Ask:
We are thinking of purchasing some land with my husband's brother and sister that is perked for 3 houses. We own our current house now.
Has anyone bought land and built their own house? What were the most suprising things you learned during the process? What were some good resources you found?
We know pretty much nothing and are trying to evaluate the situation! Ahhh!
Answer:
I haven't but I want too. My parents did when I was in Jr high. Honestly you need a strong relationship because the year that they built there home was the year they fought the most. Ideas will clash, You will choose upgrades and things Will cost more then expected, There will be delays, contractors who you have to argue with to get them to come back and fix there mistakes. There may be issues with divide the lots, getting gas and water to. Its a headache but honestly I would love to tackle it to have the house I want and everything else the way we want it.
Answer:
In a couple of years we will have our own land. My father gifted us about 5 acres. We're very excited about this. I grew up on "land" and I just loved it. The one thing that might surprise you is the cost to pour a driveway, and the cost to dig a well and test water. Also, be sure to check out phone and internet service. You can get satellite internet/cable in those areas. Um, let's see...the best "surprise" is a nice quiet sleep at night since you'll be away from the city....no police sirens, no squealing tires, no big bomber car backfiring at 2am, no thumpin bumpin coming from the neighbor's teenage kids car at crazy hours of the night....ahhhhhh relaxing!!!
Answer:
My parents gave DH and I some property and we did the same...we built our own house and knew nothing! It was tough.....we played builder also. We designed it and built it.
We were basicly able to design our dream home with the intention of living in it forever, raising our children in it.
We saved tons of money in the long run because we did not have to pay a builder or contractor. We were able to get quotes and chose who we wanted to work on our house.
You just have to cover all your bases....hire people who are licsenced and insured. Always save your receipts and get a paid in full statement. Getting permits and inspections are a pain but when you think about all the money you will save.....it is worth it.
We ran into a lot of problems but it seems like we were able to ask around and find the answers we needed to get through.
It was fun at times....you get to make all the decisions....you get to see your dream come to life from paper to the house of your dreams.
Answer:
We are actually in the process of building right now, DH and my stepdad have done the majority of the work. We have had to only hire a brick mason. We are fortunate enough to have a heating and air guy, and a plumber in the family. Family support has been amazing!
What we have learned is that you are going to make mistakes, "special orders" from Lowes and Home Depot are both equally stressful. But most of all it is amazing what you can do if you try!
We have saved a ridiculus amount of money and will be done at the end of this summer (total it will have taken a little over 2 years) .
My DH has said we are going to have to "pry his cold dead hands off of the house" So I am assuming he plans on living in the house for life.
Answer:
I'm glad to hear you all had good experiences. We are going to go check out land tomorrow. We figure we can buy the land and build when we are ready. DH, his bro and dad are all painters, so I think they will all be doing the drywall, painting and other fun stuff. They have done roofing too. I think the hard part will be designing something we can afford - not make it too much of a dream home - like in our dreams we could afford it
Answer:
We bought 5 acres and are going to start building within the next few months. We are still in the process of getting bids for everything, which is something our bank requires. That is about all I can tell you as of now. Good luck!!!
Answer:
If you have the property just go into it thinking that you can start off smaller and always add on to the house later. That way you can move in and then while you are living in your house you can be adding on another room or two.