Buy or Build (Portland, Brunswick: buying a house, buying, construction)

[1Amo]

My husband and I are looking into moving to ME (we love the Portland area!) from Europe. Is it "better" to buy an old place (typical New England) or find a lovely piece of land and build? We have renovated several properties here in Europe, and thus love the "real thing" - but they may be out of our price range. We have no idea what it costs to build from scratch in the US - especially if you want to build something stronger than a ply-board house.

Thanks for your feedback,

Amo

[dazui]

I will choose build.Though it costs you much money, it is your own house.You can design it by yourself and you can do whatever you do.

[exscrantonian]

If you want old character and something with history buying a house makes more sense especially if you want to live in Portland proper. Try realtor.com for specifics. As for me I would buy not build. It depends on what you want.

[399083453]

One trend I've been seeing for years is, if you are going to build in maine, buying the wood from Canada will save you lots of money. The US dollar is worth more in canada because of the exchange rate and the lumber is cheaper because the canadian government subsidizes the lumber industry.

My personal opinion, is an old house in Maine. Buy all replacement windows, new furnace, check or install more insulation and you have a great house.

[bgrasser]

Google: Pro Fab Homes; complete package will cost
$125.00 square foot.

[forest beekeeper]

We bought land and are now finishing building our home.

Designing it was a lot of fun.

It will be far cheaper than buying a new home would have been.

And it is very nice to have a home where everything is 'our idea'.

[ALToons]

Originally Posted by 399083453

One trend I've been seeing for years is, if you are going to build in maine, buying the wood from Canada will save you lots of money. The US dollar is worth more in canada because of the exchange rate and the lumber is cheaper because the canadian government subsidizes the lumber industry.

My personal opinion, is an old house in Maine. Buy all replacement windows, new furnace, check or install more insulation and you have a great house.

Interesting...

I have thought of rebuilding or the entertaining thought of relocating has been an entertaining thought as well.

The first flag that went to me however was: Does the cost, tariffs (or whatever you call them to send things from one country to the other through customs), and delivery outweigh the costs of purchasing for a local company? How can you find more info on this? What Canadian lumber company delivers to Maine? I'm assuming its either from Quebec or New Brunswick, would like to see more info or directed to more info on this.

Also to state I have been researching about Stick Built vs System Built homes.
Everywhere that I look at, System Built, or modular is always bragged as better. Climate controlled building, less confusion over less contractors, less chance of contractors not showing up, keeping people at a standstill/delayed.

Thicker walls for insulation and sound proofing, repairs if shifting occurs on the house, etc.

The one thing that I have only been able to see as far as what does Stick Built has to offer is that if a Modular Home cannot accommodate your design, a Stick Built construction can do so with no problems.

That and the other is price. If you are willing to alter something that a modular cannot do, you can save a lot of money on the house. However I am still on a limb about this, the reason being is that after you take into consideration that the actual cost of the modular home is about 50% of the finished home, if appears to be about the same as Stick Built, and how hard would it be to demand 2'x6" boards instead of 2'x4"''s?

If anyone has better information about Stick vs System built, it would be appreciated, Thanks!

Forgot to add in: Places like a cul de sac that are in development seem to have homes that are recently built and of course are marked up a little for profit, so in this case, build your own would be better cause it will be cheaper, maybe not much but at least a little. Also supposedly, a modular is cheaper than stick but according to one site that I read, a modular when completed is worth more in value when completed, so the value is better when complete and doesnt depreciate like a manufactured home (mobile homes). Can anyone verify this?

[GrittyMcDuffy]

It is cheaper and Maine is running ads now to remind folks to buy Maine grown wood as a result. OK, drop your prices Maine!

[Bydand]

Personally, I would build, and I would go with the Styrofoam block forms. The insulating factor is tremendous and they are very nice when finished. I have done a couple of these as an Electrician and while they are a pain in the bottom to wire, they make a great energy-efficient home. A couple I know can heat their home all winter with a single 250 Gallon tank of oil; they do not burn wood, or any other alternative heating method. It is always cool in the hot Summer and warm in the Winter. I would build my own home in a minute with this method.

[Moxie]

Where do you find energy efficient builders? I am amazed at the lack of Energy Star homes in a region that should have the most.