| We got several quotes to do extensive renovations + an addition on our house and they are all coming in around 500-600K. That's hard to swallow given that we'd still have 8' ceilings and retrofitted ductwork. Wondering if it's worth exploring tearing down our cape and building new. Anyone done this recently and can share costs? We'd be looking at 2200 SF above ground + 1000 SF basement. If it's under 800K it's probably worth it to build the perfect house. |
In this area, typically cost is $250 per sqft, so for your 3200 sqft home it comes to 800k exactly. But that does not including land study, demolition, dirt haul away, permit, etc. Another thing to consider is, at least in my experience looking for builders, most builders don't build houses so small. |
| Also, your mortgage lender will likely have issues with you tearing down their collateral. |
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We did a renovation and addition last year (started in 2020) and wondered the same thing. Our contractor said that the least expensive new build they'd done was $850k (not including site fees, permits, fixtures fittings etc, plus rent and moving out for a year.) That was Sept 2020 so I'm sure that number is higher now.
The ROI in the long term might be better but we're in our early 50s and didn't want to blow our savings or take on more debt. And if we had, I would rather throw that money at an existing house - not live through an even longer and more unpleasant process of building new. Our house now is still small (2400sf) but we're really happy with the end result. |
| Look for the right builder. I have a friend who was able to find a small builder to rebuild their house on their lot for 2/3 of most builders charge in bethesda. |
Recs?? |
| No one is building a house that size. You'll pay more per square foot for a small house. There's a reason most new builds are bigger. |
| I am following because we bought a very tired house that needs so much work. I have come to the conclusion that we bought the land/location rather than a house that works for our family. My very rough estimate to rebuild our house is $1m. My guess is $750k at least for builder, then factor in price increases during pandemic and finding a rental for a year. In our neighborhood, we could potentially make much more from the sale even if we put in $1m so that's part of the benefit. If you will still come out ahead, it definitely seems worth it to start fresh! |
Rental for probably 18 months is safer. |
| It’s freakishly expensive OP. At least $300 a square foot right now unless you really go builder grade and sub builder grade everything and use a class C contractor, and at that point I don’t know that the prospect of building a custom home is worth it. |
| The estimates we are getting to build are much, much higher than even 6 months ago. Multiple builders have told us it’s about $250/sq ft for a “basic” house (ie not custom finishes). That feels insane! Don’t know if we are getting hosed or if it really is that much. Depressing. |
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We did a tear down and build in Vienna. Difference is, we bought an as-is house that we never lived in. We held it for about 6 months before the project started.
We got a construction loan to buy the house on 1/4 acre lot for @$650 and put about $700 more into the build. New house is 2 stories plus full walk-up basement, with 4 bed, 4.5 bath and 5200 sq feet cradftsmsn style with a high end kitchen and midrange fixtures everywhere else..,Our builder would have built a smaller house, but said it would have cost very close to the same thing. Also we were warned that when we resell , we’d only be listing our house for a couple hundred less than the neighboring homes that are twice as big. This was in 2016. |
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Here are current prices:
Shanty town construction / doesn’t even exist in 2022 - sub $250/sqft Low quality, builder grade finishes, nothing custom except for the floor plan. Think your average crappy looking but big McCraftsman - $250/sqft Good 2nd tier custom construction. Custom finish work / almost nothing builder grade or off the shelf from places like Home Depot. High quality custom finishes but nothing extravagant $300-375 Top tier custom construction. High degree of custom finish work, finest materials and appliances from tile to flooring to hardware, nothing plastic / vinyl all natural materials $400+ Vinyl |
I’m finding the same. This is a depressing but accurate summary. |
Those prices are for construction only, right? Not include land cost, permits, etc. correct? |