wrote in message
oups.com...
I remember reading an article in the Wall Street Journal over ten years
ago about how some of the projects had turned into mini disasters.
Seems it took a lot longer than anyone would have thought and the
homeowners wound up spending like 2X what they thought they would, even
with all the discounted or free materials.


Years ago they did a house in Phoenix. I went to the finish party. Met the
owners, they both were worried that they were not going to be able to pay
the loans off. The project did run well over 2 times the estimated cost.
They were happy with the results, just not the cost. They also mentioned the
"donated materials" were generally the cheapest of the needed materials and
were less than 1/4 of the total bill. Both of these folks were attorneys so
money should not have been a issue.
A year later I went by and the house was for sale. It did sell for a
premium for the area, but nothing close to what the property would have sold
for with out a major street near over the wall.