PROFESSIONAL ADVICE PLZ!!! Is building a home more or less expensive than purchasing one?

Question

Where do i start? What do i need? What are the financing rules? How would building be different from purchasing?

Answer 1

The answer is "it depends".

One reason why it may be more expensive is that if you build the home yourself, you'll want everything done right--whereas if you buy one, chances are the builders who put it together will have cut corners.

A second factor is economies of scale. Big builders will construct multiple homes at once, sharing resources between all the jobs. This lowers waste and idle time, and reduces cost.

On the other hand, there is the possibility that those savings won't offset the builder's profit. So it is sometimes possible to build a house for less, especially if you use pre-fab components to reduce cost.

Another thing to consider is whether you can get land in the area you want to live. You may need to do a tear-down, which increases your costs again.

When we looked into it, it was going to be slightly more expensive to build ourselves rather than buy an existing (new) home.

You should probably pick up a copy of "Home Buying for Dummies". It's a pretty good book.

Answer 2

When u buy a home, you're buying someone else's house which you will make into yours. If you're the second or third or more owner, others have modified the structure perhaps. so there are things you like and some you don't.

When you build a home, you're buying the exact place you want.
This is a significant difference which you should consider. If this is your first home and you don't expect to stay there very long, consider buying an existing place so that you get the experience of owning without the experience of building. If this is your last home, think really hard about building so you can enjoy all your accumulated dreams. regardless, building is stressful because of all the decisions you must make.

How to compare. start with basics. square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. older existing homes are cheaper than comparable new one. point is that the only good comparison for your answer is cost of building a new home vs cost of buying an existing brand new home. get with a reputable local builder and ask a ton of questions so you know your making an apples and apples comparison.

Answer 3

If you have questions of this magnitude it's best to walk away. There are PLENTY of other row houses in Baltimore. Bidding and then demanding owner to fix problems that are not concealed or unknown to you just seems disingenuous. Find another house to buy. French drains are great but they don't change the laws of physics. The house WILL eventually collapse but it's probably been leaking for 50 years or more and it has stayed up this long. It'll probably stay up a few more decades, at least until you sell - but then somebody else might try to make you fix it after offering a dishonest bid. Not cool. By the way, 1860 is not really all that old around here. Also, your question suggests that Baltimore is an undesirable place to live. It's not. Like any city it has it's problems, but there are lots of safe places to live, work and hang out. Try Fed Hill, Canton or Charles Village for some excellent row home and lots of charm city charm. Good luck!