Building own house in NY?

[oilpsi2high]

A friend of mine's grandparents bought a plot of land on a lake in the Adirondacks in the 1940's and built their own house on it. I think the foundation was already in place, and they did everything else themselves.

There are tons of properties around here, but I think times are much different today than in the 1940's, especially from a legal perspective and what you can and cannot do. For example, the APA (Adirondack Park Agency) makes you build houses no taller than 40 feet, only certain colors allowed, etc. etc. etc.

Does anyone have experience doing this? I guess if you buy a plot of land in one town you can put a trailer on it or pretty much do whatever you want as long as you don't pollute or violate any codes. Other towns have HOAs, APA regulations, etc. I don't want to end up like Mutt Lange and Shania Twain because I built my recording studio too close to the wetlands.

 

[Donald]

Your going to need to get all the proper permits, meet the state and local building codes and inspections. There will be a plot plan needed and a perc test for the septic.

You probably want to avoid any property in the NYC water shed area in upstate NY. They are anal about septic, well even on property you own.

 

[oilpsi2high]

There are lots available with wells and septic already installed.

 

[DdDd]

Usually town or county level sets rules according to building dept. If there are federal or state laws for environmental stuff another set of hoops.

NY state is good about grandfathering properties. Usually. A lot of architects will milk this and make it seem harder than it is. But if was buildable before the regs you can often build/renovate accordingly.

Whatever property you're interested in pay a visit to the county clerk and play nice with the grandma in the fleece sweater. She can more or less tell you what is possible.

 

[Donald]

But be aware that between income, sales and property tax, it's super expensive to live in NY. Many areas do not have any decent broadband available.

But NY does have some beautiful mountain areas. Very relaxing as there is often no cell service.

 

[Cujet]

Talk with the local builders/contractors in addition to the bureaucrats at city hall. As the builders will know just how difficult it is to deal with permits, zoning and so on. There are vast differences between counties.

As I'm sure you know, New York is the land of "NO". There are areas of private land that are stunningly beautiful, and will remain so, largely because of the costs and hassle involved in building there.

I moved to Florida for just that reason. I could not, on a working man's salary, make NY work and have an acceptable standard of living. Even upstate. I was born in NY, grew up there, worked at Stuart and White Plains airport, made an excellent salary, and could not make it work.

 

[JTK]

It's a lot easier and typically cheaper out of the gate to buy an existing structure, with all the amenities already in place. Lots of red tape if you totally DIY in NY. New builds have alarmingly high property tax bills in my area as well.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Good luck doing anything in the Adirondacks! The greenies and NYC folk have done a pretty good job of running pretty much everything out of there.

If you want something woodsy, look at areas that *aren't* in the Adk park but nearby.

 

[IndyIan]

Don't assume you can park a trailer on you property either, as some jurisdictions frown on it or atleast make you get a temporary permit for it while you are building.
We built our place and the municipality had a package with all the forms needed and what needs to be approved when. Everyone was pretty helpful and it worked out fine in the end. Ours is a pretty conventional house and if you want to build something different you just need engineering stamps. We put on a cantilevered balcony which isn't covered by code but there's a semi retired structural engineer in our area that ran the numbers and stamped it for a few hundred bucks.
It does take a lot of time and research but lots of people build their own place successfully.

 

[supton]

How are you going to pay for it? Construction loan to permanent loan would need to own 20% of the appraised value. From what I'm learning, you kinda have to own the land already, then can build on it and be able to get a mortgage on it.

We've been looking at modulars (prefab) and they can go up quickly, like a 3-4 month timetable. House is being built at the same time site work is being done.

 

[SEMI_287]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Good luck doing anything in the Adirondacks! The greenies and NYC folk have done a pretty good job of running pretty much everything out of there.

If you want something woodsy, look at areas that *aren't* in the Adk park but nearby.


That's one thing I AM glad for. It's a beautiful area of the state thats not polluted with Walmart and a bunch of [censored] [censored] like that. Go to one of the 3 Wallys with a 20 mile radius and stock up before we head into the park. Water Safari is getting very expensive. We live JUST north of the park, 1 mile from the border.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: SEMI_287
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Good luck doing anything in the Adirondacks! The greenies and NYC folk have done a pretty good job of running pretty much everything out of there.

If you want something woodsy, look at areas that *aren't* in the Adk park but nearby.


That's one thing I AM glad for. It's a beautiful area of the state thats not polluted with Walmart and a bunch of [censored] [censored] like that. Go to one of the 3 Wallys with a 20 mile radius and stock up before we head into the park. Water Safari is getting very expensive. We live JUST north of the park, 1 mile from the border.


I'm not necessarily looking for Walmarts on every corner, but cell reception on the main road and a lot of the small businesses that have been forced out over the years would be nice. Used to be able to go on a tour of many of the roads and areas and stop somewhere and get lunch. The way it's been lately ... I'm worried about driving there and not finding gas. I am not too far north but I frequently go between Speculator/Indian Lake/ Tupper Lake. There's just nothing left.

 

[SEMI_287]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: SEMI_287
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Good luck doing anything in the Adirondacks! The greenies and NYC folk have done a pretty good job of running pretty much everything out of there.

If you want something woodsy, look at areas that *aren't* in the Adk park but nearby.


That's one thing I AM glad for. It's a beautiful area of the state thats not polluted with Walmart and a bunch of [censored] [censored] like that. Go to one of the 3 Wallys with a 20 mile radius and stock up before we head into the park. Water Safari is getting very expensive. We live JUST north of the park, 1 mile from the border.


I'm not necessarily looking for Walmarts on every corner, but cell reception on the main road and a lot of the small businesses that have been forced out over the years would be nice. Used to be able to go on a tour of many of the roads and areas and stop somewhere and get lunch. The way it's been lately ... I'm worried about driving there and not finding gas. I am not too far north but I frequently go between Speculator/Indian Lake/ Tupper Lake. There's just nothing left.


You're dead right about no cell service. Between Tupper Lake and Long Lake there's no cell service and no gas, only 40 miles but still. Same thing with Long Lake and Old Forge, no cell and I don't believe there's gas either. It's very seasonal there, you're correct I've seen many abandoned buildings that used to be restaurants.

A nice little burger/hot dog joint between Long Lake and Old Forge would make a killing if you could A) actually buy the land and B) Build on it.

 

[oilpsi2high]

Between Northville and Lake Placid there aren't even any grocery stores, are there? Just general/convenience stores.

 

[supton]

Been years since I drove up 87 but I do recall it getting pretty sparse. Lovely area though.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
Between Northville and Lake Placid there aren't even any grocery stores, are there? Just general/convenience stores.


I was just camping in Northville a few weeks ago!

 

[Mr Nice]

I was thinking about having a house built in Florida, it's probably cheaper and less headaches to buy an existing house that's 5-10 years old.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
I was thinking about having a house built in Florida, it's probably cheaper and less headaches to buy an existing house that's 5-10 years old.


Probably. Let someone else deal with the headaches of pulling it all together. We're still looking into doing this, and already feeling the stress of just doing paper exercises. Plus, if you're OCD you might go bonkers trying to pick and figure out every little detail to perfection--buying used means someone else made the decisions.