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Do you think that all the good pieces of land are being scooped up by builders? I feel like we would be left with land options that would be a pain to built on. We're now more focused on building in a new development as our first option.
We looked at a lot of properties that should be considered unbuildable, IMHO. Steep grade, no table land and crazy prices. Some of the land has been on the market for years. You'll also find lots of subdivisions that went under, a few houses were built but the infrastructure was never completed, new investors went in and scooped up the lots and are now trying to sell them - be very careful and know what you are buying into.
We finally got creative, located land or houses we liked in our target areas then found out who the owners are through the county GIS maps. We sent out letters introducing ourselves, explaining what we were looking for and asking them to contact us now or in the future if they might want to sell. Out of 30 letters, almost 2/3 called me even if it was just to say they weren't selling but wishing us good luck. A few offered to keep an eye out for us and one called me back 2 x with leads on land. And one letter turned out to be 'the one' - the perfect property for us in the perfect location and now we own it and will be building soon. Think outside the box if you want to beat other buyers at this game.
Yes I do think builders are grabbing up all the good land from single buyers. They have the money to spend. There are a lot of lots in developments. We are having a harder time because we want unrestricted land. I have seen some land that is not bad. There is one in Fletcher that is 1.54 acres for $40,000. It's all flat with trees in the way back of it. Part of it is in a flood zone, but it is way in the back near the tree line. I have seen a lot of land that is basically for homes on stilts or no yard. I it ridiculous at the price of land here. I found 5.5 acres in New Hampshire for $20,000 with a big pond on it and it was all flat. I have seen land here for 0.17 acre for over $100,000. What the heck can you put on there but a single wide trailer.
We only have $20,000 for land, so it has been really hard trying to find what we want. We want to have some ducks, a couple of geese and some chickens, that's why we need unrestricted land. We found one, we really like, but the owners won't come down low enough for us, so we had my boyfriend's mom apply for a loan so we could see about buying the land together, she will get 1 acre and we will get the other acre. It is taking forever for the loan company to process her loan. It was only suppose to take 30-45 days max. It's been over 60 days now.
We have not signed with Schumacher. Still possible only if we can find land.
We are talking with local builders as well, and we were actually just referred to a builder who is doing a new home development of a couple of dozen homes in east Asheville. The tempting part of going with this builder is that it is a small development and we don't have to go out and look for land. We are also keeping our eye on the very few existing houses that meet our criteria. In fact, we did make an offer on a house last week...we were 1 of 3 (maybe more) offers that came in within less than 24 hours of it being on the market. Yowzers!
How is your search coming along?
Search is... going. We sat down and looked at the Schumacher plan we had picked out and after playing around and really digging into the features that would be important to us, the add-on cost would be an additional $10-15k. That's on top of the other "add-ons" we'd already selected at our consult (I feel like lots of these things simply shouldn't be considered add-ons, but whatever). We knew that this was their price structuring beforehand, but wanted to play around with numbers anyway. Still thinking about using them, but we also had a meeting with the contractor who built our current home in Asheville (so we already know he creates an excellent quality home) and were surprised how reasonable his rates were. Do you have any friends in Asheville that have used custom home contractors in the past? I feel like the contractors you might find by cold calling the first results that appear on google are going to be *much* more expensive than, say, a builder who is so busy building and living off WOM that he doesn't have time nor skills to invest in marketing and SEO.
With that said, I did hours worth of research on Schumacher, and I found several posts which indicated their prices are semi negotiable. So they're not out of the running for us (yet). Also, did you drive by and walk around their Monterrey floor plan home in West Asheville? The workers will allow you to take a peek. It's always nice to see a finished or nearly finished home (that isn't a model home). America's Home Place was option #3 for us but after viewing several of their finished homes, we found something about them to look a little modular-ish (it seems like AHP is Schumacher's biggest local competitor, and admittedly they're a smaller company and have better reviews, but the quality difference is apparent in our minds).
So basically all of this to say, we're still looking. And it's between Schumacher and our current home's contractor now. Probably will make the final decision once we have a piece of property secured. Still hunting!!
We decided to go with a new green build house that is currently under construction. And, as of tonight...we have an accepted offer! After looking at existing homes, a couple of developments, and learning more about the challenges of finding build-able land in our price range...this was the best option for us.
We were very close to building a house as well and had decided for a modular as well (nationwide homes here in asheville). we toured the plant in martinsville and were very impressed. since everything is computerized and done in a dry environment, the house might turn out better than a site built home.
it was a struggle though to find a nice lot. modular still have a bad reputation and many puts them on the same level with manufactured houses. in the end we were able to close on one in an upscale neighborhood (ashley woods) after we convinced them of the quality and great arts and crafts style look. this step took so much longer than expected .... and then we had to deal with all the restrictions regarding the front yard .... and decided to let go and buy an existing house, so we were able to move in before school started.
I still love the way we planned our house, but it is always good to be reminded that it for sure can be a very painful and exhausting process.
nationwide offered so many options and we were very flexible when it came to exterior and interior designs.
We were very close to building a house as well and had decided for a modular as well (nationwide homes here in asheville). we toured the plant in martinsville and were very impressed. since everything is computerized and done in a dry environment, the house might turn out better than a site built home.
it was a struggle though to find a nice lot. modular still have a bad reputation and many puts them on the same level with manufactured houses. in the end we were able to close on one in an upscale neighborhood (ashley woods) after we convinced them of the quality and great arts and crafts style look. this step took so much longer than expected .... and then we had to deal with all the restrictions regarding the front yard .... and decided to let go and buy an existing house, so we were able to move in before school started.
I still love the way we planned our house, but it is always good to be reminded that it for sure can be a very painful and exhausting process.
nationwide offered so many options and we were very flexible when it came to exterior and interior designs.
Do you mind me asking what your home is costing you and the sqft? I wonder how their price compares to Clayton home ( we may need to look into them).
Hi there—it has been several years since your initial post and I am dying to know how things turned out for you? I live in Western NC and in the same position you were in 2015. I thought I’d start searching for a newer home to purchase but the market is really bad for buyers!! I’m getting discouraged and feeling that building might be my best option. Can you please catch me up and let me know what decision you made and how it worked out for you? Hope all is well
Building costs are through the roof. You have two choices, either look at houses that are below your budget, so you can win a bidding war, or wait several years for this market to cool down. I chose the first option and am closing on Friday. The condo I bought was 1/2 my maximum budget. If the market cools down in a couple years, I will sell and buy something nicer, but for now it works.
Building costs are through the roof. You have two choices, either look at houses that are below your budget, so you can win a bidding war, or wait several years for this market to cool down. I chose the first option and am closing on Friday. The condo I bought was 1/2 my maximum budget. If the market cools down in a couple years, I will sell and buy something nicer, but for now it works.
Agreed. And not just in WNC but everywhere. It's definitely a builders' and sellers' market for the foreseeable future.
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We sat down and looked at the Schumacher plan we had picked out and after playing around and really digging into the features that would be important to us, the add-on cost would be an additional $10-15k. That's on top of the other "add-ons" we'd already selected at our consult (I feel like lots of these things simply shouldn't be considered add-ons, but whatever). We knew that this was their price structuring beforehand, but wanted to play around with numbers anyway. Still thinking about using them, but we also had a meeting with the contractor who built our current home in Asheville (so we already know he creates an excellent quality home) and were surprised how reasonable his rates were. Do you have any friends in Asheville that have used custom home contractors in the past? I feel like the contractors you might find by cold calling the first results that appear on google are going to be *much* more expensive than, say, a builder who is so busy building and living off WOM that he doesn't have time nor skills to invest in marketing and SEO. 
Updated status?
