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In desirable areas good building lots are becoming scarce, thus expensive. Builders aren't going to acquire an expensive lot then put a "budget" starter house on it. In my area, starter and even more expensive houses on prime lots are being demolished to make way for very expensive houses. It's just business.
Even in non-desirable areas in North Jersey lots are expensive. It's due to the proximity to NYC. One would need a hefty down payment to be able to afford a new home or even a fully renovated cape cod. People would rather sacrifice living in a sketchy area in North Jersey and own than paying a landlords' mortgage in NYC.....
Kinda cheat.. since all three children are boys. lol... they get along really well.. bonus! We've learned to adapt... think out of the box and creatively storage wise. We utilize overhead space a lot. Wardrobe wise, I have the same set all year round. We also spend most of the day outside in the backyard even though its still just a 50x100 lot. We've created an area to eat, two seating areas, a couple small sheds, and a lounging swing (I take naps on it). I do most of the cooking and a lot of what I cook is grill (even during winter)... so that area is like an extension on the kitchen. We've also installed plenty of sail cloth shades for more comfort under the hot sun.
Yeah.. winters can be a challenge since you are coup'd up inside but for the most part, NJ has mild winters.
We've always been on the frugal side anyways.. She isn't a big spender. My childhood was during a time parents didn't have a lot of income. So when we decided to pass up on the nicer cars and nicer home etc... it wasn't all that difficult to accept the realities.
We laugh at the Tiny home shows on TV because broken to sqft per person, we are actually "Tiny-er".
Small home, close family.
Sounds great! You seem to make it work. I agree with many aspects of your ideology. When we buy, we want to stay well below the amount of mortgage we qualify for, 15 years max.
It sounds like your boys are small; do you plan on making your current set-up work when they’re teens?
New construction many times is inferior to a house built years ago.
Many new homes use EFIS(synthetic stucco) which present a host of problems.
Older homes many times have a much larger lot.
Some new homes settle resulting in cracking of foundations/walls(which you won't find out for a while.
Hopefully the new home won't have Chinese drywall which gives off sulphur and corrodes plumbing and electrical systems.
Love the 70's masonry home verses the 2020 EFIS or Vinyl sided home.
While I agree with you that many times older homes are superior to newer ones, new home buyers want the satisfaction that nothing will break for at least 10+ years. The majority of new homes built in NJ have no basements, so there are no concerns on cracking of foundations. That is another reason new homes are built huge, no basements so they get built high and no flooding issues.....
While I agree with you that many times older homes are superior to newer ones, new home buyers want the satisfaction that nothing will break for at least 10+ years. The majority of new homes built in NJ have no basements, so there are no concerns on cracking of foundations. That is another reason new homes are built huge, no basements so they get built high and no flooding issues.....
Really? I was not aware that new homes in NJ have no basement.
There are zoning restriction on new construction with minimum lot sizes that doesn't apply to old construction. In the Howell area there are plenty of old construction single family homes in the $300-$400K range. Many with large lots of 1/3 acre or more. Many with city water and sewer and natural gas. Many have been updated. All you need to do is look.
Howell is not a practical commute to the main job centers in North Jersey and NYC. People nowadays are not willing to have long commutes like in the past. People will pass up on towns like Randolph or Chester and buy in Rutherford or Wood-Ridge for a shorter commute. That definitely wasn’t the case during the 80s and 90s.
I hear now many employees are clamoring for more WFH options after Covid, so things might change. Let’s see.
Can you imagine going to your employer and saying I not only want to get paid for what I do, but I want a profit on top of that ?!
That is what I'm talking about.
You have no idea what you are talking about. It is not just a job. He has invested and risked his own money and borrowed money to complete this house.
The builder is the same guy who bought the property and he is the GC . He has all the risk of carrying costs if the property does not sell quickly. Every month it does not sell reduces his profit. He also has the risk if the property sells for less than he spent. Then he has what is known as a loss.
That is why he is entitled to all the profit he can get.
I've been talking about when I own the lot. No investment nor risk on the builder's part. I pay the builder in increments, when milestones are completed.
I've been talking about when I own the lot. No investment nor risk on the builder's part. I pay the builder in increments, when milestones are completed.
That would depend on the market wouldn't it? The builder can only do so many projects and he would take the better paying ones.
Sounds great! You seem to make it work. I agree with many aspects of your ideology. When we buy, we want to stay well below the amount of mortgage we qualify for, 15 years max.
It sounds like your boys are small; do you plan on making your current set-up work when they’re teens?
My elder son is 13 and I have twins at 7. We only planned for 2 but surprise! No real plans except to keep doing what we've been doing.
The larger bedroom is for them and we have two twin bunkbeds.. 4 beds total. It kinda looks like barracks.. haha. Funny thing, is they still somehow end up falling asleep in a single twin. We sold our dining room set and converted the dining room to a activity/play room (legos everywhere!.. dual purpose). While it was nice to have a small dining room, we realized that the space only gets used for a single purpose maybe 1-2 hours a day... kinda of a waste of space.
We have a large foldout table and chairs that convert our living room into a dining room. We can seat 8 people. I highly recommend Stakmore furniture. All foldable but they look like real furniture. Coffee table slides aside and it too is a storage unit (dual purpose). Side tables are also storage units (dual purpose). We have stair step chest for display and yes... storage (dual purpose).
Kitchen has storage on roll around carts. Cookware/small appliances that are typical used together are stored together.. other carts that won't be used for that particular meal.. get rolled aside in the hallway. The grill outside isn't something we use on a holiday/occasion/event. It is used often like an extension to the kitchen. We have a full size fridge. We also have two freezers and three compact fridges in the garage... buy bulk food for cost.
I used to live in an illegal apartment (no kitchen) for years to survive. I did similar... The single electric burner got stored with frying pans.. etc... I was even more creative... Example... I sourced a commercial large clothing iron so it can be turned up-side-down (set to HI) in a garbage pale and used to cook on.
Bathroom has a slightly higher ceiling. So I put white wire shelves overhead around its perimeter for storage. One floor cabinet has a shelves on one side and only one shelf on the other. The bottom was sacrificed to literally cut a hole through the cabinet and through the floor to create a laundry shoot so there is no need for a hamper (dual purpose)
If you notice there is a pattern.. Things in our house usually 1) have multiple purposes/uses 2) a dedicated place to store it. If we buy something new/better.. something else ends up on sale or disposed.
Maybe I should start a thread on tiny home living... Hope this gives you ideas to make your space work.
I've been talking about when I own the lot. No investment nor risk on the builder's part. I pay the builder in increments, when milestones are completed.
Unfortunately, what you expect to pay and what builders expect to earn is not lining up. It does not have anything to do with the size of your project.
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