Buying a home is a huge decision and the biggest investment you'll ever make. Building a house is a much BIGGER decision because you've got to understand a lot more about home construction. Fortunately most people who decide to build a home don't realize how many decisions they'll have to make. So I invite you to join my journey beginning with my building vs buying a home … my 15th home!
Building vs Buying a Home – Can You Do Both?
When I decided to move to Florida, I knew I wanted to live close enough to my granddaughter that it would be easy to hang out with her, with little or no planning in advance. I'd been watching quite a few new communities under development for several years so I decided to check them out.
I found a great floor plan about 6 to 8 minutes from Chloe's house. Wanting to get more familiar with prices in the area, I kept exploring and found a slightly smaller version of the same plan across the street. I ultimately picked the smaller house because for the following reasons:
- Projected purchase price was about $50,000 less and even more important …
- Annual cost of ownership will be about $8,000 less per year due to a lower mortgage and HOA fees.
- More customization options plus a great view out the back of the house.
- Ability to do short term rentals when I'm traveling.
And in many respects I now realize working with a production builder has provided a win-win solution because I didn't have to make a choice between building vs buying a home. I'm doing both!
Why I'm Building My New Home
When you buy an existing house, it's easier because you look at the entire package all at once. Many production builders offer “ready to move-in” homes that are similar in nature. They also offer floor plans with some degree of customization.
It wasn't that difficult to pick between building vs buying a house. Here's what I got to pick by building a house in an existing development:
- Floor plan (above) including 3 car garage, larger great room (kitchen and future home office in the model home shown below) and walk-in shower.
- Building lot with the view I wanted, a nice grassy backyard with no houses behind my home.
While I'm comfortable building a house, having done this before it didn't have as much magic. Once I found the building lot I wanted and an open floor plan that worked for me, I was happy to go with this builder. It's not a perfect relationship but I know I'm getting the house I want for a very reasonable price.
Follow my home building journey if you're planning to build or just plain curious. You'll learn a lot!
Leave a Reply