Buying / Building a home......help please!

The boss wants to move to another home within a mile or so of our home. The house she wanted was $170K , 1600+ sq ft,

1.7 acers land. The tax value is $105K. I will say the county I live in in GA is one of the fastest grown counties. But I still thought the house was over priced. ( The siding was louiasianna pacific, the roof was 18 + years old, most of the windows were fogged.) The wife says she wants a bigger house but we would have lost space to move in the first house she picked out. Our home is 2000 sq ft. Tax value $105k I feel we could get $125K in a sale.

The home we are looking at are $250K, and seem to be built ass hole to elbow. Not just one neighbor hood but most all the new neighborhoods are hi density residentual.

How does one find out the cost of a house he wants built? Is it usually cheaper to have the land and then to have a house build for you?

I fell pretty sure I could have a better house then the $170K house we looked at built for us. I'd like a house with between

2400 and 2800 sq ft. Basement if possible. Brick. Brick. Brick. Did I mention is must be Brick? Now, a Concrete built house would really make me happy, but I don't know much about that. I'd like extra wide hallways and doors to acomadate a wheel chair.

State of Georgia. Any suggestions on how one gets a price, or even what the price might be ball park as in $per sq ft.

Thanks REH

Also, any info on concrete houses would be appreciated. Especially first hand knowledge

Reply to
Reh
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Price, in my experience, for a new house is going to vary based on a number of factors.

In the Charleston SC area, $150 to $100 per square foot is usual. This depends on location for the same house. I'm not including some of the super upscale gated communities.

One story houses are a bit cheaper than two story houses

Slab on grade is a bit cheaper than crawl space and a lot cheaper than basement. Basements are rare because of drainage, and water table height.

It strikes me as important that your wife chose a 1600 square foot house as larger than your 2000 square foot house. My first assumption is that there is a need / want to use space differently than your present layout. What does your wife want the extra space for?

I suggest, as I do to all my clients, that you reach a consensus on the way you want a house arranged. Walk through your house and talk about what you each like and don't like as a start. You don't want to draw anything until you have an agreed upon overall idea of what you want.

Tom Baker

Reply to
tbasc

Before I bought my house, I talked to a builder who uses computer-aided design. He could give very accurate bids, including the effect of custom variations on his standard designs. I'm sure someone in your area must offer this service.

BTW, I wound up buying an existing house at an estate sale. Now I wish I hadn't. Aluminum wiring. UGH!

Reply to
Steve Rush

We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be about $53.00.

Reply to
HeatMan

Sounds like a good bargain. I just had my house appraised for a re-fi and it comes out to $176. per square foot of livable space. Does not include garage. My home would actually sell for probably 30% more than the appraisal.

Reply to
Kathy

It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in many areas of the country.

Reply to
Dick

BUT ypu have to careful to separate the actual value of the house from the house plus property.

LB

Reply to
LB

True, but on a typical 1/3 or 1/4 acre residential lot around here, you can count on $100 to $120/sq ft of living space, including the lot, garage, etc. North Central Arizona. Unless you want to get fancy.

Reply to
Dick

Sedona?

LB

Reply to
LB

Near Prescott

Reply to
Dick

snipped-for-privacy@bellsouth.net wrote on 21 Feb 2005:

Hmmmmm, not sure what you're saying here. For the same amount of space, a two story will be cheaper. Less foundation, less roof. Possibly easier and shorter plumbing, heating, and electrical runs.

Unless of course you're installing a VERY expensive staircase.

Reply to
Doug Boulter

I would tend to agree with the averages expressed by others. All except Kathy. Hers is worthless because of an unwanted tenant. (BG).

The only real way you are going to get a handle on costs in your area is to spend a lot of time going to open houses. Or once an area is selected you might get a Realtor to pull some neighborhood comp sales for you from the MLS.

You can't compare existing construction with new construction and have it make any sense. Your cost per square foot will be more in new construction. Decide whether you want new or existing and then spend your time shopping only for what you chose. If you choose existing construction then you must select one or two areas that you would like to consider. The same house can vary widely depending on location.

If you approach the entire project is a systematic manner of deciding why you want to move, what you want, where you want it and what you are willing to spend, you can enter the process of serious shopping without doing any thing counter-productive to your objectives.

Colbyt

Reply to
Colbyt

I figure he'll move when they start tearing the roof off.

Reply to
Kathy

Hmm. I'm in Houston. 3000 sq ft, 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, brick, new roof, 4-car detached garage. $120,000. 'Course the building WAS a duplex which was upgraded via an internal door....

Reply to
JerryMouse

Well of course. Everything's different in Texas. :-) My daughter just bought a beautiful 2,900 sq.ft. house in Fort Worth on a golf course for $270K. Ten years old. All brick. Media room with 10-ft. screen, etc. Here in Arizona that house would be $350K to $400K

Reply to
Dick

"Decent" is a moving target, generally meaning something like: "just better than I can comfortably afford". I got a 5000 sqft ex-masonic temple for $125k. Of course, there was heat only on one floor, asbestos everything, one toilet, and no stove, but for me "decent" meant "not likely to fall down, habitable, in a place where the building inspector isn't a nutcase."

Other people have different standards.

Reply to
Goedjn

My definition of decent includes 10 years old or newer, good neighborhood, 6" walls, double-pane windows, minimum 2-car attached garage, better quality countertops and appliances, tile or 40-year asphalt roof, central air and heat. and in like-new condition.

Reply to
Dick

And maids quarters.

Reply to
Matt

Move, in some parts of the country it is easy to find a decent house for less than $100/sq ft.

Reply to
MikeP

Why? I already have a house. There is a reason why houses in some parts of the country cost less than $100/sq ft.

Reply to
Dick

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