Have you ever thought of building your own home? - Online Consumer Forums Digital-Boards.com The Consumer Network

tgoforth1984 · 03-08-2007

My husband and I have designed a home that we are planning on building in the next two to three years. It is this nice 4500 square feet home. I think that in a way it is the easiest way to get the perfect home.

Cobalt · 03-10-2007

It certainly is, though there are plenty of headaches that go along with building your own home. I'm not sure of all the regulations there, but over this side of the pond you've got to get planning permission first which can be a job in itself, especially if they want you to fit in with the surrounding area. Size and the materials you can use can be limited, as well as the size and style of windows, doors and so forth - any absolute nightmare if you want to build in a picturesque country village.

Having said that, it is a great way to get the house you want, and can work out much cheaper than purchasing a house if you can get the land at a reasonable price. I'd love the freedom, though would probably end up regretting half of the decisions I'd made over the course of the design and build!

Are you looking at self managing the build or have you got a contractor to do that?

tgoforth1984 · 03-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobalt

It certainly is, though there are plenty of headaches that go along with building your own home. I'm not sure of all the regulations there, but over this side of the pond you've got to get planning permission first which can be a job in itself, especially if they want you to fit in with the surrounding area. Size and the materials you can use can be limited, as well as the size and style of windows, doors and so forth - any absolute nightmare if you want to build in a picturesque country village.

Having said that, it is a great way to get the house you want, and can work out much cheaper than purchasing a house if you can get the land at a reasonable price. I'd love the freedom, though would probably end up regretting half of the decisions I'd made over the course of the design and build!

Are you looking at self managing the build or have you got a contractor to do that?

We were going to build it with the help of my father-in-law because he is s retired contractor. He's got all the knowledge and so does my husband. Before my husband got into mechanics, he used to work in construction. You can make pretty good money, but it is seasonal. I am also goingt o build in the country, so I won't have to worry about permits, or regulations. Pretty good.

Lloyd Brown · 03-10-2007

Tanya's husband has been doing massive recontruction of their home. Personally, I paid to have my home remodeled back in the early 80's. The contractor stopped working and it took 5 years of legal proceedings to get the matter resolved.

I ended up having to be the general contractor myself, and ended up either doing a lot of the work myself, or helping the sub-contractor so I could get a break on the cost.

Never again.

Lloyd Brown · 03-10-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgoforth1984

My husband and I have designed a home that we are planning on building in the next two to three years. It is this nice 4500 square feet home. I think that in a way it is the easiest way to get the perfect home.

There is probably no easier way to break up a marriage than to do a remodel. I hope you have a lot of patience.

tgoforth1984 · 03-12-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lloyd Brown

There is probably no easier way to break up a marriage than to do a remodel. I hope you have a lot of patience.

Oh yeah, patience is my middle name. He'll gripe at me then I'll gripe back, then we'll make up. I've helped him out on many projects. It's not too bad.

julian4239 · 03-14-2007

I've heard that it's much more expensive to build your home. Is that generally true? Builders don't come cheap in the US.

tgoforth1984 · 03-15-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by julian4239

I've heard that it's much more expensive to build your home. Is that generally true? Builders don't come cheap in the US.

Well, in my case it's much cheaper because I have a contractor in my family. We will be building it ourselves. Relatively it should cost about $60,000 for the materials. But to buy a house the size we want, it would cost us every bit of $100000 to $150000.

mmjones · 03-24-2007

It is cheaper to build your own home. Also you will get exactly what you want. The fun part is finding a good contractor that won't stiff you.

QuietLunatic · 05-03-2007

My ex and I used to dream of getting a log home kit and building it ourselves, but we never did. Now I dream of renovating this place.

I love my old house.

03-08-2007	#1 (permalink)
tgoforth1984 Consumer Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 80	Have you ever thought of building your own home? My husband and I have designed a home that we are planning on building in the next two to three years. It is this nice 4500 square feet home. I think that in a way it is the easiest way to get the perfect home.

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03-10-2007	#2 (permalink)
Cobalt Consumer Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 50	It certainly is, though there are plenty of headaches that go along with building your own home. I'm not sure of all the regulations there, but over this side of the pond you've got to get planning permission first which can be a job in itself, especially if they want you to fit in with the surrounding area. Size and the materials you can use can be limited, as well as the size and style of windows, doors and so forth - any absolute nightmare if you want to build in a picturesque country village. Having said that, it is a great way to get the house you want, and can work out much cheaper than purchasing a house if you can get the land at a reasonable price. I'd love the freedom, though would probably end up regretting half of the decisions I'd made over the course of the design and build! Are you looking at self managing the build or have you got a contractor to do that?

03-10-2007	#4 (permalink)
Lloyd Brown Administrator Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 518	Tanya's husband has been doing massive recontruction of their home. Personally, I paid to have my home remodeled back in the early 80's. The contractor stopped working and it took 5 years of legal proceedings to get the matter resolved. I ended up having to be the general contractor myself, and ended up either doing a lot of the work myself, or helping the sub-contractor so I could get a break on the cost. Never again.

03-14-2007	#7 (permalink)
julian4239 Consumer Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 10	I've heard that it's much more expensive to build your home. Is that generally true? Builders don't come cheap in the US.

03-24-2007	#9 (permalink)
mmjones Consumer Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 41	It is cheaper to build your own home. Also you will get exactly what you want. The fun part is finding a good contractor that won't stiff you.

05-03-2007	#10 (permalink)
QuietLunatic Consumer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 66	My ex and I used to dream of getting a log home kit and building it ourselves, but we never did. Now I dream of renovating this place. I love my old house.