I want to build my own 2000 sqft house in 20 years. What should I do?

[Flyover]

Ron, that's super helpful info, thanks. I've been thinking plan #2 that you listed might be just what I do, because then the remaining "above-shop apartment" or whatever could be an in-law suite and then a guest suite.

 

[Sparky617]

One item I would mention here. Is don't buy the land you plan on building on more than a year before you plan to build. Plans change and raw land can be difficult to sell. Yes, it might be cheaper if bought today, but you'll have 20 years of property taxes to pay, and sunk costs in carrying the undeveloped land. Circumstances change in time. 20 years ago I would have never thought I might want to move to Texas, today I'd at least consider it, when/if my adult daughter gets married and has a child or two and I'm retired. I'm not buying Texas real estate today because that could change over the next 10 years. I have no idea where my adult son will wind up in the next ten years, he'll be heading off to medical residency in 2025 and depending on his specialty finishing that up in 2029 or so.

 

[Eddie_T]

Would it be helpful if I described (or shared pictures of) my architectural ideas and you could tell me how they might be improved for e.g. simplicity & ease of building?

I probably wouldn't be of much help but others might.

 

[bud16415]

One item I would mention here. Is don't buy the land you plan on building on more than a year before you plan to build. Plans change and raw land can be difficult to sell. Yes, it might be cheaper if bought today, but you'll have 20 years of property taxes to pay, and sunk costs in carrying the undeveloped land. Circumstances change in time. 20 years ago I would have never thought I might want to move to Texas, today I'd at least consider it, when/if my adult daughter gets married and has a child or two and I'm retired. I'm not buying Texas real estate today because that could change over the next 10 years. I have no idea where my adult son will wind up in the next ten years, he'll be heading off to medical residency in 2025 and depending on his specialty finishing that up in 2029 or so.

I worked with a guy that’s dream was to live in Fla on the water when he retired. About 15 years before retirement he told me he bought a nice lot and the plan was to pay it off before he retired. Yes it was pretty expensive and he could have bought a really nice house here for what he was planning to pay for a little lot down there. He would go down there for a week every winter and look in at his lot and what was being built around it.



The second year he had it the reality company called him and asked if he wanted to sell it as they could get him a 50% return on the price he paid. He said no. The next year the same thing with a bigger return and each winter he would come back and tell me his little house he planed to build was going to be dwarfed by what people were building. This went on and on year after year and as he got closer to retiring he no longer wanted to build there and they were offering him so much as he had the last empty lot in that area. He got scared the bottom was going to fall out of the market and sold it for a huge profit.



He went down and found a new area not on the water but he had access to the water not far away. He bought a finished home on more land and with neighbors all in more modest homes like what they wanted and had money left over. He gave his house up here to one of his kids with the agreement he would come and visit for 4-6 weeks each summer.



It is hard to tell if he was smart or just lucky.

 

[bud16415]

I had the dream of building my own home from the age of 10. Maybe because I watched my dad build our family home in the late 50s and well into the 60s. We started living in the basement with a tar roof and he always said the only part he hired done was digging the basement and the septic. My mother carried the blocks down a plank and my dad mixed mortar and laid the foundation. He called my uncle Bill and a neighbor over to move the steel I-beam that ran down the middle. Having a steel beam was always a big deal back then. Banks wouldn’t lend you money back then unless you had so much done and they could look at it. He always prided himself for never paying a penny in interest, but that’s also why it took him 15-20 years to get it done. As a kid the upstairs was always a place to play but we didn’t really live there until I was about 12 and even then the upstairs had a new kitchen but mom cooked in the old kitchen in the basement and we ate down there.



Getting ready to retire I still had the idea of building a new house. The more I looked around and priced things and saw what rules and regs were and then what tax rates were on new homes. We kind of switched gears and thought what is the cheapest worst house we could find in the nicest location where we really wanted to live. My only rule was it had to be on a paved road and hers was it had to be in the country. We found a neglected short sale (dump) right in the perfect location on a paved road and not to far from everything we wanted, and with great neighbors that loved the idea we were cleaning up an eyesore. We bought the place for 24k and taxes are a whopping $300 a year because the house is from 1870s.



It took a year of every evening as I hadn’t retired yet and every weekend. We hit used and Craigslist up for things like used kitchens, etc. In the end I did 90% of the work and hired the Amish to put new roofs on the house and garage my guess is we spent another 25-30k and a lot of sweat equity I likely wouldn’t have been allowed to do if I were building a new house.



Retirement money and savings go so much further when you don’t have that drain a house provides on funding and every year when tax time rolls around and I see folks within a quarter mile paying 10X plus for no nicer homes it makes the year of work easier.



That said I would still like to build a new house even though I know its not happening and I’m getting too old.

 

[Flyover]

I think soon I'll try and get some of my architectural ideas into a coherent state and share them here. Then y'all can tell me things like "that could be simplified by doing X" or "that would be expensive to do" or "I have experience with those--they're great!" Or "don't worry about that, it's not as hard/expensive as you think".

How important is it to have a clear, well defined idea of what you want (even down to things like materials and methods) against the trade-off of flexibility? I can envision pros and cons on both sides.

 

[Sparky617]

It is hard to tell if he was smart or just lucky.

From what I can tell from others, especially with Florida land, lucky. It may not be as bad today as it was in the 70s, but a lot of people got suckered into buying lots in new developments in Florida with glossy brochures of great amenities, paved roads, utilities, etc. Only to find their lot was in the middle of a wetland and the promised amenities never happened. Your friend was fortunate to get out at a profit. And as I stated in my original response, buying for something 10+ years old is risky. What you think you'll want in 10+ years could be very different from what you actually want when you get there.

 

[ekrig]

If you want to go the route of renovating/rebuilding an old house and you plan to live in it while doing it, make sure that other folks that will be living there, especially your wife, are fully supportive of the idea. Even if you don't expect them to help you, they need to be ok with the noise, disruption, and inconveniences of the process. Otherwise, it will be a constant "point of friction" and it will take you much, much longer because you'll have to workaround their "sensitivities".

 

[bud16415]

If you want to go the route of renovating/rebuilding an old house and you plan to live in it while doing it, make sure that other folks that will be living there, especially your wife, are fully supportive of the idea. Even if you don't expect them to help you, they need to be ok with the noise, disruption, and inconveniences of the process. Otherwise, it will be a constant "point of friction" and it will take you much, much longer because you'll have to workaround their "sensitivities".

No truer words have ever been spoken.



If you want the perfect situation (walk in ready) and many do today it will then cost you. I see lots of brand new houses being sold with one or two unfinished areas. Sometimes it is the basement or a bonus room above an attached garage. It greatly reduces the price and the buyers at the time see it as something they can do down the road. When I was a kid my dad would have jumped on those projects as soon as he had money to do them. Today I see homes being sold 20 years later and the bonus areas are still left unfinished.



With a rehab project house or even new construction with bonus areas you really need to know what kind of a person you are before you sign the papers.



In my case she was extremely reluctant and told me if we are going to do this I need one room finished before we move in. The bedroom with a door and heat and at least a working bathroom. I went ahead and did that. We had two of those folding lounge chairs and a plastic tote that I had an old projector in and a couple old speakers and quite a few nights we would knock off about 9 and grab some sub sandwiches and watch a movie projected on a sheet of drywall in our bare studded living room. We made the worst aspect of living in a project actually a fun thing.



There are a lot of people that are not cut out for even a few months of doing that. I will say having done the total reno of a old home that was being 100% used at the time it takes at least 5 times to get something done. The longer you can live someplace else the quicker it will get done.



The totally great part of having any home is the day when you have it totally paid off. If that can be from day one then for me that is a good motivator to keep going. Most people kind of just assume they will never really own it and it is just easier to pay more and get the instant reward of having everything they want now.

 

[bud16415]

From what I can tell from others, especially with Florida land, lucky. It may not be as bad today as it was in the 70s, but a lot of people got suckered into buying lots in new developments in Florida with glossy brochures of great amenities, paved roads, utilities, etc. Only to find their lot was in the middle of a wetland and the promised amenities never happened. Your friend was fortunate to get out at a profit. And as I stated in my original response, buying for something 10+ years old is risky. What you think you'll want in 10+ years could be very different from what you actually want when you get there.

Around here NW PA I have been noticing over the last 10 years or so a lot a lot of rich people like manufacturing plant owners and doctors are just buying up land and properties as a place to park their money. One guy is buying old places with ether a good chunk of land or in a really great location. Then he hires a crew to go in fix things up. Sometime they sit and sometimes he rents them out for what I would call a break-even amount. He is really not a flipper, but will sell some from time to time and when he does he pumps the money into more land to hold on to.



I had the chance to ask the one guy what he was doing and he said where else can he put his money and do any better. He gave me the old line there is only so much land and they are not making any more.



I don’t really know but if I was planning on building way down the road and knew where I wanted to be I think I would start looking sooner than later.

 

[Flyover]

I probably won't buy land and sit on it for a long time. I get that land will likely not get cheaper but A) it will probably sting too much to be paying a mortgage and property taxes for years on what is essentially a faraway campsite and B) my wife would definitely not go for that.

That said, it's exactly what my brother and his wife have done, though they at least live close to their "campsite".

 

[Sparky617]

If you want to go the route of renovating/rebuilding an old house and you plan to live in it while doing it, make sure that other folks that will be living there, especially your wife, are fully supportive of the idea. Even if you don't expect them to help you, they need to be ok with the noise, disruption, and inconveniences of the process. Otherwise, it will be a constant "point of friction" and it will take you much, much longer because you'll have to workaround their "sensitivities".

I'm surprised my parent's marriage of 35 years survived the buying and renovation of their last home. Back story, our family has had for generations a grandfather clock built in Lancaster PA and handed down from son to son. The thing is 8' 4" tall, so it won't fit in your typical 1950s to 1980s suburban tract home. My dad built my childhood home in 1954 with 9' ceilings to accommodate the clock. I currently have it and when we moved to NC it was a criteria when looking for a house. That and a two car garage.

In 1978 they had to sell that home and move to NJ for my dad's job. When you're 55 you kind of want to stick with an employer to get a pension, so he moved from his "forever" home. Fast forward 5 years and he's retiring on with a disability. They go looking for homes back in PA and can't find anything in their price range with 9' ceilings or a cathedral ceiling that was built since 1950 or later. They buy a 1900 house in a small town with 9' ceilings and proceed to spend the next 5 or 6 years renovating it. Dad had always wanted to do something like this, and This Old House had been on the air a few years by then saving old homes and bringing them into the modern era. They added a detached garage, closed in a second floor balcony to make a "Florida room", completely gut the kitchen a dining room, flipping them in the process. The small dining room became the kitchen and the large eat in kitchen became a formal dining room. Living through that constant mess was a challenge for both my parents. It also occupied a lot of my time, and my brother's, and my BILs time doing a lot of the work ourselves. They certainly hired a lot out as well.

I've loved This Old House and renovation shows in general since TOH came on the air 40+ years ago. But helping my parent's through that process has cooled me to ever doing it myself.

 

[Flyover]

I'm surprised my parent's marriage of 35 years survived the buying and renovation of their last home. Back story, our family has had for generations a grandfather clock built in Lancaster PA and handed down from son to son. The thing is 8' 4" tall, so it won't fit in your typical 1950s to 1980s suburban tract home. My dad built my childhood home in 1954 with 9' ceilings to accommodate the clock. I currently have it and when we moved to NC it was a criteria when looking for a house. That and a two car garage.

In 1978 they had to sell that home and move to NJ for my dad's job. When you're 55 you kind of want to stick with an employer to get a pension, so he moved from his "forever" home. Fast forward 5 years and he's retiring on with a disability. They go looking for homes back in PA and can't find anything in their price range with 9' ceilings or a cathedral ceiling that was built since 1950 or later. They buy a 1900 house in a small town with 9' ceilings and proceed to spend the next 5 or 6 years renovating it. Dad had always wanted to do something like this, and This Old House had been on the air a few years by then saving old homes and bringing them into the modern era. They added a detached garage, closed in a second floor balcony to make a "Florida room", completely gut the kitchen a dining room, flipping them in the process. The small dining room became the kitchen and the large eat in kitchen became a formal dining room. Living through that constant mess was a challenge for both my parents. It also occupied a lot of my time, and my brother's, and my BILs time doing a lot of the work ourselves. They certainly hired a lot out as well.

I've loved This Old House and renovation shows in general since TOH came on the air 40+ years ago. But helping my parent's through that process has cooled me to ever doing it myself.

All this for a clock??

Man, if I was in that situation the clock would be gone so fast. Preferably to another family member who had the ceiling height for it, maybe in storage if someone already had a safe/climate-controlled unit with space in it, but if neither of those then liquidated. Material objects should not be a chain around your neck, especially ones imposed on you. If you can help it.

 

[Sparky617]

All this for a clock??

Man, if I was in that situation the clock would be gone so fast. Preferably to another family member who had the ceiling height for it, maybe in storage if someone already had a safe/climate-controlled unit with space in it, but if neither of those then liquidated. Material objects should not be a chain around your neck, especially ones imposed on you. If you can help it.

A family heirloom for over 200 years. Not in my family. Last I had the clock appraised it was worth over $25K, and that was a while ago. Especially now when homes with 9 and 10 foot ceilings are common. I certainly hope my own son won't look at it as a burden. It is number 210 of the guy who built it, number 227 was in Arlington House (Lee's home that is now Arlington National Cemetery).

 

[billshack]

i would suggest working as a labourer helper on some new homes. to see how house are now built . Big changes in the last 20 years.

 

[Flyover]

i would suggest working as a labourer helper on some new homes. to see how house are now built . Big changes in the last 20 years.

I think I mentioned an idea like this. I'll be in my 50s. That'll be an interesting conversation when it happens.

 

[Sparky617]

Volunteer with HFH to get a feel for building a house from the ground up.

 

[user 4883]

100sqft/year have it 3D printed

 

[Jefferson Tigoy]

It's challenging! Let's comeback to this conversation in 20 years lol,

 

[billshack]

Also do not design the house your self . I have friend that is a architect and he came to my cottage that I built and designed. I wanted to add to it but could do see it. He came up with four designs that did not occur to me. All perfect. Some times you just can not see it until someone points it out.