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Old 07-09-2015, 12:14 PM
 
Location: Edgewater, CO
531 posts, read 1,138,857 times
Reputation: 643

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I'm curious if anyone has any advice on this. My family owns a few acres in an area of Park County called Indian Mountain. The land is undeveloped, though, there's electricity and phone at the corner. Water's not a concern, as we have rights to drill a well (with permit of course) provided the augmentation plan stays in compliance (it has stayed in compliance for the last 40+ years).

Here's what I'm curious about. Has anyone here built a home in a similar, rural setting? If so, would you share how much it cost?

My wife and I just want something simple that we can escape to on the weekends. 2-3 bedroom, under 1000 sqft. We wouldn't have any money for doing this for many years, but it would help to have an idea how much this costs now to have an idea for a goal.
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Old 07-10-2015, 07:55 AM
 
242 posts, read 409,430 times
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Since you have the land....figure $100-200 a sq ft for a basic home depending on finishes. (house only) A "Custom" home with all of the bells and whistles and top notch finishes will easily be double those figures or more.

A lot will depend on if the state is in one of it's boom cycles or one of its bust cycles and how many people in that area are swinging hammers/in the construction business. Zillow/Trulia will give you an idea of what homes may sell for in that area. A few calls to builders may also shed some light on what the going price currently is. Good luck.
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Old 07-10-2015, 09:00 AM
 
3,111 posts, read 4,997,749 times
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You may want to consider prefab. Something like this:
GHC - Modular home, not a mobile home, double wide or sectional.

You can do a google search on prefab homes and get some idea on pricing.
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Old 07-12-2015, 11:26 AM
 
Location: Salida, CO
74 posts, read 112,209 times
Reputation: 181
Unfortunately, there are too many variables involved in asking "How Much" based on location, material location, type of material, type of design, fees involving water well and septic system (installation), and of course trades involved. I can tell you RD nailed it regarding cost, since we finished our 4 bedroom - 2 1/2 bath custom just outside of Salida a couple of years ago when times were, we thought, a little tight for the builder and his trades. Fortunately, I never had to pay the architectural fees since my wife was my firm's most brutal client and our home was my last design project. So! There's another fee for you. Avoid those "1001 Plans Book" that "guarantees you a building permit". They rarely work out to be golden for any potential home buyer or the building safety requirements.

If you are on a strict budget, then I would agree with the suggestion to look at a modular (or prefabricated home) for that weekend get-a-way. That is if there are no zoning or possible poa/hoa restrictions.

Best to ya!
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Old 07-14-2015, 11:05 AM
 
11,547 posts, read 52,903,008 times
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Am currently in the final design phase of building a 7,800 sq ft duplex in the Colorado mountains. Planning a fairly high level of finish, although wouldn't call it excessively so. Utilities and water are on site, road access finished. Budget estimate for construction is $325-350 psf, which is consistent with the area houses.

This is targeted to a 2nd homeowner market, not a built down to a budget weekend get-a-way. But if you want to capture a short term rental market in a resort area, you've got to build something that's competitive for amenities, space, quality of finish. That's the target buyer for these units, somebody who will buy it with the intent of rentals when they're not using the place.

Friends recently completed a 2nd home in the mountains west of Trinidad, and after drilling a well/installing a septic system/grading a road/clearing a site ... spent over $200/psf for an energy efficient factory built house that was erected on-site by a crew from the manufacturer. 2bd/2ba, enclosed porch area, attached 2 car garage, sunroom on the south side, 2-story structure. Due to the location, the building/property development took almost 3 years; local contractors were very much in a "maybe tomorrow" attitude despite a poor local economy and the prospect of a paying client. The cost to bring in electricity to the site was over $37,000, but the utility company is taking nominal payments for many years so it's not too big of a bite per month.

Looking over the plans for many manufactured houses which have to be competitive with stick built on site structures, I think you'd be doing well if you could keep the cost psf in the low $100 psf range and doing a lot of the work yourself. Do consider that there's a lot of site development work to be done which is likely best left to a contractor. FWIW, even a mountain weekender is still best built over a basement and not slab-on-grade construction.

As a general outlook, every person I've known to build a mountain place has had to spend 30-100% more than originally planned to finish a place ... everything seems to take more time/effort/energy/materials cost than anticipated to build a decent place, even if "simple" is your goal.

While you may have a "dream" to own & utilize such a place, you really need to have a clear outlook as to how much you'll really use it for your ROA. IMO, most folk would do far better to rent or lease a place in the mountains when they want to stay there.

Last edited by sunsprit; 07-14-2015 at 11:32 AM..
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Old 07-16-2015, 03:02 PM
 
Location: The Springs
1,778 posts, read 2,859,941 times
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Something to consider if you don't want to spend a fortune on the structure itself. We are starting to insure a bunch of these little places, mostly in the PNW.

http://www.ecocabins.com/
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Old 07-17-2015, 06:56 PM
 
11,547 posts, read 52,903,008 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kar54 View Post
Something to consider if you don't want to spend a fortune on the structure itself. We are starting to insure a bunch of these little places, mostly in the PNW.

Home | Eco Cabins
Note that these "tiny houses on wheels" built for a full-time residence aren't exactly inexpensive structures for somebody to build a one-off.

The website has a starting price of mid $50,000 range for the basic unit; likely that a typical buyer will want added features for more functionality. This is well into the $200 per square foot range of structure cost. The only reason the net is as low is due to the very limited square footage of the structure and being built to the RVIA code, which not the same as building code standards for conventional housing.

Personally, if I wanted an inexpensive living space for a part-time use on a small acreage, I'd stick build a larger structure for less money psf than one of these THOW's.

Note, too, that the "park Models" are considered RV's and aren't legal or intended for full time residency. They come under the same construction codes as an RV trailer, and are licensed as such in many states. You may find that these are not legal for a permanent hook up to a septic or sewer system, or full time to a water source.

Here's some details:

"Why is a tiny house not some other type of vehicle or house?
RV: A THOW is not an RV because an RV is a recreational vehicle intended for non-permanent living. In addition, the Department of Motor Vehicles in many states only recognizes RVs that were built by members of the RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Association). A THOW is built as a residence and may be owner-built by a non-professional, non-member of the RVIA.
Park Model RV: While sometimes referred to as a "park model mobile home," a park model is a type of RV and is intended for non-permanent living. According to the RVIA, "Park model RVs are actually titled and registered just like any other RV. Due to their design, small size and use as recreation, vacation and seasonal units, PMRVs are explicitly excluded from being considered or used as a manufactured home under the codes and regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) specifically because they are a type of recreation vehicle (Title 24 § 3282.8(g))."
Manufactured Home: A THOW is not a manufactured home because it is not built in a factory and it is smaller than 320 square feet.
A manufactured home (formerly known as a mobile home) is built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) and displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section. Manufactured homes are built in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis. National manufactured home standards specify that manufactured homes must be at least 8 foot wide, or 40 feet long, for a footprint of at least 320 square feet."
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Old 07-22-2015, 09:41 AM
 
Location: The Springs
1,778 posts, read 2,859,941 times
Reputation: 1891
Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsprit View Post
Note that these "tiny houses on wheels" built for a full-time residence aren't exactly inexpensive structures for somebody to build a one-off.

The website has a starting price of mid $50,000 range for the basic unit; likely that a typical buyer will want added features for more functionality. This is well into the $200 per square foot range of structure cost. The only reason the net is as low is due to the very limited square footage of the structure and being built to the RVIA code, which not the same as building code standards for conventional housing.

Personally, if I wanted an inexpensive living space for a part-time use on a small acreage, I'd stick build a larger structure for less money psf than one of these THOW's.

Note, too, that the "park Models" are considered RV's and aren't legal or intended for full time residency. They come under the same construction codes as an RV trailer, and are licensed as such in many states. You may find that these are not legal for a permanent hook up to a septic or sewer system, or full time to a water source.

Here's some details:

"Why is a tiny house not some other type of vehicle or house?
RV: A THOW is not an RV because an RV is a recreational vehicle intended for non-permanent living. In addition, the Department of Motor Vehicles in many states only recognizes RVs that were built by members of the RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Association). A THOW is built as a residence and may be owner-built by a non-professional, non-member of the RVIA.
Park Model RV: While sometimes referred to as a "park model mobile home," a park model is a type of RV and is intended for non-permanent living. According to the RVIA, "Park model RVs are actually titled and registered just like any other RV. Due to their design, small size and use as recreation, vacation and seasonal units, PMRVs are explicitly excluded from being considered or used as a manufactured home under the codes and regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) specifically because they are a type of recreation vehicle (Title 24 § 3282.8(g))."
Manufactured Home: A THOW is not a manufactured home because it is not built in a factory and it is smaller than 320 square feet.
A manufactured home (formerly known as a mobile home) is built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) and displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section. Manufactured homes are built in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis. National manufactured home standards specify that manufactured homes must be at least 8 foot wide, or 40 feet long, for a footprint of at least 320 square feet."
Can't dispute anything you've noted and not vouching that they're good or bad. Just suggesting one of many options and observing that folks are buying them. There's even a "Tiny Home Jamboree" first week of August in the Springs.
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Old 07-22-2015, 09:59 AM
 
Location: Edgewater, CO
531 posts, read 1,138,857 times
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Thanks for all the opinions, everyone.

Tiny homes are a neat concept, just not what we want on our land.

At this point, we're considering some sort of prefab. There's a couple of nice prefab home builders that work with contractors in Park county, and that seems to be the best bang for the buck. We don't need or desire some overly huge custom home or anything like that.

Talking with the neighbors, one of the largest expenses will be the well. The wells in the area are 300-400 feet deep. The septic is also a concern with shallow bedrock in the area, but not as bad as drilling a well.

We are fortunate that power is at a pole just across the street and IREA still has plenty of capacity in the area. There is a phone pedestal right on the corner of the lot too.

The biggest problem we have is putting it all together and coming up with a price. Something to set a savings goal towards. We have no interest in financing the build. We've also had some financial difficulties come up this past week, and we basically don't have the income to save for it anymore. So, this discussion is basically moot for us anyways... but thanks
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Old 07-29-2015, 11:56 PM
 
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
7,646 posts, read 9,880,377 times
Reputation: 16449
I find the $50,000 "tiny house" concept halarious.

When it cools down I'm going to build a "tiny house" aka a tool shed, out back. Below are material cost.

10x16 slab about $800 installed.

2x6 structure with door two windows and storage/sleep loft, with metal hip roof and 6' covered porch - about $1,900.

Eventually, meaning probably never, we will insulate and drywall and reuse a pile of engineered wood flooring I have, about $900. Considering a removable (unpermitted 1/2 bath) and will be wired to code for elect. Either a $200 wall unit a/c or maybe splurge on a mini split for $1,800. The whole thing will plug into two 20 amp existing sockets on the main house , so no permit needed.

Total cost under $5,000 for what will eventually be either an office or guest house.

For $50k I will build these all day for anyone who wants one! I'll even add a gold plated door knocker...
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