Buy or Build my Next Home?
I’ve talked a bit about the housing market over the past few months as it goes up and down. One of the questions I’ve posed lately is whether or not it’s time to rent instead of buying. Today, we’re going to look at another question that has crossed my mind: If I’m going to buy a home in this economy, should I just buy a home outright- or should I consider building my own?
Here are 6 questions that you should ask yourself if you’re considering buying or building your next (or first!) home.
1. How soon do I have to move? If you have to move now, then you really don’t have the time to build a home. If you have a while before you need to move, then maybe building a house is better. It all depends on the time frame; it can take anywhere from 3 months to a year to build a home. If you’re building a little house, then 3-4 months should be sufficient, if you’re building a 3-4 bedroom home, then plan for much, much longer.
2. How much do I know about construction? If you don’t know a lot about building, then why are you considering building a house in the first place? Knowing certain skills (like plumbing, electric, etc) can help reduce the cost of your home by hundreds of dollars. Take your skills into consideration when calculating the cost of a potential building project.
3. Should I consider a personal contractor? Sure, you can hire people to build your home, but will the cost of that be much better than buying one outright? In my area, I know several men who own contracting companies. Going to a personal contractor and getting a quote and a plan together can save you a lot of time, money, and headache in the future, and it’s a good comparison point.
4. What are land prices like? Don’t forget, you can’t build a house without owning the land to build it on! Are land prices reasonable, or is it better for you to just buy a home with the land included? Consider this in your costs.
5. Can I get financing? This is a good question to ask whether you are buying or building: make sure you can get the money to do so first. If you can’t get the money, then you can’t get the house, can ya? In this economy, check what your interest rates will look like as well.
6. What are the local laws and policies? Building policies and laws are extensive and strict. You have to make sure that everything is in order before you can live in the home you are building. You may want to figure out if jumping through all of those hoops is worth it, or if you want to just buy a house that most likely already adhere to these regulations.
So, how does building a home look in your area? Is it a good idea for you to consider building, or should you just forget it and buy outright? Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you here next week!
