Re: Housing Build Problems - Justified or not?
 

We have half the population of the UK occupying more surface area than the US ... admittedly, most people live within a few hours drive of the border ... but there's still a fair amount of space left :)

Depends where you're looking ... you can't get land in Calgary and I assume its the same in other major urban areas? ... the best bet to get your dream home in a major city, is to buy something on the verge of collapse, raise it to the ground and rebuild on the foundations if they're viable. The downside of buying a new house on a new plot in Calgary is that the lots have been steadilly shrinking for the last 20 years.

Go further out in Alberta and there's loads of serviced building lots for sale ... you can almost buy land for pocket change :p

Re: Housing Build Problems - Justified or not?
 

When building a home...there are a few other options to consider besides building the whole home from scratch...if you google search for 'home building packages' you can sometimes save a fair amount of money by having the exterior and interior walls built off site then shipped for installation...

This is only one site of many...but take a look at what I mean... www.abshomes.com Very nice especially if planning to be your own project manager.

Re: Housing Build Problems - Justified or not?
 

Gooding,

You have got me all re-interested in having a house built.....have never progressed this too far, as plans are not solid enough yet to justify time and hassles involved.

Is there a golden rule for comparing built price to similar local real estate price ? e.g. if you could buy lot for $80k and build house for $120k ($200k spend) might this equate to say similar real estate at $300k ? Is there a % type of comparison ?

Just wondering how/why you decided to self build ? Was it that you wanted a particular type of home ? Or did you look at the financial aspects of the deal ?

This is actually something of real interest to us, it's just that we have let it sit on the back burner for a while and never progressed the idea any futher BUT it really helps if we speak to someone who went through the process themselves.

Your previous posts above were very very helpful, many thanks.

Rich.

Re: Housing Build Problems - Justified or not?
 

Rich....I'm not gooding...but here's my 2 cents worth. As far as a percentage increase in value of your property...I don't think there is one as this is not an exact science. Doing something like this in say Toronto could reap you greater returns than doing the same in Athabasca for example. Also a lot depends on whether you project manage and do some of the work yourself or hand over the entire build to a contractor.

Here's an example...the house here.. http://jsvt.justsnooping.com/opentou...TourID=1023833 is being sold for $198,000 pounds. Now I did some research and am considering building a home very similar to this in the same area...with land and build the estimated costs to us are $185,000. However I feel that by doing a lot of the work ourselves we could save almost $20,000. Therefore bringing our costs down to $165,000. This does not include costs of landscaping and it will take a lot of blood sweat and tears...but well worth it I think.

The average cost to build a house in canada is between $110-150 per square foot depending on how extravagant you go on finishing touches etc.

I believe you generally get a good return on your investment but the best way to see if you will get a good return on your investment is to look at similar type properties in your area on MLS.ca and speak with local realtors.

Don't think this helped you at all...but I tried :)

Re: Housing Build Problems - Justified or not?
 

Ooooh! Someone please help! What is it then that I'm looking at in the MLS.CA website. There were at least a few portions of land for sale from between $75,000 - $175,000. These were residential lots within the Calgary area. I'm not familiar with lot sizes yet, so perhaps they're extremely small or something?

One in Mountview was going for $165,000 stated as "Vacant lot, 30 ft by 142 ft surrounded by high end homes. Backs a community park. Very close to Elks Golf Course. Easy and quick access to downtown via Edmonton Trail."

Another in Bowness going for $129,000 was "50 x 120 Foot, R-1 Lot with Plans & Development Permit for 1860+/- Square Foot".

:confused:

Re: Housing Build Problems - Justified or not?
 

Ouch...it sure is pricey to buy lots in Calgary....I found lots this size in the Kootenays for less than $10,000!

A 30X142 is a very narrow long lot....wouldn't want that myself...the 50X120 sounds a bit more realistic...but still small for my books.

Re: Housing Build Problems - Justified or not?
 

When we were taken to the piece of land we had already looked at numerous houses on subdivisions. This was not what i wanted. Some of the houses looked quite grand but when you got in side they were awful. Looked either dated or like " changing rooms" had been at them. From photos some looked great but many were overlooked by houses behind etc.

I knew what i wanted and when I drove along the road where the land was all the other houses were lovely. It was a beautiful sunny day and we could see the mountains, the realtor drove us right up to the waters edge from the little slipway across the road. Then to the land. As i stood in the middle and looked alround I was hooked. It was against all my plans.

To be honest it may be best to buy a house ready built with all landscaping done. and again as said previously, i do not think you will be looking at making a killing from building your own against buying a ready made one.

In that I mean I spent $110K on land and $170K on the house. I could have spent the same on a house already built, BUT and it is a big but to us. It would not have been in a perfect location, sea across the road and National Park behind. It probably would have had to be totally redecorated to our tastes. Or as with many I had seen, totally renovated at further costs.

Also i never thought i would have ever owned a new house on an acre of land for what I paid. Certainly not in the Uk. The house was not our choice, in the plans where already approved when we bought the house, and we were given the choice to buy land and get approval for another house. As the builder was ready and willing, and we were leaving in a few days, we just decided to go with it. It is fantastic to walk into a brand new house, you know has everything in tha you chose.

The main eason thought was we know we were going to get a new house, built to upto date building regulations with a 10 year warranty. many of the other houses looked old tired, and many need new roofs, sidings etc.

If you are buying a new build house then make sure you get a warranty too.

Land prices do vary, but remember,
Location- make sure you have services to the lot. make sure you are on a bus route if you need to be, if you have kids, that you are within the catchment area for the school you want, and the school bus route.
make sure you can get cable or internet access. Which way does the sun rise and set on the garden? There are many things that you may not think about, but if you are having a house built it is important.

Also some land has been cleared of trees etc, and maybe had the septic done too or prepared ( if rural or semi rural) So you would not have to clear the land. This has to be taken into account to as to the price you pay.

You can find out what house prices sell for in the area, there are lists done for the property tax. I had my assessment sent through recently and i went on line and checked all the prices of houses in our street, and they vary hugely. Sometimes a house is worth more because it is small and new, rather than large and old. Semi rural properties pay less tax than those in a town , and they value house and land seperately to work tax out.
Find out from local council about taxes etc, if self building.

Just do plenty of research first and if it feels right do it. if the thought scares you. Buy a ready built one first, then once you are settled and feel like doing it you can do it later, But beware builders are getting rare! A friend of ours is going over to help with the garden, as that is this springs task!


QUOTE=Rich_007]Gooding,

You have got me all re-interested in having a house built.....have never progressed this too far, as plans are not solid enough yet to justify time and hassles involved.

Is there a golden rule for comparing built price to similar local real estate price ? e.g. if you could buy lot for $80k and build house for $120k ($200k spend) might this equate to say similar real estate at $300k ? Is there a % type of comparison ?

Just wondering how/why you decided to self build ? Was it that you wanted a particular type of home ? Or did you look at the financial aspects of the deal ?

This is actually something of real interest to us, it's just that we have let it sit on the back burner for a while and never progressed the idea any futher BUT it really helps if we speak to someone who went through the process themselves.

Your previous posts above were very very helpful, many thanks.

Rich.[/QUOTE]