The boss wants to move to another home within a mile or
so of our home. The house she wanted was $170K , 1600+ sq ft,
1.7 acers land. The tax value is $105K. I will say the county I
live in in GA is one of the fastest grown counties. But I still
thought the house was over priced. ( The siding was louiasianna
pacific, the roof was 18 + years old, most of the windows were
fogged.)
The wife says she wants a bigger house but we would have
lost space to move in the first house she picked out.
Our home is 2000 sq ft. Tax value $105k I feel we could
get $125K in a sale.

The home we are looking at are $250K, and seem to be built ass
hole to elbow. Not just one neighbor hood but most all the new
neighborhoods are hi density residentual.

How does one find out the cost of a house he wants built?
Is it usually cheaper to have the land and then to have a house
build for you?

I fell pretty sure I could have a better house then the $170K
house we looked at built for us. I'd like a house with between
2400 and 2800 sq ft. Basement if possible. Brick. Brick.
Brick. Did I mention is must be Brick?
Now, a Concrete built house would really make me happy, but I
don't know much about that. I'd like extra wide hallways and
doors to acomadate a wheel chair.

State of Georgia. Any suggestions on how one gets a price, or
even what the price might be ball park as in $per sq ft.

Thanks
REH

Also, any info on concrete houses would be appreciated.
Especially first hand knowledge

Price, in my experience, for a new house is going to vary based on a
number of factors.

In the Charleston SC area, $150 to $100 per square foot is usual.
This depends on location for the same house.
I'm not including some of the super upscale gated communities.

One story houses are a bit cheaper than two story houses

Slab on grade is a bit cheaper than crawl space and a lot cheaper than
basement.
Basements are rare because of drainage, and water table height.

It strikes me as important that your wife chose a 1600 square foot
house as larger than your 2000 square foot house. My first assumption
is that there is a need / want to use space differently than your
present layout. What does your wife want the extra space for?

I suggest, as I do to all my clients, that you reach a consensus on the
way you want a house arranged. Walk through your house and talk about
what you each like and don't like as a start. You don't want to
draw anything until you have an agreed upon overall idea of what you
want.

Tom Baker

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 01:00:21 -0500, Reh wrote:

The boss wants to move to another home within a mile or
so of our home. The house she wanted was $170K , 1600+ sq ft, 1.7 acers
land. The tax value is $105K. I will say the county I live in in GA is
one of the fastest grown counties. But I still thought the house was
over priced. ( The siding was louiasianna pacific, the roof was 18 +
years old, most of the windows were fogged.)
The wife says she wants a bigger house but we would have
lost space to move in the first house she picked out.
Our home is 2000 sq ft. Tax value $105k I feel we could
get $125K in a sale.

The home we are looking at are $250K, and seem to be built ass hole to
elbow. Not just one neighbor hood but most all the new neighborhoods
are hi density residentual.

How does one find out the cost of a house he wants built? Is it usually
cheaper to have the land and then to have a house build for you?

I fell pretty sure I could have a better house then the $170K house we
looked at built for us. I'd like a house with between 2400 and 2800 sq
ft. Basement if possible. Brick. Brick. Brick. Did I mention is must
be Brick? Now, a Concrete built house would really make me happy, but I
don't know much about that. I'd like extra wide hallways and doors to
acomadate a wheel chair.

State of Georgia. Any suggestions on how one gets a price, or even
what the price might be ball park as in $per sq ft.

Before I bought my house, I talked to a builder who uses computer-aided
design. He could give very accurate bids, including the effect of custom
variations on his standard designs. I'm sure someone in your area must
offer this service.

BTW, I wound up buying an existing house at an estate sale. Now I wish I
hadn't. Aluminum wiring. UGH!

We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs of
Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be about $53.00.


"Reh" wrote in message
...
The boss wants to move to another home within a mile or
so of our home. The house she wanted was $170K , 1600+ sq ft,
1.7 acers land. The tax value is $105K. I will say the county I
live in in GA is one of the fastest grown counties. But I still
thought the house was over priced. ( The siding was louiasianna
pacific, the roof was 18 + years old, most of the windows were
fogged.)
The wife says she wants a bigger house but we would have
lost space to move in the first house she picked out.
Our home is 2000 sq ft. Tax value $105k I feel we could
get $125K in a sale.

The home we are looking at are $250K, and seem to be built ass
hole to elbow. Not just one neighbor hood but most all the new
neighborhoods are hi density residentual.

How does one find out the cost of a house he wants built?
Is it usually cheaper to have the land and then to have a house
build for you?

I fell pretty sure I could have a better house then the $170K
house we looked at built for us. I'd like a house with between
2400 and 2800 sq ft. Basement if possible. Brick. Brick.
Brick. Did I mention is must be Brick?
Now, a Concrete built house would really make me happy, but I
don't know much about that. I'd like extra wide hallways and
doors to acomadate a wheel chair.

State of Georgia. Any suggestions on how one gets a price, or
even what the price might be ball park as in $per sq ft.

Thanks
REH

Also, any info on concrete houses would be appreciated.
Especially first hand knowledge

"HeatMan" wrote in message
...
We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs of
Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be about $53.00.


Sounds like a good bargain. I just had my house appraised for a re-fi and it
comes out to $176. per square foot of livable space. Does not include
garage. My home would actually sell for probably 30% more than the
appraisal.

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:


"HeatMan" wrote in message
.. .
We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs of
Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be about $53.00.


Sounds like a good bargain. I just had my house appraised for a re-fi and it
comes out to $176. per square foot of livable space. Does not include
garage. My home would actually sell for probably 30% more than the
appraisal.


It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.

Dick wrote:

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:


"HeatMan" wrote in message
.. .
We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs of
Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be about $53.00.


Sounds like a good bargain. I just had my house appraised for a re-fi and it
comes out to $176. per square foot of livable space. Does not include
garage. My home would actually sell for probably 30% more than the
appraisal.


It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.

BUT ypu have to careful to separate the actual value of the house from
the house plus property.

LB

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 13:22:35 -0500, wrote:

Dick wrote:

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:


"HeatMan" wrote in message
.. .
We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs of
Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be about $53.00.


Sounds like a good bargain. I just had my house appraised for a re-fi and it
comes out to $176. per square foot of livable space. Does not include
garage. My home would actually sell for probably 30% more than the
appraisal.


It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.

BUT ypu have to careful to separate the actual value of the house from
the house plus property.

LB

True, but on a typical 1/3 or 1/4 acre residential lot around here,
you can count on $100 to $120/sq ft of living space, including the
lot, garage, etc. North Central Arizona. Unless you want to get
fancy.

Dick wrote:

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 13:22:35 -0500, wrote:

Dick wrote:

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:


"HeatMan" wrote in message
.. .
We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs of
Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be about $53.00.


Sounds like a good bargain. I just had my house appraised for a re-fi and it
comes out to $176. per square foot of livable space. Does not include
garage. My home would actually sell for probably 30% more than the
appraisal.


It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.

BUT ypu have to careful to separate the actual value of the house from
the house plus property.

LB

True, but on a typical 1/3 or 1/4 acre residential lot around here,
you can count on $100 to $120/sq ft of living space, including the
lot, garage, etc. North Central Arizona. Unless you want to get
fancy.

Sedona?

LB

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 15:33:12 -0500, wrote:


Sedona?

LB

Near Prescott

wrote on 21 Feb 2005:

One story houses are a bit cheaper than two story houses

Hmmmmm, not sure what you're saying here. For the same amount of
space, a two story will be cheaper. Less foundation, less roof.
Possibly easier and shorter plumbing, heating, and electrical runs.

Unless of course you're installing a VERY expensive staircase.

--
Doug Boulter

To reply by e-mail, remove the obvious word from the e-mail address

"Reh" wrote in message
...
The boss wants to move to another home within a mile or
so of our home. The house she wanted was $170K , 1600+ sq ft,
1.7 acers land. The tax value is $105K. I will say the county I
live in in GA is one of the fastest grown counties. But I still
thought the house was over priced. ( The siding was louiasianna
pacific, the roof was 18 + years old, most of the windows were
fogged.)
The wife says she wants a bigger house but we would have
lost space to move in the first house she picked out.
Our home is 2000 sq ft. Tax value $105k I feel we could
get $125K in a sale.

The home we are looking at are $250K, and seem to be built ass
hole to elbow. Not just one neighbor hood but most all the new
neighborhoods are hi density residentual.

How does one find out the cost of a house he wants built?
Is it usually cheaper to have the land and then to have a house
build for you?

I fell pretty sure I could have a better house then the $170K
house we looked at built for us. I'd like a house with between
2400 and 2800 sq ft. Basement if possible. Brick. Brick.
Brick. Did I mention is must be Brick?
Now, a Concrete built house would really make me happy, but I
don't know much about that. I'd like extra wide hallways and
doors to acomadate a wheel chair.

State of Georgia. Any suggestions on how one gets a price, or
even what the price might be ball park as in $per sq ft.

Thanks
REH


I would tend to agree with the averages expressed by others. All except
Kathy. Hers is worthless because of an unwanted tenant. (BG).

The only real way you are going to get a handle on costs in your area is to
spend a lot of time going to open houses. Or once an area is selected you
might get a Realtor to pull some neighborhood comp sales for you from the
MLS.

You can't compare existing construction with new construction and have it
make any sense. Your cost per square foot will be more in new construction.
Decide whether you want new or existing and then spend your time shopping
only for what you chose. If you choose existing construction then you must
select one or two areas that you would like to consider. The same house can
vary widely depending on location.

If you approach the entire project is a systematic manner of deciding why
you want to move, what you want, where you want it and what you are willing
to spend, you can enter the process of serious shopping without doing any
thing counter-productive to your objectives.

Colbyt

"Colbyt" wrote in message
...

"Reh" wrote in message
...
The boss wants to move to another home within a mile or
so of our home. The house she wanted was $170K , 1600+ sq ft,
1.7 acers land. The tax value is $105K. I will say the county I
live in in GA is one of the fastest grown counties. But I still
thought the house was over priced. ( The siding was louiasianna
pacific, the roof was 18 + years old, most of the windows were
fogged.)
The wife says she wants a bigger house but we would have
lost space to move in the first house she picked out.
Our home is 2000 sq ft. Tax value $105k I feel we could
get $125K in a sale.

The home we are looking at are $250K, and seem to be built ass
hole to elbow. Not just one neighbor hood but most all the new
neighborhoods are hi density residentual.

How does one find out the cost of a house he wants built?
Is it usually cheaper to have the land and then to have a house
build for you?

I fell pretty sure I could have a better house then the $170K
house we looked at built for us. I'd like a house with between
2400 and 2800 sq ft. Basement if possible. Brick. Brick.
Brick. Did I mention is must be Brick?
Now, a Concrete built house would really make me happy, but I
don't know much about that. I'd like extra wide hallways and
doors to acomadate a wheel chair.

State of Georgia. Any suggestions on how one gets a price, or
even what the price might be ball park as in $per sq ft.

Thanks
REH


I would tend to agree with the averages expressed by others. All except
Kathy. Hers is worthless because of an unwanted tenant. (BG).

I figure he'll move when they start tearing the roof off.

Dick wrote:
On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:


"HeatMan" wrote in message
...
We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs
of Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be
about $53.00.


Sounds like a good bargain. I just had my house appraised for a
re-fi and it comes out to $176. per square foot of livable space.
Does not include garage. My home would actually sell for probably
30% more than the appraisal.


It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.

Hmm. I'm in Houston. 3000 sq ft, 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, brick, new roof, 4-car
detached garage. $120,000. 'Course the building WAS a duplex which was
upgraded via an internal door....

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 10:27:55 -0600, "JerryMouse"
wrote:

Dick wrote:
On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:


"HeatMan" wrote in message
...
We just put a contract on an existing house in the northern suburbs
of Atlanta. The cost per (livable) square foot works out to be
about $53.00.


Sounds like a good bargain. I just had my house appraised for a
re-fi and it comes out to $176. per square foot of livable space.
Does not include garage. My home would actually sell for probably
30% more than the appraisal.


It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.

Hmm. I'm in Houston. 3000 sq ft, 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, brick, new roof, 4-car
detached garage. $120,000. 'Course the building WAS a duplex which was
upgraded via an internal door....


Well of course. Everything's different in Texas. :-) My daughter
just bought a beautiful 2,900 sq.ft. house in Fort Worth on a golf
course for $270K. Ten years old. All brick. Media room with 10-ft.
screen, etc. Here in Arizona that house would be $350K to $400K

It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.


"Decent" is a moving target, generally meaning something like:
"just better than I can comfortably afford". I got a 5000 sqft
ex-masonic temple for $125k. Of course, there was heat only
on one floor, asbestos everything, one toilet, and no stove,
but for me "decent" meant "not likely to fall down, habitable,
in a place where the building inspector isn't a nutcase."

Other people have different standards.

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 13:23:27 -0500, Goedjn wrote:



It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.


"Decent" is a moving target, generally meaning something like:
"just better than I can comfortably afford". I got a 5000 sqft
ex-masonic temple for $125k. Of course, there was heat only
on one floor, asbestos everything, one toilet, and no stove,
but for me "decent" meant "not likely to fall down, habitable,
in a place where the building inspector isn't a nutcase."

Other people have different standards.

My definition of decent includes 10 years old or newer, good
neighborhood, 6" walls, double-pane windows, minimum 2-car attached
garage, better quality countertops and appliances, tile or 40-year
asphalt roof, central air and heat. and in like-new condition.

And maids quarters.

In article , Dick
LeadWinger says...
On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:

It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.


Move, in some parts of the country it is easy to find a decent
house for less than $100/sq ft.

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 06:08:19 GMT, MikeP wrote:

In article , Dick
LeadWinger says...
On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:

It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.


Move, in some parts of the country it is easy to find a decent
house for less than $100/sq ft.


Why? I already have a house. There is a reason why houses in some
parts of the country cost less than $100/sq ft.

"Dick" LeadWinger wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 06:08:19 GMT, MikeP wrote:

In article , Dick
LeadWinger says...
On Mon, 21 Feb 2005 11:24:08 -0500, "Kathy"
wrote:

It's pretty rare today to find a decent house for under $100/sq ft in
many areas of the country.


Move, in some parts of the country it is easy to find a decent
house for less than $100/sq ft.


Why? I already have a house. There is a reason why houses in some
parts of the country cost less than $100/sq ft.

sounds like a personal problem.
get a better paying job...

-a|ex