Anyone out there in Massachussets that can give a ball park estimate on how
much it would cost to build a brand new 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house (2/3
floors) on an acre of land (we already own) outside of Boston? There
currently is an old house on the property (2 floors, plus basement, 3
bedrooms, 1 bathroom), so we'd have to remove it, or work with it. It's kind
of a flight of fancy right now, but we have the property and might have
enough capital in a year or so to make significant renovations. Seeing as
buying a new house in the area can be anywhere from 200-400k, would building
a new house on land already owned cost much less than that? Otherwise, would
it be worth it to work on the existing structure? It is a pretty old house,
probably 70 years old, and although it is definitely livable, it could use a
lot of work. I know these things change from case to case and from state to
state, but a general idea would be helpful.

Thanks

"axis" wrote in message
news:cQ%Ob.87006$sv6.222290@attbi_s52...
Anyone out there in Massachussets that can give a ball park estimate on
how
much it would cost to build a brand new 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house (2/3
floors) on an acre of land (we already own) outside of Boston? There
currently is an old house on the property (2 floors, plus basement, 3
bedrooms, 1 bathroom), so we'd have to remove it, or work with it. It's
kind
of a flight of fancy right now, but we have the property and might have
enough capital in a year or so to make significant renovations. Seeing as
buying a new house in the area can be anywhere from 200-400k, would
building
a new house on land already owned cost much less than that? Otherwise,
would
it be worth it to work on the existing structure? It is a pretty old
house,
probably 70 years old, and although it is definitely livable, it could use
a
lot of work. I know these things change from case to case and from state
to
state, but a general idea would be helpful.

Thanks

Tough question to answer from Arizona. I just cant see it from here.....
humor intended.

The only way to be sure is to call some contractors after you have a plan.
Does not have to be a fancy plan. Just a concrete idea of what you want.
Once you get the bids then call some new home contractors and do the same.
Make sure you have the same square feet and bathrooms in both.

You could always call This Old House and volunteer if you have the time and
money. Then we could all watch.

Go to www.coolhouseplans.com they have an average cost calculator for new homes
by region.

Also consider the tax impact of new vs. old construction.renovation. One trick
here is to try to retain the old home, or a part of it, when rebuilding so it's
all just a major "renovation."

And sometimes that is done by necessity. A home bulilt in the 70's will have
about a 5000.00 tax bill here, but the same home rebuilt brand new after a fire
would be more than twice that. Save one wall, and "repair" the rest and you
keep the old tax rate.