| stealth |
OK, just a question here.
With the booming housing prices, is it cheaper to build your own house, as in get a developer to build it to your likings, or cheaper to buy a prebuilt/used house? |
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| STiPWR |
| It would depend on location. |
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| bluSRT |
And you will be waiting a year plus to have one built and they can raise the price before your house is finished.
Some food for thought. |
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| stealth |
quote:
Originally posted by bluSRT
And you will be waiting a year plus to have one built and they can raise the price before your house is finished.
Some food for thought.
Wouldn't you be able to get a final price in a written contract, or have a lawyer produce legal documents stating it cannot increase, and that it is a legal contract? |
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| SilverNeonRacer |
quote:
Originally posted by stealth
Wouldn't you be able to get a final price in a written contract, or have a lawyer produce legal documents stating it cannot increase, and that it is a legal contract?
If material costs go up, nothing the builder can do about it, same thing if wages go up, and they have to raise theirs to match to keep their employees, no choice.
If you build yourself, and I mean do as much of the work you can yourself, then you can save alot of money, if you have the time. |
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| ehos |
Houses are cheap! The lot is the killer. I have family builders that can do it for $80/sq ft. with their profit built in. Most commercial builders are probably in the $150/sq ft. range (and up).
Compare that with 'pre built' houses and they're selling for $300/sq ft.
Double the savings! The best way to take advantage of this 'boom' is to build your own house, but then again, every TDL knows that already.
And don't believe the hype. There's no way that wages, material etc etc has gone up 52%. There's the metric right there. |
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| Britain |
quote:
Originally posted by stealth
Wouldn't you be able to get a final price in a written contract, or have a lawyer produce legal documents stating it cannot increase, and that it is a legal contract?
Most builders allow for a ten percent fluctuation in the price.
Also, depending on where you buy, you can build for cheaper. My dad is a real estate lawyer and says the market is slowing down slowly. Not to say we still arnt booming! I know in the north west alot of nicer houses are going up. Also, terwillegar is booming too! Both great places. Depends on whats best for you! |
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| stealth |
Yea I was looking at building in the NorthWest end of Edmonton.
I wouldn't mind the price fluctuations in materials, if it is not outrageous. But like Ehos stated it's hard to believe the doubling of peoples wages due to the boom.
I hear lots are getting pretty extreme in pricing, and hard to find. |
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| ehos |
It's pretty bad when you have to pay a 0 day framer $20/hr.
(And these are the kids building your houses that are supposed to last the next half century?). PLUS, you get the bonus of paying almost 4 times the price, wow, what a deal!
An apprentice plumber/electrician (if you're lucky) will do all the work. The concrete truck driver will determine the slump/quality of your concrete pour. :rolleyes: |
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| SilverNeonRacer |
| Thats why if I get a house built, or am gonna build one, my dad is gonna be the general on it.. 35yr+ journy man carpenter, he specializes in finishing, but does it all, I've helped him do it all, cept I do gas work(not ticketed) and he doesn't. I like electrical the most. |
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| ae1969 |
Look at ~100 bucks a foot.
The dilemma is ensuring you have a good network of trades.
Otherwise they can pack up and move to another job. The hard part about being a single house builder is that you get the lowest priority.
If this is the first house you are building you have many things to coordinate.........and thats where the cost of building rises for you. Every mistake is time and $. |
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| RS13.2 |
Yea building you own is cheaper, but have fun waiting fro concrete. It is next to impossible to get at the moment as Anthony Heanday is being built etc unless you have past history with them. My neighbour wanted a basketball pad poured in his back yead and he couldn't get concrete untill about next october (this was in December).
SO it might be cheaper but have fun trying to get materials out as that is where the REAL shortage is |
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| stealth |
| Ahh, so basically all signs are pointing to just buying a built house. |
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| dtjohnst |
While the actual building is cheaper, my ATC pals who've built their "dream homes" in the country on huge plots with no one around cost a ton in architectural work. A design rarely works as planned. Some aspect will be missed or won't be able to be done as designed, and more often then not that results in entire sections needing to be redone, not to mention the delays the trades now endure while you and the architect try and decide how to best fix it without eating up too much of the space you wanted.
A pre-fab house has a lot of advantages. It's probably not the first on that design, so the kinks have all been worked out, plus you get protection from the law for 1 year (I believe the law is the same here for that). If you build it yourself you don't get any of that. You can still go after the individual contractor who's job it was, but it's a lot harder than just going for the developer/previous owner. |
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| crazyrx7 |
On top of what everyone said the developer will not sell or rarely sell to the general public. Most lots are for the major home builders. Trust I looked last year for a lot and the cheapest one I found that I liked was $459000. And thats before putting a house on it.
R.K. |
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| Inzane |
quote:
Originally posted by crazyrx7
Trust I looked last year for a lot and the cheapest one I found that I liked was $459000. And thats before putting a house on it.
R.K.
WTH?? How big a lot were you looking at and where was that located? |
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| jberger |
| wood is cheap right now , on the other hand my framer is charging me 23g for 3 weeks work to fram my house<<< thats just labour, |
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| crazyrx7 |
quote:
Originally posted by Inzane
WTH?? How big a lot were you looking at and where was that located?
It was in the southwest area. It was a 34' pocket.
R.K. |
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| ChromeDragon |
quote:
Originally posted by jberger
wood is cheap right now , on the other hand my framer is charging me 23g for 3 weeks work to fram my house<<< thats just labour,
Jesus. I'd take a month off and frame my own house for that shit.
Only reason they are charging so much though is because people will pay it. If you say you won't pay that much, they go do someone else's house. |
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| stealth |
quote:
Originally posted by crazyrx7
On top of what everyone said the developer will not sell or rarely sell to the general public. Most lots are for the major home builders. Trust I looked last year for a lot and the cheapest one I found that I liked was $459000. And thats before putting a house on it.
R.K.
So I take it most lots are spoken for by the big developers, and the ones available are outrageously priced? |
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| jberger |
quote:
Originally posted by ChromeDragon
Jesus. I'd take a month off and frame my own house for that shit.
Only reason they are charging so much though is because people will pay it. If you say you won't pay that much, they go do someone else's house.
its not worth taking time off of work to frame it, it will be framed in 2 weeks, theres know way i could frame it in 2 weeks so its time or money but i am doing all the finshing work myself , paint, tiles, hardwood, cabinets install. so thats where i save |
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| crazyrx7 |
quote:
Originally posted by stealth
So I take it most lots are spoken for by the big developers, and the ones available are outrageously priced?
Its the same price either way. Its just that the builders get first crack at it thats all.
R.K. |
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| am10 |
quote:
Originally posted by crazyrx7
Its the same price either way. Its just that the builders get first crack at it thats all.
R.K.
Actually, the big builders work out terms of financing with the land developer.
For example, if XXX developments is pumping out 100 lots this year, JAYMAN will get 60 of them at an initial deposit of ___ and an agreed rate of return.
A normal Joe Blow, will have to purchase the lot FULL OUT... so $300,000 lot = $300,000
No financing
and about that 34' pocket for $459,000 - thats just stupid! I know of some sweetass lots right now that are available for $475,000 and they are .5acre lots, fully serviced.... |
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| SilverNeonRacer |
| I like living in a small town, most normal lots at $30,000-$50,000 in the more upscale sections of town. |
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| silvia s13 |
| I have a buddy building a 1800Sq ft 2 story in TT. Fluked out and got the lot privatly last year for $95,000. He is flipping it after he is finished later this year. Already had an offer for 420,000 but said why sell it when i can get 450+ when its done. Looking at 100+ in proft. Its all who you know and how much work you are willing to do yourself. |
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| silvermist |
| we got a lot in st.albert last dec for $132,000 and built a 2200 sq ft up 1800 sqft basement and by this summer it will be worth close to 2mill, hell we almost got an offer for 1.5 mill and all that went into it is close to $500,000 and a year of my dad, me and my two brothers working our ass off. ofcoarse the place has duble step down ceilings up sairs everywhere and single step downs every where in the basement. hand made walnut cabinets.in slabe heating in ght basement and garage. stone covers 1/2 th ehouse and there is walnut hard wood and traverteen tile and granite countertops. this house is nuts. oh and the kewlest part is all the tile floor is heated. |
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