This is the question that’s been perplexing me lately. As much as I love the idea of picking out my very own little house plan, I’m beginning to realize that living in a land-locked area makes this a challenging prospect. Take for instance the cost of land. There’s this nice sized lot (by this I mean it’s a little larger than a postage stamp) down the street from me. Guess how much? For only $299,000 it could be all mine. Apparently the person selling this lot thinks he/she can sell it to a developer and build 3 side-by-side homes on .28 acres. I think not.
Obviously, purchasing land any where in my zip code is not going to happen. So I look a little father west and for $150,000 I can score an 8,000 sq. ft. lot in a residential section of a neighboring valley.
Not too shabby
But land is just the beginning. Thankfully this lot has a current geologic survey, but I think I once read that a new owner must confirm and pay for their own test. I’m guessing this might be a few thousand dollars. This particular lot is flat and has electric, water, and sidewalk access, so I’d estimate land preparation would be somewhere in the $7,000-$12,000 ball park. Now I’m up to about $163,000 and that’s just for a hunk of dirt. If I was searching for land that is located in a more Eastern region, I will be definitely willing to find land for a cheaper price. For example, Arizona and New Mexico have their own amount of diverse wonderful lots. Searching for land in those states would result in the perfect combination of price and quality.
I’ve found this great new house plan site called the Perfect Little House (I love that title 😉 ). Their plans are refreshing and different. I love the Kingfisher and Beachcomber house plans. Their site doesn’t estimate building costs, but from my research it varies between $100 to $250 per sq. foot. I’m going to estimate building in my current city would be on the higher end, maybe around $195 per sq. foot. If I opted for the slightly smaller Beachcomber plan, the cost to build would be about $320,000. Now let’s add up those figures, shall we?
- Land and prep: $163,000
- House: $320,000
- Delays (there’s always delays and more costs, right?): $25,000
- Grand total: $508,000
I think I’m going back to my Tuff Shed plan.
Now on to some link love and thanks. This week I guest posted and blog swapped on the following sites:
- On the Yakezie – Finding Free Money for College
- Blog swap with Financial Success for Young Adults –Â Do-Over, Do-Over, Can I ask for that?
I was also part of a couple of carnivals including:
- Featured link in Blog Mango, To Rent of To Buy?
- FSYA Blog Swap Round-up
3 Comments
With an oversupply of existing homes, it is cheaper to buy an existing home. I have often thought of building a home, but cost is one of the factors that stops me.
@Krantcents – I’d have to agree. I think it would be much cheaper to buy a fixer upper and fix it up rather than starting from scratch. And the fact that there’s very little land available is another deterrent.
The Perfect Little House is such a cute name. The cost of land is crazy these days. I wonder if the numbers would work out to buy a junker and raze it?