Knocking down older home for new build VS. purchasing

New construction and selling old home. We want a new construction and would need to sell our home. These new colonials are going up everywhere and asking over 900k. Has anyone had their own home razed and hired a builder for new construction? We already have a great property in the same town we would purchase. We also have a lot of equity in the home and wonder what the building costs would actually be. Thanks for any input!

Knocking down older home for new build VS. purchasing

I had a coworker that did it in NJ. They ended up spending just as much as if they would have bought new or next to new. Plus they had to go through a ton of zoning/permit issues because the house was so much bigger than everything around it.

Knocking down older home for new build VS. purchasing

I would raise the current house. This way you pick everything to your liking. I plan to do this one day too.

Re: Knocking down older home for new build VS. purchasing

This is what we are dealing with now. We have been aggressively house hunting for over a year. I'm talking 6 homes minimum on the weekend, 1-2 during the week. There has been only one home that we put an offer on and backed out because of taxes (25k and ****** schools)

We want to find a house with the bones and just gut Reno the entire thing. We have seen new construction. Some better than others... But because they are new construction, nobody knows what the taxes will be. I personally don't feel comfortable purchasing a home and being surprised about something like that.

If we knock down a house, we will need permits and taxes will go up. We also don't know any contractors.

Youre taking on risk and stress with knocking something down. New construction everything is done, but you're paying top dollar and you won't know your monthly cost.

Message edited 10/31/2016 9:56:34 AM.

Re: Knocking down older home for new build VS. purchasing

My sister and BIL did this. Knocked down a cape and built the entire thing new. Now it is a 5 br colonial. They said it was cheaper for them this way then to search for a house that had everything they wanted.

Re: Knocking down older home for new build VS. purchasing

Re: Knocking down older home for new build VS. purchasing

I would definitely look into it.

It usually costs at least $25,000 just do demo the house and dispose of the materials/clear the lot.

If you knock it down completely, and built from nothing, you will still be paying new construction taxes, which are very high (and not known at the outset).

If you leave the foundation and/or some part of the house and build on it, your taxes will still go up (because you are increasing square footage) but not as much as brand new construction.

The cost of new construction varies (depending on size, materials, location) but I think you would be looking at $350,000 to $400,000 at least (based on estimates some of my clients have obtained to look into it) if you knock down your house and rebuilt on your lot.

You also would have to consider if your property size is large enough to accommodate the size of home you want.

But again, this is all generalities so you would probably need to consult with a builder/architect to find out if what you want to do is feasible and get a ballpark cost estimate.