Build new or restore?

Nicest thing about fixing up an old home is, that if you goof something up, you can blame a previous owner.

Raven, it sounds like your problem was not the concept of building new. I think maybe you may have made a poor choice of builders.

We built new, but I knew the contractor well and supervised the operation and we have had next to no problems. What few minor problems we have had were design flaws, made by me.

We have no plans to but wouldn't hesitate to build new again.

in this economy it will cost you more to build than to buy a repo...so shop around..call banks for lists of repos in the area you want to move to

I am currently keeping my eye out for a dump to renovate. I am looking for something with good bones, character, and location. My decision is based on personal taste and cost. I have learned from friends who have added on to their homes about the joys of new construction.

For us it came down to cost - we could not afford a piece of land with a house already on it, even in this market. We did find 12 acres with shared well, electric & phone. We closed on it last month, and plan to move out there in 2010 or 2011 and put up a modest manufactured home.

Not the dream property or living arrangement, but it's what works for us. It's hard to live in a house while it's being renovated, especially if you're doing it yourself. The house we live in now was built in 1920, and we have discovered quite a few mysteries while fixing this one up.

Granted, buying land and building new may cost the same or more in the long run, it works for us because we can do it in stages. What works for us is probably different than what works for you.

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Sometimes money costs too much.

Ive seen many work the regs to their advantage .
for instance in town old dumps have many things grandfathered in .
One person I know wanted to build a new garage . they couldnt because the city wouldnt allow it , so they repaired the existing garage that was grandfathered in . They left one wall standing and built the new garage five years later they removed the old wall and rebuilt it to match the new garage all perfectly legal because technically they had just repaired an existing structure .

My wife and I are retiring and moving to Missouri next spring where we want to find 5 to 10 acres or more and an old house with outbuildings (heading down there in Sep to look). Had a house built in NC when I was stationed there and I would never want to do that again; I just like old things. To me, even a n old plain jane ranch style home has more character than most new homes unless you have the money to build in such character.

Living in the middle of renovations doesnt bother us either (all kids are grown) and like the OP stated, I would never really want to be done. Having the outbuildings, an established garden, fruit trees, etc is important to us as it takes years and years to establish these things if you build new.

We started saving in earnest about 3 years ago and as our nest egg has built up our search and desires became more focused and the journey towards our dreams has been very enjoyable. Good luck in your search and have fun with the process of planning your move!

That's kind of what my ex-in-laws did.

They had a "cabin" in a small town on a lake. When he retired, they wanted to move to the cabin.

So, basically, they built this "new," much larger, house around the cabin and called it a "remodel."

The place we bought is, essentially, a very old, very sturdy shell of a house.

The plumbing hadn't worked in years.

The electrical was iffy.

Central heating? HA! No ducting or any such accommodation.

And the septic is a questionable matter. The question being, "WHERE IS IT?"

But it's all good, because we have skills, time, and we live in a county with no code restrictions.

Of course, we're building to code (and better than code in some instances), and we're taking our time and doing the jobs as we get the funds.

It's working for us. We would not have been able to afford a place with a good house or bare land and have to build a house, but this way...

We're likin' it, for the most part. There are inconveniences, but they are minimal (except for last Winter, which was really freaking cold).

If you're not in a hurry, take your time, look at what's available, don't be hard and solid on what you will/will not do.

You'll find your place -- or it will find you!

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

Its going to depend on what your buying and what your building. I personally like the older home, characters (and flaws) For a given $ value I think an old home gives you more and bettery quality. I talking specifically to pre 1960's homes.

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Gary in Central Ohio

Been there a few times!!!!!!! There were two reasons that false ceilings were put in. Save heat, and cover up a mess. It's good you gave three weeks, the last one I had to remove most (90 %) of the ceiling joists, and re-level the entire ceiling to rock. Lath and plaster are a nightmare, and the things you find between the ceilings are just amazing and alive sometimes.

why look for a dump..my sisters daughter bought a nice home before the prices dropped to where they are now..a repo..for $30,000 on a few acres..

there are so many repos out there you wouldn't want to buy a dump when nice ones are avail a dime a dozen..well not that cheap..but in Michigan you can get a really really really nice house for next to nothing..

when we flipped my MILs house it was worth well over $200, and we ended up selling it for $110 cause of the stinkin market..they got 30 acres and all new house and huge pole barn 2 ponds and flowing well, creek and open land and woods..they got a steal....but we couldn't sit on it any longer..and the market fell a LOT since last October when they bought it !!!

We bought a piece of land because of the land. It had a house on it which I spent years restoring. Waste of time and money. I finally realized it was still going to cost more to finish that restoration than it would to build from scratch. We built a super energy efficient small house for under $7,000 - a tiny fraction of what I had already spent and about a 15th of what I estimated it would cost to finish restoring the other house. See:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2009/06...e-step_26.html

There are still some detail things to finish on our tiny cottage but we're far happier there than we ever were in the old, drafty, impossible to heat farm house down the hill. Live and learn.

Now we are tearing down the old place. Knocked off the north wall today.

Cheers,

-Walter
in Vermont

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

I agree. I am partial to early 1900s craftsman homes. It would be great to find an old catalog home to renovate.

Hope you like the heat!! We're moving north to get away from it.. Certainly will be a big change from Alaska I'm sure

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

Ahem.

One person's dump may be another person's castle.

My house may well be perceived by others as a "dump" but it's our home and we're working to make it better. There's no way we'd be debt-free if we weren't able to be a little forward-looking on the possibilities of this "dump" instead of continuing to mortgage our lives.

Hmph.

W00t! Huzzah for Missouri!

Don't overlook the NW corner of this wonderful state! If you want any info, let me know. There are some great places around here!

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Je ne suis pas Alice

http://homesteadingfamilies.proboards.com/

I was stationed in Missouri before I came here and I do indeed like the heat and humidity. Last year we had 6 days without measurable precipitation.....I am ready!

Thanks Pony, I am planning on working at Ft Leonard Wood so I am really looking at someplace within commute distance of that. We are looking for an old farmstead 5 acres or more. We are flying there at the end of August to look for a place...I love it in the Ozarks..heat, humidity, chiggers, ticks..the whole works!!

You can have it Should be plenty of properties available at reasonable prices

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"Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." Rumi

I think the best deals to be had right now are on existing homes in good shape, that may need some cosmetic updating. Last year we relocated and looked for a new place in the country. We considered buying raw land and building, both stick frame and modular, buying a real fixer upper and completely renovating it, and buying an existing house in move-in condition. I really wanted to buy a fixer-upper so we'd have a small mortgage and rough it until we had it fixed up. But when you consider the time demands of that type of project, and balance it with the rest of your life, it may not be worth it.

We ended up buying a 15 year old house on a nice piece of land, not a huge house but adequate for a family. It cost more than a fixxer upper but the electrical, plumbing, well, septic, heat, insulation, wall coverings, flooring are all modern and in good condition. We've made a few cosmetic changes to suit our tastes but have been able to focus most of our effort on the property & homesteading activities. We've been here just over a year and already have chickens starting to lay eggs and some dairy goat doelings growing up. We would not have that if we had been working on a fixer upper all the time.

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