Costs of building

[amishrobot]

New to the forum and no idea where the right place to post this is, but it is a broad question, so why not in the catch all bin?

I am looking at plans for cottages and bungalows - there are so many I love in the cottagelivinghouseplans.com. So my question is, have any of you built from one of those plans? Or similar plans? I know there are a ton of variables in the final cost, but I am wondering if anyone would be willing to share how much it cost and how satisfied they were with the results.

Thanks!

[Zuzu's Garden]

Hi amishrobot,

We designed our own home, but I do have a suggestion for you. Talk to a few builders in your area (because building materials/costs vary from one place to the next). Just jump in and start asking questions, and you should be able to come up with a ballpark 'per square foot' estimate.

Zuzu

[rubyslippers]

My husband and I just bought our first little cottage. I toyed with the idea of building; however, there is the quoted cost and the real cost. The "real" cost may be the "cost" to your family time or how busy your job is - - that kind of thing. Some people (like me) love to pick out just the right door knobs. Other people (like my husband) do not EVER want to think about these things. So, our small little cottage will need some fixer-upper things over time, but it is a good starting point for us. Deep down, I really would like to build down the road; however, I know it can be taxing.

When I was researching building, one of the best groups of people I spoke to encouraged me to potentially look at a larger house plan and consider only building the first floor. Then, you can put in a larger "attic" and potentially do the build-out later. This was incredibly tempting to me (and something I might consider down the road) - - so, I thought I would pass the idea along to you.

Some websites will provide you with free building quotes if you are willing to provide some personal information and/or just give them a call. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. There are some BEAUTIFUL plans on the CL website aren't there? Which one is your favorite.

Good luck!

[amishrobot]

The "real costs" are scary to me. Hopefully someone who has gone through that might chime in.

I love so many of those plans it is hard to decided. We have 3 kids and aren't positive we wont have 4, and I work from home sometimes, so I am trying to balance "big" with "costs a fortune to build". There are several that look like they make great use of space.

Thanks for the replies!

[Evelyn]

I hired a contractor to build my home. The price remained fairly true to the estimate but the things that made the price go up were those of my choosing like flooring, cabinets, appliances etc. I live out of town so there was also the cost of hooking up to a shared well, running power, putting in a septic system etc.

More recently we had a 600 sq ft studio built for my husband. My husband did the painting, wiring and insulating.....even then it still cost about 75.00 a sq. foot.

A good start is figuring out what you want to spend and go from there. Good luck!

Evelyn

[Zuzu's Garden]

rubbyslippers wrote:
When I was researching building, one of the best groups of people I spoke to encouraged me to potentially look at a larger house plan and consider only building the first floor. Then, you can put in a larger "attic" and potentially do the build-out later.

That will work so long as you call the upper story an attic. I am working with someone who thought they were going to have the first floor of a three bedroom home completed, move in, and then take their time finishing the second floor. They ran into a bit of a snafu w/ the mortgage loan, because the building loan was for a three bedroom home and the first floor only had two bedrooms. So, now they are spending another $10,000 to pay contractors to finish the second floor to satisfy the mortgage loan conditions.

Zu

[Evelyn]

That is a good reminder Zuzu......I too thought I might wait a bit and finish the upstairs. But, since my 2nd floor was not an attic, there were requirements by the bank that I NOT move in until after the final inspection.. The final inspection meant the house needed to be finished.

The only thing I did not "finish" upstairs was the flooring. I lived 10 years with a sub-floor painted sage green. Recently I had carpet installed (I am one of the rare few these days that loves carpet). :p

I am guessing building codes must vary some from state to state.

Evelyn

[rubyslippers]

I think building is a neat thing for the right people at the right time. Also, if it is something you can do in this economy, then it may be a fabulous time. A lot of contractors are dying to work right now. I bet the bids are pretty competitive. I absolutely believe you should "call" the second floor an "attic" if you follow the build more later philosophy. Since you mentioned that you have three kids, there may be some Moms on the board who have some really good advice for saving space. Do your kids share rooms now? Is that something you would consider if you have more kids? Anyway, smart responses ... the real cost was a little too scary for me. Let us know what you decide.

[cheapdiva]

we built a house 11 year ago and our builder told me it was the first time he ever built a house on budget - and here's why. BEFORE we built, I started pricing out items like cabinets, flooring, fixtures, etc. I KNEW what those items were going to run. Then during the building our builder and subcontractors kept trying to get us to "upgrade" these items and many others.

I was not about to pay a 30 year mortgage with high end bath fixtures. Buy the least expensive fixtures you can find to stay within the builders "allowance". Then replace these when you can afford it. So let's say you buy the $79 faucet set then 2 years later you can go buy the $150 set and replace the cheap set. This is why houses get so expensive because you get tricked into believing that this won't add much to the bottom line - but multiply all those upgrades and you WILL find yourself over budget.

We would have come under budget but at the last minute decided to put a 2 tier deck on the back because the subcontractor offered us a deal since it was fall and they didn't want to wait until spring to put the deck in. And our house was a parade house, so we did get some upgrades for free. We spent just $400 more than our budget WITH the deck!! And as time went on, we painted rooms the color we wanted (so we didn't have to pay the painters "extra" for color), hung wallpaper, changed fixtures, etc.

And ALWAYS get a least 3 contractors to bid - we submitted our plans to 5. And if there is a parade of homes in your area ask builders if they would consider your home as their parade entry. Not only will you get some freebies, but the builder HAS to have the house done in time for the parade - no delays!!!

[amishrobot]

Great comments everyone, I appreciate it!

[ChapterTwo]

Cheapdiva - I'm unfamiliar with the term "parade of homes"...is that something like a model home? Just curious...

[cheapdiva]

Yep, in the area we used to live (and many communities do this) builders have 2 "parades" - one in spring and one in early fall. They can enter a house in the parade and then for about 10 days the parade takes place. Generally you pay a fee to get a ticket to tour all the homes. Builders use this to show off their work, answer building questions and meet prospective customers. This is how we found 2 of the builders we had bid out the building of our home - and ended up going with one of them. We did have 3 other contractors also bid out the house.

The builders association determines the parameters for the show houses - sq. feet, landscaping, decorating, etc. When we build over 11 years ago houses in our tour ranged from 1,500 to about 8,000 sq. feet and you had to have landscaping done everywhere except the back yard. Our landscapers came the day BEFORE the parade - they couldn't get in sooner because our builder was right down to the wire on getting the home completed due to weather issues and right before they were going to dig the foundation, the city permit guy came and said the house could not be situated on the lot the way we had planned so the plans had to be completely redone!!!!

Our landscaper showed up at 6 a.m. the day before the parade and promised by 6 p.m. we would have a beautiful yard. I had used this company on projects through my company and knew it would be done on time. Sure enough, I came after work at 6 and they were just finishing up. I brought a case of beer for the crew. Our "yard" went from mud and rocks to one of the prettiest yards around.

There were about 40 homes in our area (within 15 miles - most of them were within a few miles of each other) at that time. It is a great way to take a peek at homes you normally wouldn't otherwise ever see and steal ideas. When we built they didn't want the house decorated because they felt it took away from people seeing the actual construction. We moved only a few antique pieces in to showcase certain areas of the house - because we had literally built the home around a few of those pieces. You don't move into the house until the parade is over - and about half the builders build spec houses.

Now, the same builder association insists the homes are completely decorated.

THE POINT is if you ever consider building, ask about parade homes and the possibility of having yours be one. We had about 4,500 people go through our house. Which was pretty funny because after we moved in and told people where we lived, often we would hear "I've been in your house - when it was on the parade!"

[oxide]

Building-cost.net is good if you want a ball-park estimate for the price of building from scratch.