custom homes in Tucson (Oro Valley, Green Valley: bank owned, extended stay, appointed)
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Hello all well here I am again as Thanksgiving approaches and it is time to start dreaming about the nice sunny days in Tucson. Does anyone have any information on custom home building in Tucson? Can you buy a piece of land and have someone build a house for <$250,000 total? Those of you that have been on this forum for a while will remember me as a dreamer from Massachusetts who works at Raytheon and is dreaming about making the big move to the sunshine. Things are still very slow here in the northeast as far as real estate goes. When the heck are things going to turn around? Rick you still out there? Custom home on a 1 acre lot (3 bdrm, 2 bth, 3 car garage)? Is that possible? Happy Thanksgiving to all. Helena and Mike.....we had 12" of snoe on Oct 30th. We were without power for 4 days again here on the NH border......
Hello all well here I am again as Thanksgiving approaches and it is time to start dreaming about the nice sunny days in Tucson. Does anyone have any information on custom home building in Tucson? Can you buy a piece of land and have someone build a house for <$250,000 total? Those of you that have been on this forum for a while will remember me as a dreamer from Massachusetts who works at Raytheon and is dreaming about making the big move to the sunshine. Things are still very slow here in the northeast as far as real estate goes. When the heck are things going to turn around? Rick you still out there? Custom home on a 1 acre lot (3 bdrm, 2 bth, 3 car garage)? Is that possible? Happy Thanksgiving to all. Helena and Mike.....we had 12" of snoe on Oct 30th. We were without power for 4 days again here on the NH border......
Hey brrrrrr! How have you been? Yes I am still here. Watching the Patriots game the other night got me thinking of you and realized I had not seen you here for awhile. Sorry to hear about all the snow. Roses are still in bloom in my backyard and weather should be great for the holiday.
As for building a custom home on an acre lot for under 250K, possible yes, but would depend greatly on finding a workable lot in an area you would like. The ideal thing would be finding a bank owned lot that already have water and sewer/septic & electrical at the lot line. An acre of land can run from 1,000 acre to over 200,000 depending on location, utilities and amenities. When you start adding the price of digging a well, adding a septic, running electrical, the cost on a low priced lot adds up quick. As for the price of custom home construction, that will vary greatly depending on the amenitites on the inside. (formica countertops vs granite, carpet vs tile etc) It can run 100.00 to 150.00 sf, that is just for construcion cost and assuming a somewhat level lot that is not in a flood zone that would require extra site prep. Then depending on whcih municiplity you build in there are enviromnmental impact fees that vary from one area to another. In Oro Valley, even if you have water at the lot line, there is a 10,000.00 impact fee for the Town Of Oro Valley to install a water meter! So there are a lot of variables.
Prices overall have dropped quite a bit in the last year, you may find some of the existing homes that meet your criteria might be a better way to go at the moment.
Location: Oro Valley, yeah....we are residents here now....
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Hi Brrrrrr, yes Jaffrey got 24" of snow.....and got more yesterday (told 6"+). Sounds like it is going to be a rough year there. We are doing well here in Oro Valley, it was nice and warm today. We had the windows and doors open during Thanksgiving dinner......
ha ha ha you "guys" are too funny. Actually it was a nice holiday here too. About 50 degrees. Not bad at all. Hope you all had a nice holiday as we did here. But it is getting to be that time of year again. I have been looking at some pieces of land on the web. I just can not wrap my head around living on 7000 sq. ft........ You better really get along with your neighbors when you are that close. I really think if we did that we would be disappointed.
One idea might be to buy a foreclosed piece of junk, tear it down, salvage whatever parts you can to save money, and rebuild to taste. There are tons of foreclosures all over town right now, and with the weak market many of them have deteriorated and become even harder to sell, and the prices just keep dropping.
A friend who works in construction and has built his own home says that the cheapest local option for building material is adobe--and also one of the best deals for low heating and cooling costs down the line. Strawbale, which works better in other parts of the country, does not work here, because desert termites get into it and demolish it. Whatever wooden parts you use in your custom home, make sure that they're termite-resistant.
I have been looking on the web for custom home builders that will construct a "reasonably" priced home (not the $500,000 variety) and they are few and far between. Looks like you can still get an acre of land for $20,000 - $40,000 with utilities near by. Anyone know what it would cost to install a septic system or dig a well. Rick said it costs $10,000 just to get a water meter installed in OV? OUCH!!!!!! Talk about the towns gouging you. That is incredible. I would love to be in OV but it looks like it would probably be more realistic to assume we might be in Marana or Sahuarita. I do not really concern myself with the commute times to Raytheon as I am an early riser and try to go in at "off" hours if they allow it. Currently I drive 1 hour each way to work here in the northeast (31 miles each way). As long as I wouldn't go over that then I am not that concerned.
brrrr....we were looking at custom too and it is difficult to find one on an acre (under $300k). We are thinking we may "settle" for 1-2 acres and a typical cookie cutter house in Sahuarita Highlands (DR Horton). Prices and the views are great, but not overly thrilled with the houses. Vail seems great too but we don't want to live so far east.
brrrr....we were looking at custom too and it is difficult to find one on an acre (under $300k). We are thinking we may "settle" for 1-2 acres and a typical cookie cutter house in Sahuarita Highlands (DR Horton). Prices and the views are great, but not overly thrilled with the houses. Vail seems great too but we don't want to live so far east.
Yea jksn we were less than impressed with DRHorton. We did like Lennar and Pulte but they never offer anything with any land. I think I would be more inclined to get something with some land and make some improvements myself. Rick what do you know about Horton??? Do you know people that own Horton homes? What is the quality associated with Horton homes?
My spouse and I are hiding from Cape Cod weather in Green Valley (we arrived this past Tuesday and will remain until the first week in May. We have a long-term rental.). I'd suggest you at least explore the current housing market in the Tucson area before deciding on building a new home. Prices are very reasonable at the moment.
My spouse and I are hiding from Cape Cod weather in Green Valley (we arrived this past Tuesday and will remain until the first week in May. We have a long-term rental.). I'd suggest you at least explore the current housing market in the Tucson area before deciding on building a new home. Prices are very reasonable at the moment.
Best,
Rich
Lucky you Rich! We will get there someday. We did enjoy the Green Valley/Sahuarita area when we were there a couple of years ago. We have only been there twice for a week each time. Are you retired? Is that why you get an extended stay ha ha ha. 11 more years for me to get to that stage.
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