201–210 of 292 posts
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You cant get a mortgage for self build in the USA? - its a definite market in the UK and you can save quite a bit.
I'm not from the US :) By "self-build", you mean you actually build it yourself? Doesn't the bank require professionals who can present invoices and such?
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Cool to see this! Most people will never build their own home these days (even with the cost savings).
If the economy is working properly there shouldn't be cost savings by doing it yourself. That's the whole point of division of labor.
If you work (or have worked) in construction you have the experience to do it at less cost. If you have friends who will all share labor to build their own houses, then you quickly get the experience.
If you can't earn more money in your spare time (burn out from working too many hours at your "day job" is very real!) then your labor is worth zero and you save money. Even if you could earn more elsewhere, if you enjoy working in construction once in a while your time is less valuable.
There might be market distortions that mean labor for construction gets paid more then the real value. Thus making you more competitive.
You might have a job that is less valuable than construction, and thus your time building your own things is worth less than the person you might hire.
You might have reasons (valid or invalid) to believe the professionals would do a bad job.
You might be a complete klutz that should never touch a tool. You might hate building things. You might be disabled. You might want to do something else with your time. All of these are valid reasons not do something.
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You can get a construction loan in some States and in those States you are allowed to build your own house. Now the bank may have some requirements (show them your plans etc...) on you but you can generally act as your own general contractor. Still I think a reputable builder + home inspector + real estate attorney is the better way to go. At least if the contractor is registered with the State you can usually get ac…
True. The barrier here is then convincing the bank to give you the construction loan. The big construction companies (in some states in the US) move through homes so quickly and have found ways to reduce the amount of material used in certain parts of the build. They don’t necessarily provide a better home than you could build yourself. If you have recourse against them due to poor workmanship then that sounds like a…
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I have not seen a lender that will give an "owner-builder" a construction loan without being a licensed general contractor. There are various common ways to structure a deal with a general contractor - fixed price, "cost-plus", or construction manager (where you convince them to "use" their license and they check your work).
Several of my family members have gotten such a lot, so as of 15 years ago it was still possible. Building your own house is a good way to get end up in divorce. It hasn't happened in my family but they tell me that the stress is too high. You have to get that house built quick because the loan terms only give you a few months before you have to refinance.
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If the economy is working properly there shouldn't be cost savings by doing it yourself. That's the whole point of division of labor.
This is irrelevant since he provides labor/services by himself. You are telling me that if economy is properly working, a mother should not cut the daughter's hair since it should not be cost saving ? I'm sorry if I misunderstood your point.
Which is fine as far as it goes for theoretical economics. But, in practice, as in your example, the mother probably doesn't have a way to get paid for doing some other task rather than cutting the daughter's hair--and would likely take even more time to go to the barber anyway.
It does make sense to pay for some tasks you could do yourself. But in a lot of cases you're not actually saving money especially if you're not earning money by the hour and are maxed out on how much time you're able to spend earning.
Only watched the first couple of videos - but they don't sell ladders in Canada?
Reminds me of a heartwarming video I watched several times of a man and his family building a simply beautiful "log cabin" by hand using primitive tools and techniques.
I've never wanted to quit my engineering job and hectic lifestyle more and go do the same thing. Sadly, I know it's way beyond anything I could ever achieve but it still feels nice to watch it again.
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Most of the damage during a hurricane occurs due to the storm surge, which is a wall of water that is pushed up on land and then drains back out. Even if the structure remains intact - and storm surges have no problem washing concrete and stone away - the house has to be ripped apart. The flooding ruins sheetrock, furniture, carpet, etc and mold growth is a huge issue. The wind is usually not that big a deal unless y…
Depends on whether you're in a flood zone. A lot of Florida isn't in flood zones, so storm surge isn't a cause for most of the damage there, it's trees and wind and debris. However, flood zones around the world are growing.
Debris doesn't cause a lot of damage, particularly if you've prepped for the hurricane (by boarding up windows, garaging cars, etc.) The biggest factors are definitely trees and storm surge.
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This is a good thing. You want any home you may buy to have been built under the supervision of a licensed general contractor.
$2k gets you a general contractor licence in my area (Canada). The fact someone is licensed means almost nothing at all for general contractors. Its more important they have insurance.