Do they also make overpriced poor quality Burgers?

No, and that is all the help I can give. I assume you don't like overpriced burgers then.

Pity. I should shortly be commiting to a builder and don't want to make an expensive mistake.

Every builder has good and bad quality workmanship which often is nothing to do with the Owners/directors. In my experience it is the site supervisor and then down the line to the crew who is critical to the finish. Get to know them and you might get a better quality job.

Just curious why are you posting in Canada section. Canadian builder?

Good luck

Lol! only if the quality is poor. Used to go to this restaurant where they made the real stuff good organic beef, big beef tomatoes, crisp lettuce, mild onions, and thats it! burger heaven.!

From what I can gather from relatives they are not expected to exceed 75 years.
So don't expect to pass it on to your children except as a "money pit"

How long is a piece of string??? What construction method are you using, how much are you going to spend on materials. What constitutes the end of its life, a new roof, new siding, or falling to the ground? How well are you going to maintain it? It just cant be answered easily. There are plenty of "century homes" still going strong. Maintainence is the key to longevity. Homes here tend to get remodled long before they fall down.

Acording the the illustrated canadian history I'm reading, the first european style house built in N America by the French in Tadoussac, back in 1600, is still standing and in daily use as a museum!

Or as my wife’s uncle does it; pull down virtually every thing bar a few good outside walls and rebuild on the original foundations (if they’re still good)

I'm about to be permanently transfered to Calagry with my current employer. I can't wait until I arrive before getting the building going because of rental problems finding accomodation that will accept our 3 dogs.

The builder is Talisman Homes, so they are Canadian

This is how thay are building all the new houses in Bucks where I'm stuck for the next few months until I arrive in Calgary. It's certainly not dry here

Sorry to have been evasive. I think you may have missed the fact that the builder was/is UK based who created the problems. I have not clue as yet about Canada builders.

Good luck

(I did not want anyone on my back as we are getting closer to Meds)

Silly me. Must be panic setting it as we get closer to commitment.

Hi Gooding,

I was just having a look for any information/advice on building your own house, as I feel that it's money well spent when compared to buying a new-build from one of these huge building companies that really know how to tempt you into buying one of their homes. Your post is extremely useful. I confess I haven't looked at the link you attached at the end - but I will.

I have just one question, I hope you, (or anyone else reading), can help with.

If you intend to build your own home, how do you decide where to build it? What options do you have? And for those that are now rolling their eyes, thinking, " Blimey! Another one of those impossible to answer, subjective questions!", I don't mean which area or community. I just don't know how else to word the question. Let me try re-phrasing. Houses are always advertised for sale, but land, especially land surrounded by other houses, on which you can build your own, is not. So where do you find the land?

I know land is for sale, but I don't want a huge plot of land with no neighbours, not just yet anyway. One step at a time, eh?!

Can you have a house built in a new community and choose your own builder for example or is there reserved land where people who wish to build their own can do so? Or do you buy delapitated cheap house, knock it down and start again?

Any comments, past experiences or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[QUOTE=gooding]We have house built in BC.

There are several options that you can take.
Depending on where you want to live land varies in price. If you are sourcing from UK then you only have internet to look at. Many realtors sell land as well and if you look on their websites they will have them available to buy.
A lot of good land is being snapped up by builders themselves, then they are holding on for resale or building a house on and selling the both
In our case the street where we bought stared off as 1 or two acre plots. Then some people subdivided land and sold bits off. We bought an acre between two other acre plots. So we knew we could easily get services to the lot.
We went over to where we wanted to live to have a look around. Then we found a realtor who was actually trying to find us a house. We almost bought one but by the time we had flown over it was sold. The self build idea was never an option for us at first,as we were only ther for a week, and could not see how we could oversea it. It was only when the realtor said things were selling faster than we could view and we could not find what we wanted that he took us to the land. It had not gone onto any listing service for sale.
The agent knew the builder who owned the land, and they already had plans for a house. The rest well is history!
You need a good network of people within Canada, and more specifically the area in which you want to live. In BC realtors are licenced and bonded, as was our builder. All contracts were dealt with through a solicitor and were water tight.

There are many private people that sell pieces of their land too, but you won't find this on the internet much.

Finally it is also possible to move a house! Oh yes they slice them off at the base and ship them on barges low loaders etc to wherever you want within reason. It is amazing seeing it done and how they actually transform some shack into a very nice house.

Ans yes you can find an old house and knock it down with permission. Houses are not designed to be built to last and some older ones are only fit for demoilition. If yo are going to knock some eyesore down and replace it with a new, up to regulation house they will not say no. This may be your best option,as you will know exactly what services you have on the lot. gas electric internet etc. If lines are already there it will save you money.
Depending in where you want to live again there are many new subdivisions being built and you can often by lots off plan, then you can use one of the builders recommend by them or chose your own. Make sure the are bonded and have a good reputation, are registered and will give a warranty.
Check them out first.



[QUOTE=Lyles]Hi Gooding,

I was just having a look for any information/advice on building your own house, as I feel that it's money well spent when compared to buying a new-build from one of these huge building companies that really know how to tempt you into buying one of their homes. Your post is extremely useful. I confess I haven't looked at the link you attached at the end - but I will.

I have just one question, I hope you, (or anyone else reading), can help with.

If you intend to build your own home, how do you decide where to build it? What options do you have? And for those that are now rolling their eyes, thinking, " Blimey! Another one of those impossible to answer, subjective questions!", I don't mean which area or community. I just don't know how else to word the question. Let me try re-phrasing. Houses are always advertised for sale, but land, especially land surrounded by other houses, on which you can build your own, is not. So where do you find the land?

I know land is for sale, but I don't want a huge plot of land with no neighbours, not just yet anyway. One step at a time, eh?!

Can you have a house built in a new community and choose your own builder for example or is there reserved land where people who wish to build their own can do so? Or do you buy delapitated cheap house, knock it down and start again?

Any comments, past experiences or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Gooding,

Thank you so much!!! I've looked at the link and will save it for future reference. Looks like there are some good tips on there. I've just taken a chance and looked at the MLS site too. Lo and behold, land for sale in residential areas, galore!

I will seriously consider building our own.

Thanks again.