Building a house after buying land?

[maverickfhs]

I am sure we shall have some members on the forum who have or have built a custom house.

Question is, is it cheaper to build a house after buying land or if there's one already built with some land? Which one would be cheaper? Are there any pitfalls of one vs the other or anything? If you guys know a proper website/forum for these type of questions, please post away

Provided, we aren't too picky and that's not why considering a custom house. In a nutshell, not too picky and which one would be cost efficient?

Thanks for your inputs.

 

[Jimzz]

Generally is cheaper to buy a house with land then build. When building there are a lot of unknowns. When my parents built their house the septic tank went over budget, the foundation had to be dug deeper with larger supports, etc...

A already built house you can inspect it and also look up all the permits to make sure it was done correctly.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: Jimzz
Generally is cheaper to buy a house with land then build. When building there are a lot of unknowns. When my parents built their house the septic tank went over budget, the foundation had to be dug deeper with larger supports, etc...

A already built house you can inspect it and also look up all the permits to make sure it was done correctly.


A fellow NoVA?

Thanks for your input and advice. Makes sense about the unknowns and approvals, it can be hectic and can take forever!

 

[Kestas]

I've heard of too many bad stories from people who decided to custom build a home from scratch. Mainly problems with delays, cost overruns, and just getting things right. Unless it's a unique situation, I would always look for an existing home. Also, the older homes were built on land that is more prime than the remaining land. Your first homes are typically built on the tops of hills. The later homes are built in the dales.

 

[RichardS]

I agree with Jimzz. The internet statistics show it's cheaper to buy a house in most circumstances.

However, the difference in cost was attributed to everything from cost overruns, to houses today having larger footprints, more stringent building codes, buying fancy t-of-the-line appliances, and builder costs naturally.

If you weren't looking for your own 5,000sq ft mansion with all the shiny bells and whistles, did a lot of the work yourself, and factored in energy savings with new, and greener tech, you could probably build for less.

Lady built this house for $130k with the help of home depot, youtube, and her children. It's valued at double that on the current market.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2606771/...tube-tutorials/

 

[IndyIan]

We bought 100 acres and built a house in the middle of it. We did alot of the work ourselves which saved quite a bit. Depends what you want to live in and what kind of lot you want. If what you want is easy to find then its probably cheaper/easier to buy, if you want a log house in the woods then you might have to build it.

 

[Linctex]

In this part of Texas, new homes are built in large subdivisions of 50+ or so. The same farming, roofing, plumbing, etc. crew just go from one house to the next. Thy all look the same when done. And they are built to the BARE BARE minimum to "meet code" and often have tons of warranty issues after the owners move in.

These are great starter homes for people that will only live in it for 3-10 years.

I've started one, but I have been collecting business cards for years. You can actually do it cheaper if you are your own general contractor. You can pick and choose your own crews for certain tasks, or like me - plumb it and wire it yourself.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
We bought 100 acres and built a house in the middle of it. We did alot of the work ourselves which saved quite a bit. Depends what you want to live in and what kind of lot you want. If what you want is easy to find then its probably cheaper/easier to buy, if you want a log house in the woods then you might have to build it.



Very valid point and helpful too. Not at all, nothing out of the ordinary or exotic. Just don't want to have an HOA and have enough land.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: Linctex
In this part of Texas, new homes are built in large subdivisions of 50+ or so. The same farming, roofing, plumbing, etc. crew just go from one house to the next. Thy all look the same when done. And they are built to the BARE BARE minimum to "meet code" and often have tons of warranty issues after the owners move in.

These are great starter homes for people that will only live in it for 3-10 years.

I've started one, but I have been collecting business cards for years. You can actually do it cheaper if you are your own general contractor. You can pick and choose your own crews for certain tasks, or like me - plumb it and wire it yourself.


Thanks, yeah I don't have the luxury of being a pro in plumbing or an electrician

I can always learn and build something, but I definitely got the idea in terms of hassle which can come with a custom house.

 

[THafeez]

While it's nice to have a custom house, it's way too much headache. My dads friend owned land with a junk house for 10+ years now. First tried to renovate the junk house, then 2 years ago he built it from scratch. After installing burners and heating equipment, town told him theres no natural gas lines to the property and it would cost way to much to get the pipes there. Had to switch to oil.. Property looks nice, but still not done. The amount of time and investment is way too much headache. And if you don't have the time like this guy, it'll take forever to get it done. House probably won't be done until late this year... Only upside is that you get to plan every single thing out on your own down to the color of the sink. May be too much detail for some, but those who want all those things to be "perfect"; it's a lot of time and money that has to be put into it.

 

[maverickfhs]

Originally Posted By: THafeez
While it's nice to have a custom house, it's way too much headache. My dads friend owned land with a junk house for 10+ years now. First tried to renovate the junk house, then 2 years ago he built it from scratch. After installing burners and heating equipment, town told him theres no natural gas lines to the property and it would cost way to much to get the pipes there. Had to switch to oil.. Property looks nice, but still not done. The amount of time and investment is way too much headache. And if you don't have the time like this guy, it'll take forever to get it done. House probably won't be done until late this year... Only upside is that you get to plan every single thing out on your own down to the color of the sink. May be too much detail for some, but those who want all those things to be "perfect"; it's a lot of time and money that has to be put into it.


Honestly too many decisions and projects can be a lot of fun or a pita!

Thanks for your input.

 

[Danno]

Originally Posted By: THafeez
After installing burners and heating equipment, town told him theres no natural gas lines to the property and it would cost way to much to get the pipes there. Had to switch to oil..

The owner only has himself to blame on this one. Maybe an indication that the owner is over his head on the project.
Saying this from building my own house.

 

[Dave Hess]

My ex girlfriend's dad was an architect and he did the drawings for clients who bought land / very old house to be torn down and built custom home. With the right builder and contractors it can be done fairly easy... or it can end up as a nightmare.

Lots of his clients had money and only reputable builders / contractors were hired for these homes. Clients wanting to change layout of drawings were his biggest problems.

Also city inspectors wanting kickback or the permits would be delayed.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

We purchased the land for our home in 1991, had the house designed in 1994, and construction took place in late 1994 and was completed in late 1995.

When we built our home we weren't looking for "cheap", we wanted a custom home where we'd spend most of the rest of our lives. We also had very specific requirements for entertaining and guests staying over, as well as requirement for the separation between the master wing and guest wing, and two home offices. We also didn't want a cookie cutter home built with questionable quality and lots of corner cutting.

We started with an architect that looked over all of our requirements, and we went through several designs before we settled on what was finally built. We also made sure our general was someone we could trust, and they hired only the most qualified subs available. It gave us the ability to build an extremely energy efficient home with no compromise on the features and design. We also had control over things like using I joists instead of regular lumber, the type of insulation used, the level of waterproofing for the basement (it will never have water issues), down to design of the wine cellar, switch/outlet placement, and location of exterior water faucets.

True, we might have saved a little up front by buying an existing home, but then we wouldn't have been able to choose the location that was perfect for us with an incredible view, we would not have had the chance to design it our way, and we would have had to compromise in a number of areas. Those things were also valuable to us, so along with the extremely high energy efficiency we were able to design in, over the long run it's been at least as "cheap" to do it our way, especially given how much the value of the home and property have increased over the last 22 years.

 

[BrianF]

From what I have seen it is cheaper to buy an existing property and then build a new house on it. We had priced it out several years ago and todays labour rates and material costs are ridiculous. Running power, natural gas, digging/piping a well and just building a new house in general are pricey. Mortgaging bare land required more money down and I think it was much more difficult to mortgage a project than existing building.

Get estimates from power, energy and drilling companies before one goes ahead with a project or even buying land. We have some friends that found this out the hard way and ending up having to go geothermal for heat. Sounds all fine and renewable energy like until the cost of that exceeded natural gas both in the short and long term.

Another family bought some nice land and began to build their dream acreage. When they went to pipe in the natural gas they had a heck of a time getting it through another field. The cost and [censored] dealing with other peoples property just about killed it.

Just some food for thought before one builds.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

It's cheaper to buy land with an existing home, provided the home is not too fancy.

Probably the cheapest overall is to buy the land and move an existing home onto the lot. People who want to build a new home will often offer the existing home to move. It saves them demolition costs and sometimes, depending on the house, they might get some cash in the bargain.

I'm sure it varies depending on where you are, but around here you can get an existing home to move for anywhere from free to perhaps $10,000. Moving expenses (again, around here) will run you $5,000 to $12,000, depending on how far, and what happens along the way ... things like bridges cost more and may define your route, for example, and there will be permits to pay for along the route.

Another option is to buy a simple house trailer and live there while you build the home you really want to end up with. In that case, especially if you're handy, you can work to pay for materials, use salvaged materials, and work on the home weekends and vacation time. I know people who built entire houses in two years, move in condition, with that method, and with fairly low costs overall (you can get a building loan), which results in a nice reasonable sized mortgage.

The downside (and I don't know how it works in the US) here is bare land is not eligible for mortgage insurance, so you have to come up with the full 20% down to buy the land. You can contract with a home builder however, who builds the home after you acquire the land, and in that way qualify for an insured mortgage, so 5 or 10% down. But that is going to result in a much higher mortgage in the end than some more "sweat equity" methods as per above.

 

[maverickfhs]

All of you guys are good people and truly appreciate your advice. One question, Johnny2Bad? So you mentioned about moving a home.

Where would all the connections come from? Say moving house has natural gas, while there's no natural gas on the land or similarly sewer or septic tank etc...?

I am fortunate to have a house, but looking to buy a bigger one.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Originally Posted By: maverickfhs
All of you guys are good people and truly appreciate your advice. One question, Johnny2Bad? So you mentioned about moving a home.

Where would all the connections come from? Say moving house has natural gas, while there's no natural gas on the land or similarly sewer or septic tank etc...?

I am fortunate to have a house, but looking to buy a bigger one.



You just contact your local Natural Gas supplier (or two of them, if the home to be moved is serviced by a different company) and they will fill you in. You will be paying a fee to them anyway as they are going to insist they do the work or you hire a contractor from their approved list.

Dealing with utilities is a normal part of building. Someone near you, a builder, a contractor who deals with new construction, and possibly the county or RM office will help you out there. I would never buy land that didn't have all services nearby, but many people do and add them later or use the alternatives. You local ordinances will define what you need for water (if available) and septic ... whether you need a tank or whether you could use a septic field, for example.

 

[maverickfhs]

Gotcha, thanks.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
I. Also, the older homes were built on land that is more prime than the remaining land. Your first homes are typically built on the tops of hills. The later homes are built in the dales.


Yes, I see that a lot in my town where some of the housing stock dates back to the revolutionary war,

Early home locations were obviously chosen for easy access to water and/or prime farmland. Later homes built in the 1800's and beyond were built for their scenic vistas and such.