I've been a long time lurker on this board, and this is where I prefer to get my news updates. My wife and I purchased land in September with intentions of building this year, but I've been getting cold feet. My wife is wanting to press forward, but I am concerned about the price of materials, potential for a rise in interest rates, and difficulty selling our current home.
Are there any pedes on this board that can give me some good information to consider in this process and also educate my wife on the good and bad? Should we press forward with selling and building or slow down? I appreciate any information provided. We are in our early 30s, both nurses and have 3 small children, so I don't want to cripple us financially.
We went in with my wife's family. My FIL got a little over 18 acres, my wife and I got 4.8 and my BIL got 4.8. No restrictions, which is what we were looking for.
Well, I have a lot of construction experience and tools, so my advice might not work for you...but, here goes. I'd get the utilities put in first, water lines, sewerage, electric pole...so you have that ready. I don't know your situation, but that can be very expensive. Then I'd buy a big used camper...really big..30 feet or more...and live in it...maybe a shipping container for storage, or a nice shed if you can afford it. A carport for your vehicles. I'd live cheap for a few years to see how this all plays out, and in the meantime, do some excavation work and foundation work out of pocket to avoid debt. Once you're ready to build, take out the mortgage to finish the house, but by then you should have saved a lot and been schooling yourself on some of the things you can do to save on the price...tile work, running pex, pulling wire, trim, laminate flooring...these are things you can easily learn and you won't have to pay for the labor costs. plan it out, save, educate yourself, be patient...and when it's over, you'll have very little debt and know the house is built right. Then sell the camper for whatever you can get for it, and live happily ever after.