Tearing Down/Rebuilding a Home

shella923 · August 2014

Has anyone been through this? I have a vague idea of what it entails...there's a neighborhood I'd love to buy in eventually, but of course we're outpriced. However I see a crappy home for sale, "as is" with "attention builders" in the description. We have a friend, not very close, however, who does this for a living. Is it a complete nightmare, headache, crazy expensive to do? I know there are so many factors...

ggatlanta · August 2014

Sorry to say but it's cheaper to just get a divorce. One headache after another, one budget nightmare after another... Every couple I know who has built their dream house gets divorced a millisecond later. Might be coincidence but I'd never risk it.

acesup · August 2014

I've never done a flip like that, but our house was new construction. It was extremely stressful, things don't go as planned, timelines are never met, and it always costs more than you thought.

I would think tearing down and rebuilding is even more of a nightmare!

ETA clarity

[Deleted User] · August 2014

Our house was built in the 1940s and neglected for several years. We got the land really cheap because the house was such a disaster. It's taken us almost three years to finish our house. Last year we dropped over 10k on windows and doors. It's stressful and really expensive.

We didn't live in our house at all the whole first year we owned it.We have to be really careful with our reno budget. DH and my ILs are doing a lot of the work themselves and it's still really fucking expensive. Problems keep coming up. It's one of the few things that we argue about. It's also really stressful living in a half done house.

I wouldn't do it unless you have a solid plan, great finances, and another place to live while the biggest projects are underway. We're making it work but OMFG it's hard.

klondikebar · August 2014

We've done it with commercial property. Of course it cost more and took longer than the original estimate, but we were prepared for that. It was worth it in the end for us. You just have to be prepared and have sufficient finances for the unexpected expenses. If the property is unique enough, I'd do it.

We've also built every home we've lived in and are building another right now. I don't find it that stressful overall. I enjoy the process. Our builder has always been amazing though.

ppants · August 2014

We built a new home and it was semi stressful. It will run over budget and length of time most likely. I would not buy a house to completely rebuild it. We've been in our home a year with no intentions of divorce.

outnumbered · August 2014

I live about 15 miles north of Boston. It is a desirable town because it is more affordable than some of the surrounding towns. Most of the homes in my neighborhood were very small ranches built in the fifties. They had extremely small bedrooms, kitchens and low ceilings. Almost all of them are being torn down to put up new construction on the old foundation. 3 of our neighbors have lived through reconstruction. 2 went very smoothly, rebuilt with great quality in 5 months. That builder was amazing and only takes one job at a time. The 3rd took over a year and was stressful. None of the rebuilds was cheap. None of the couples are divorced. All but one used the existing foundation significantly reducing the cost. If you do this you need to get multiple quotes, do diligent research about your builder and secure a place to live while this is happening. It is not a cheap and easy alternative, but it can be done.

ETA: There is no HOA in our area. The builder/contracter pulls all the permits. There were hearings during zoning meetings and neighbors could say no to the rebuild, but the rebuilds were an improvement.

outnumbered · August 2014

GhostMonkey said:

outnumbered said:

ETA: There is no HOA in our area. The builder/contracter pulls all the permits. There were hearings during zoning meetings and neighbors could say no to the rebuild, but the rebuilds were an improvement.

Neither do we, but we still would have run into issues with our old house. We wanted to tear it down and start over, only to find out that it violates a couple laws as it sits and is only allowed because it is grandfathered in. Stupid line of sight law. Our old house was only about 800 sq ft. We would have lost half of that if we tore down because the grandfather clause would have gone away since it was new construction.

Additional shit you need to check into before even considering the option.

And as was said, if you can't afford a house in the neighborhood, you can't afford it. Demo and rebuild will likely run you around the same amount as a purchase, if not more. The taxes will increase when you rebuild because the value of the lot & buildings will increase.

I wholeheartedly agree with the cost. All of the the people who rebuilt could have afforded to buy a existing house. They rebuilt because land is limited in the desirable neighborhoods and 'going up' is one way to have enough space (the old houses were extremely small).

Honestly even though it went well for our neighbors it is something I would never want to do. One family rented a condo for a year. The cost was only slightly lower than a mortgage payment.

ETA: My confession is that I had never heard of a HOA until I frequented the bump. I guess the town zoning board functions in the same way in the towns I grew up in.

outnumbered · August 2014

GhostMonkey said:

outnumbered said:

ETA: My confession is that I had never heard of a HOA until I frequented the bump. I guess the town zoning board functions in the same way in the towns I grew up in.

No. The covenants they have can be absolutely absurd. Zoning just tells you where you can put stuff within the law. They don't tell you that you can't park in your driveway ever, all vehicles must be in a garage. Want to put a new door or siding on your house? Better make sure the color is approved first. Want to put a flag on your front porch? You need to clear that as well. I've seen some that require permission to put in a flower bed and approve the type of plants you will have. HOAs can be fucking nuts.

That would suck. I could not deal with a HOA.

shella923 · August 2014

WOW. Lots of GREAT info here...doesn't sound like something that's for us at all!!! Thanks peeps.

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