NH Real Estate (home builders, to buy, contractors)

[jja100]

Has anybody ever built a home on land that they bought in NH? If so anybody care to elaborate on the process or the DO's and DONT's? Whether it is better to buy land with electrical hookup already available or land that is designated conservation etc.?

Are there any custom home builders that anybody can recommend? And do they have the ability to build other style homes outside of the traditional cape cod or colonial?

To be honest, I love the state of NH but I am not a real fan of the colonial/cape cod styles. I have been doing some extensive real estate hunting and I can never find stone homes at all in NH. If I were to build a home, I would use stone siding and a slate roof if possible. I want the best materials but I am not demanding on square footage... 1600 square feet with a basement on 3-5 acres of land is ideal for me.

All I see for homes are vinyl/wood siding and asphalt roofs! For a state with all that weather I would think they would use materials that hold up better! Is it because it is too expensive in terms of labor? Or are materials like stone and slate listed materials up there that are hard and expensive to find? Or is it just the traditional style that NH wishes to adhere to?

I know I have a lot of questions but if anybody can elaborate and explain to an out of stater as to why this is it would be greatly appreciated.

I am wondering if it is even worth building and if you save any money by doing so or at least spend the same money but get better quality materials... if not it is not worth the time or aggravation.

[WannaComeHome]

You're kidding, right? You're cranky because on a holiday weekend no one responded in under an hour?

[muttmom]

Of course NH has plenty of custom home builders who can build outside the realm of capes and colonials. Your questions about stone and slate can be better answered by talking to local builders and contractors.

I do know that the price of building materials has not dropped the way the housing market has, and labor is not cheap around here, so if you are building a custom home from scratch be prepared to spend some serious coin. You might be able to find a decent deal on raw land, though.

Also, if you are not familiar with the region I would proceed with caution. These are just a few things to consider:

First off, obviously due to the winters you can't build year round. You'll most likely need to have septic/well installed, and the town will need to approve your septic plans. If you don't have electric lines on the street for hookup you'll have to pay to bring those in. If you hit ledge when they start digging to put in foundation (this happened to friends of mine) you have to blast it (was a HUGE unexpected expense). Be prepared to have the process be more complex and expensive than it seems on paper.

There are plenty of houses in NH that aren't capes or colonials. Lots of ranches, craftsmen, split levels, and even some moderns. And not all capes and colonials have traditional interior layouts.

However, the first thing that came to mind when I read this post was
'When in Rome......'
Just sayin'

[jja100]

Thx muttmom... really insightful. I forget you guys actually get change of season lol.

As for WannaComeHome, I don't know what your deal is with me but you neither have to read or respond to my posts but thank you for your bump anyway

As for the interior of the home I think the homes are realllly nice. The exterior was what I was really referring to since typically stone and slate hold up best in the winter.

I probly will just end up replacing the siding and roof when I incurr problems. Hopefully it wont cost more than 50k for the roof and 50k for the siding.

[jthibodeau]

Originally Posted by jja100

Has anybody ever built a home on land that they bought in NH?

Yes, Many times.....

Originally Posted by jja100

or land that is designated conservation etc.?

But, don't plan on building here. It's been "designated conservation" and will stay that way (I can't help myself) "til the cows come home!"

[muttmom]

Wow- I take the time to respond to your post and you can only insult me?

After reading some of your previous posts and and based on the questions you were asking I thought obvious answers might be most beneficial for you.

I hope you aren't indicitave of the rest of the posters here or I won't be sticking around.

Good luck building your stone and slate house and please don't move to my town.

[jja100]

What did I say to insult you? That you have change of season? That is what I want in an area to move to. I am sick of the lack of weather here in CA. Sorry if you took that as an insult.

[muttmom]

Sorry - I thought you were sarcastically making fun of my post. I don't know a ton about building, but was trying to help as no one was responding.

If you didn't mean it that way I apologize as well. Truce?

[jja100]

truce for sure. I honestly wasn't being sarcastic. I am originally from CT and miss the change of season. I was born a New Englander then my parents moved to CA later and now after living in CA miss the east coast a lot.

[jja100]

NP truce. I wasn't being sarcastic. Sometimes these text messages cannot relay the tone when you speak so people can take it the wrong way. honest mistake on my part, I should have added more content to my response.