Building a House

DH and I are very casually throwing around the idea of building a house. His parents own a full lot of land next door to their current house - which is used as an extension of the backyard currently. Hopefully, DH would work out something with his parents regarding payment of the land and us making payments, etc.

I'm trying to get some rough ideas/estimates on how much it would cost to build the actual house - labor, supplies, everything - soup to nuts!! We know some contractors, plumbers, etc - so hopefully we can save a little and get better deals with them...but again, just trying to get a rough idea.

Has anyone built or is anyone a contractor, builder, etc that can give me some info on this?

Much thanks!!

Re: Building a House

Many contractors have told me that new construction costs (labor) are more than remodeling an older house.

Keep in mind that your taxes for new construction will be VERY high compared to your in-laws... even if you were to build the same house. I was looking at new construction in my town and the taxes started at $14K.

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I think the average cost to build is between $100 - $125 per square foot. So if you want to build a 2000sqft house figure between $200,000 and $250,000

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So many things go into the cost to build a house. First is will you take a mortgage or construction loan? Will the builder be responsible for clearing the lot or will you have to be responsible for having the lot cleared. Most builders will have the lots cleared and include the clearing fee into their price of the house. Finding a builder. Then the cost of permits. After all of that gets in place and construction begins, every person has a sequence they need to follow. The people who pour the foundation can not pour the foundation until the plumbers lay some pipes. Well the plumbers cant lay the pipes until the ground is treated. And so on and so on. So it's important to know who your builders are and get an estimated time frame. One person can not get to his job until the person before him does their job.

The most important things are getting all the permits pulled.

Average cost is about $125 per square footage. That can increase or decrease depending on the builder. Permits range in price so you would also need to include that and clearing fee. To clear our lot was about $8,000. Some lots are more some are less depending on what you have on the lot and if more dirt will be needed to be brought in. We were lucky where we did not have a lot of trees so no big machines were really required. We did have a few trees but nothing too crazy. We also were so lucky that we did not have Palmeto trees. Those trees take a lot of the minerals out of the soil and we would need more dirt if that was the case. We did need some dirt but that was to bring the elevation up. So we were really lucky in the cost to clear. I have heard of some lots that costed over 12,000 dollars to clear because it was all trees and needed more dirt.

These are things you will need to discuss with the builder

Also if a builder will have people who will do the plumbing, electric, installation, etc.... It has to do with insurance and that is why on construction sites it is all their people who they have signed contracts with to do the building.

Message edited 3/8/2006 8:57:19 PM.

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Thanks for your input, ladies. I feel very overwhelmed

Re: Building a House

We just built a house and I echo everythying that Harley said. It is a HUGE undertaking and definitely not an easy task. My BIL is a builder but DH wound up taking on most of the responsibility himself. You need to find a reliable builder who can first walk you through the process. I think $125 per foot is a good number. But then you have to take into consideration little things too - does your builder buy dimmer switches for the lights (if yo uwant those), are a few paint colors included, what kind of faucets do they provide or will you have to upgrade to the ones you like?

It's a LONG and hard process- worth it, but alot of work. Feel free to ask any questions - we just moved in in December.

Re: Building a House

It is very overwhelming at first, but it's really a smooth dealing.

Once we signed our papers for the house construction would begin. The longest was waiting for the permits. Before the permits could even be pulled the county had to send an inspector to the lot to make sure it did not have any scrub jays on it (which are an endangered bird) and also ensure their are power lines. Once the inspector went to the lot and approved everything, he would sign off on all the permits. EVERYTHING needs a permit. Electric, plumbing, air conditioning, installation, foundation, rebar, etc....We must of had about 100 permits in our permit board.
Once the permits are pulled it's time for the building to begin.

And everything has to be inspected before the next job can begin. If something fails inspection it has to be redone so it can pass.

When things are said and done it took about 6 - 7 months from the time the foundation was poured to the time we turned the key in the door.

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My bf knocked down her house that she bought in South Massapequa (south of Merrick Road in the Nassau Shores area) and rebuilt her entire house, which is GORGEOUS btw, for about $150,000. It's def doable. You just have to do your research and find the right people to do it.

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Taxes will be insanely expensive for a new house. Keep that in mind.

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We built a new house, but went through a builder. Putting aside the value of the land, we paid about $125/sq foot.

Re: Building a House

we had ideas of wanting to build a house...
lumber is NY is a joke but you can still get a good deal. Labor is where you get killed.

here is a link to 84lumber of a basic house... with about 2000 sq ft of space. supplies are 60k

not sure how much lumber is but you can find compaines that supply the supplies..

good luck