Need advice from anyone who has bought land, then later built on it.

[one l michele]

We've built new homes, but on the builder's lots and would really like more land and privacy. The homes we find with lots like this are much older and need a lot of work. We would also like this to be our "dream home" and be able to customize it more then we have done. Would we be crazy to purchase land and possibly even sit a trailor on it until our home is built? We've done crazier things before like living in an empty one bedroom apartment (with a toddler and I was expecting) to save up money for the down payment on our first home. Any advice for selecting land and a builder?

[cat in black]

My daughter bought 90 acres of land and lived in a used trailer for 5 years to save $$ to pay cash for a log home. Their log home is now built and paid for and the place is worth a fortune. There are lots of log home kits out there and the dealers will have contractors in your area. You might also check into modular homes. These homes are stronger than stick built because they are built to withstand the trip from construction depot to your building site. They can be customized and identical to stickbuilts.

[jg_puppy]

If you find land make sure to check all of the restrictions. Some of the places near me have a no trailer policy. Others also have a build time limit where you have to have built a house on the land within 5 years. If you can find some land that you like that meets your needs I would say go for it. We would love to do the same thing, but don't have the money.

Jan

[MNClaire]

I agree with JG about checking all the restrictions. Many rural areas have moratoriums on how much land you need in order to have a buildable lot. For instance, where we live, a farmer or landowner can only sell 10 acres for every 40 he or she has as a buildable lot. So when we bought our land from the neighbor 14 years ago, we bought the 10 acres per 40 so we were able to build on it. However, the neighbors who bought the farmers lot next door were recquired to tear down the old house in order to build the new once because the lot size only allowed one house on it.

With the downturn in the housing market, now would be the time to buy if you have the money. We went from suburbs to rural and haven't regretted the decision one bit. I doubt if we could ever go back...we're spoiled!

[Liz CA]

We have done exactly what you describe. We lucked into a property of 7 acres that had an old - OLD trailer - single-wide on it. We existed in it for 6 years until we built.
It's doable if you can sacrifice space. Also depends on how many people you need to house etc. We are a small family, so the single wide was all right - for a time at least.

Advice on selecting land:
Make sure you know all there is to know about access roads, easements etc.
Any restrictions, i.e livestock - would be a shame if you want chickens and can't have them
Is the property on a well, if so, how deep and reliable is the water supply? Who drilled the well? Is the shaft re-enforced? A lot of this stuff depends on where in the country the property is.
How large of a property are you willing to maintain? Do you prefer a wooded lot or a meadow?

There is probably more but that's all that comes to my mind for now.

[Kathy in MD]

You might also check into modular homes. These homes are stronger than stick built because they are built to withstand the trip from construction depot to your building site. They can be customized and identical to stickbuilts.

before going with a modular house. Some places consider them trailers and treat them as a cheap, depreciable asset. In these areas it can be harder to finance them and sell them.

[Jann in TX]

We purchased our land for cash--we were fortunate that get it way below market value. After we had it for a year we decided to build (to get out of the busy city). Our land was appraised for DOUBLE what we originally paid for it. When we financed we had to 'roll' the land into the full mortgage and the bank bought our land back from us at the new value...INSTANT down payment!

We put our current house on the market a few months before we started building. The house sold and we closed 2 days before our new house was complete--we moved in anyway!

Our land came with a 'no trailer, no modular home' restriction. The closest land without restrictions had several lots that were in pretty BAD shape (think LOTS of trash). We settled on the restricted land.

We had been prepared to move into a rental if our house sold quickly. The market in our area was moving very fast at the time so we were not that concerned about the house not selling.

We have builders in our area that have duplexes and townhouses that they rent out for up to 2 years at a time for families who sell their houses first and want/need to save up money or just need a place to live while their new house is completed.

We have several friends who sold their old house and then moved into a small trailers (not on their new property) for a period of time before they built. One family spent 3 years in a VERY OLD trailer--but they were able to build their new home for cash (doing lots of the work themselves)...they said it was worth it not to have a mortgage!