save $40,000 if you stay!! I almost purchased 11 acres a couple of weeks ago but I just did'nt have the time to build before I have to get out of here so I'm buying one. Good luck. ps I would have kept 20 acres in colorado and sold 50. in twenty years depending on where it is you could cash in again.

[jim]

I've had three houses built and would never buy another that's already finished!

Build. You can get exactly what you want, floor plan, colors, interior upgrades etc. By getting what you want, you'll be happier with it and keep it longer.

Get a local, reputable builder and be on site daily to make sure everything's going right. If a builder doesn't want you looking over his shoulder, get another one. A good builder won't mind.

Get the blueprints red-lined with your and the builder's initials before you start. Put all changes once underway in writing with your and the builder's signatures and date along with the cost change. This will save trouble and mis-communication.

[Herbie3Rivers]

Buy a house, build a big #&$ garage behind it! That's what I'm gonna do.

[squeebug]

if you have the time to wait for a house to be built, then build. I would love to but there is't enough time. That'll come later in life

[captbp]

Originally Posted by jim

I've had three houses built and would never buy another that's already finished!

Build. You can get exactly what you want, floor plan, colors, interior upgrades etc. By getting what you want, you'll be happier with it and keep it longer.

Get a local, reputable builder and be on site daily to make sure everything's going right. If a builder doesn't want you looking over his shoulder, get another one. A good builder won't mind.

Get the blueprints red-lined with your and the builder's initials before you start. Put all changes once underway in writing with your and the builder's signatures and date along with the cost change. This will save trouble and mis-communication.

This is good advice. I built mine this way.

Bob