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Started By
Message
I have a question about buying an existing home VS building new
Posted on 11/7/16 at 8:54 am
Posted on 11/7/16 at 8:54 am
I'm not really sure how to put my question into words so bear with me 
My fiancé and I are going to be first time home buyers at the end of this year or beginning of next year.. we have plans to sit down with a financial advisor at the end of this week to get the ball rolling.. one thing we have discussed was buying an existing house, or building new
My question for this board is this: let's say we are looking at a house, already built, that is $250,000... would it be cheaper to buy the pre-existing house or buy a lot and build the same floor plan, size, features, etc?
I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, square footage wise, does it make more sense to buy a house already built, or building from the ground up
TIA
My fiancé and I are going to be first time home buyers at the end of this year or beginning of next year.. we have plans to sit down with a financial advisor at the end of this week to get the ball rolling.. one thing we have discussed was buying an existing house, or building new
My question for this board is this: let's say we are looking at a house, already built, that is $250,000... would it be cheaper to buy the pre-existing house or buy a lot and build the same floor plan, size, features, etc?
I guess what I'm trying to figure out is, square footage wise, does it make more sense to buy a house already built, or building from the ground up
TIA
This post was edited on 11/7/16 at 8:55 am
10
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:09 am to Mr. Hangover
building a house Is a longer more expensive process.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:11 am to Mr. Hangover
quote:
My question for this board is this: let's say we are looking at a house, already built, that is $250,000... would it be cheaper to buy the pre-existing house or buy a lot and build the same floor plan, size, features, etc?
Depends on the neighborhood. A lot in mine for example runs about $150k-$200k, so that wouldn't leave you much to build with.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:12 am to LNCHBOX
They have pretty good sized lots where we are looking for about 40-60K... I'm guessing that's where it would get expensive
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:13 am to LNCHBOX
Did my question make sense though??
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:16 am to Mr. Hangover
Yes. For us, we are going to be building what we want since we are already in the neighborhood. To buy what we will build would cost about $600k in the current market. By building it, we'll b e under $400k including the house we are in currently that will be torn down to build our new one.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:18 am to Mr. Hangover
quote:
Did my question make sense though??
Your question made sense, there are just to many unknowns for a good answer, this depends on so many variables the answer could be very different for two houses next door to each other.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:18 am to Mr. Hangover
Generally speaking, building a new house is going to take longer and be more expensive than buying a existing house.
Now, geography is an issue. For example, you can build a 2,000 sq foot house brand new in St. Bernard for less money than buying a existing 2,000 sq foot house in Uptown New Orleans.
Also, depending on the amount of work an existing house needs, the cost savings may not be worth it in the long run. If you can build new for 250K or buy existing for 200K but it needs an 80K update...
Now, geography is an issue. For example, you can build a 2,000 sq foot house brand new in St. Bernard for less money than buying a existing 2,000 sq foot house in Uptown New Orleans.
Also, depending on the amount of work an existing house needs, the cost savings may not be worth it in the long run. If you can build new for 250K or buy existing for 200K but it needs an 80K update...
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:23 am to Mr. Hangover
plenty of benefits with each route.
you buy a 10-15 year old house and then you got to do this, change that, repaint this, change out windows, ac got wear and tear on it etc... costs adds up.
build, you can save money if you know what you're doing but its hard to do when being a novice of knowing how to cut costs yet increase quality.
you buy a 10-15 year old house and then you got to do this, change that, repaint this, change out windows, ac got wear and tear on it etc... costs adds up.
build, you can save money if you know what you're doing but its hard to do when being a novice of knowing how to cut costs yet increase quality.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:26 am to Chad504boy
I'm pretty handy, and if there's anything that isn't a MAJOR problem I have people to help me or show me what to do... we are looking in plaquemines parish btw... property seems to be cheap, but the value on houses here is pretty high... I guess that's what sparked my curiosity...
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:27 am to LSUFanHouston
quote:
Now, geography is an issue. For example, you can build a 2,000 sq foot house brand new in St. Bernard for less money than buying a existing 2,000 sq foot house in Uptown New Orleans
Yea, I understand that the same sized property can have drastically different values depending on location... I know it's a loaded question
Posted on 11/7/16 at 9:33 am to Mr. Hangover
Buying a pre-existing older home is just about always cheaper than building new. But if you are talking about buying a "new" house that the builder has just finished, the cost is going to be comparable to building from scratch in the same neighborhood.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 10:38 am to Mr. Hangover
My personal experience is that as your first home, buy an existing home for a couple reasons
1) You likely won't be in it very long as your first house
2) You likely don't really know what you want in a house
3) It's cheaper
1) You likely won't be in it very long as your first house
2) You likely don't really know what you want in a house
3) It's cheaper
Posted on 11/7/16 at 10:58 am to barry
quote:
My personal experience is that as your first home, buy an existing home for a couple reasons
1) You likely won't be in it very long as your first house
2) You likely don't really know what you want in a house
3) It's cheaper
All solid advice. Between the house my wife and I rented while at LSU and the house we're in currently, we've learned a lot about what we like and don't like in a home. We'll be able to incorporate that into our build in a couple years.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 11:11 am to Mr. Hangover
It depends on where you want to build but having done both, I would say you will pay more building.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 11:42 am to barry
Try explaining 'starter home' to a woman
But yea, I get what y'all are saying completely
But yea, I get what y'all are saying completely
Posted on 11/7/16 at 12:31 pm to Mr. Hangover
Just built my first home and have been in it for two months now. At the time we were deciding location was very important and every existing home they had forsale in the neighborhood we wanted was old (80s-90s) and funky floor plans or to small. We got lucky and found a lot in the same neighborhood and bought and it built. The full process was 8 months.
Since that time a few other houses have come up for sale that are a lot bigger and cost less then what we spent on ours... but there is nothing like owning a brand new home.
So to your original question yes building new will typically cost more then buying used. The time frame to build didn't bother me and we had a new born a few weeks before closing.
Since that time a few other houses have come up for sale that are a lot bigger and cost less then what we spent on ours... but there is nothing like owning a brand new home.
So to your original question yes building new will typically cost more then buying used. The time frame to build didn't bother me and we had a new born a few weeks before closing.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 12:41 pm to Mr. Hangover
Women get hung up on "building exactly what they want" regardless of price. But that's just because they can't physically see the finished plan they think meets their wants. It doesn't, they still don't get exactly what they want.
Buying is better, especially for the first house.
Buying is better, especially for the first house.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 12:47 pm to Mr. Hangover
I would not build your first house. Its a lot of work and very very easy to overspend. Generally speaking, it costs more to build a house I mean when was the last time labor went down? But even if you can build for less its not going to be a ton less most likely unless you are extremely experienced.
The benefit is you will get a home you custom built. But again, I wouldn't recommend that for your first house.
The benefit is you will get a home you custom built. But again, I wouldn't recommend that for your first house.
Posted on 11/7/16 at 1:08 pm to BeerMoney
quote:
Women get hung up on "building exactly what they want" regardless of price. But that's just because they can't physically see the finished plan they think meets their wants. It doesn't, they still don't get exactly what they want. Buying is better, especially for the first house.
Yep, and you'd think as much HGtv as she watches, she's understand that
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