Don't build your own home!

[chickeypoo]

yeah some of those houses are way more expensive than building your own. i know. we are just rewiring an old house while still living in our trailer. soon to be living in the house. but we also have to do some work for the gas line for our stove.

this alone has been hell lol

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:

 

[newchickgal]

Quote:
I know what you mean, but Michigan is not for me (sorry- I don't care for cold weather). We moved to the Republic of Panama about 9 years ago, from Northern California (which is were we remodeled the fixer upper). The typical house here has low roofs and in many homes instead of windows they have decorative blocks. I needed real windows and a high ceiling. There also are many other differences in the way most houses are built here as compared to in the states.

 

[babylady4]

We bought out house 10 years ago to fix it up and sell to move to the country.... well, after gutting out the kitchen and dining room all at once we took a 4 year breather and then took on the living room. The back hall, second bath and bonus room are the last to be worked on and that is happening right now. I will be so HAPPY when we stop playing around and sell this joint!

Actually what will make me very happy is having a bathtub so I can take my nice loooooooong soaks. I miss that......

 

[jojo@rolling acres farm]

We decided to take the "plunge" and build our own home about 8 years ago. It was/is a nightmare. Never again. The builder we used was a scammer, took us for an additional $30,000 +. At one point, they tried to tap into our bank account. Later, there was a class action law suit filed against this builder and they left the state. After comparing stories with other victims, we found out we were some of the lucky ones. The stress involved in other familes caused illness and in one case a heart attack and near death - Plus they were bilked out of more money than we even were.

One morning, after suffering from shingles for 11 weeks on my face from the stress. I told him that I longed for the day that I would see his truck's tail lights leave my property for good. We took posession of our house 10 days later...some of it was unfinished.

The last we heard, they were down in LA "working" with victims of Hurricane Katrina...nice.

My best advice to anyone is...buy an existing home. Is it a perfect experience? No. But, I've done it both ways now and one IS easier that the other - believe me.

Joni

 

[newchickgal]

What a terrible thing for you to go through jojo. So glad that you came through it ok. Here's to all the scammers out there

 

[BigBadCryBaby]

Been there, done that. It was worse during the boom when all the builders were over-committed and labor and materials were all back ordered. Now, they are more motivated to get it done right and on time. Still, it's a huge pain in the neck.

 

[Stumpy]

Oh, boy, can I relate to this!!!! And I'm not talking about using a contractor -- we're the contractors. We and family did a lot of the work, except foundation, roofing, plumbing, sheetrock work, the majority of the tile flooring,

This coming July will make 10 years since we broke ground and we're still not finished with our house! Before we started, people said, "If your marriage can survive this, it can survive anything!" We couldn't physically do it again, much less mentally, but there is a lot to be said for having no mortgage.

I could share lots of "war stories", but I won't take up the space. I hope you're able to finish soon.

 

[MoSo]

About 3 years ago we had a contractor build the shell and we've been finishing it - ever since. Last fall, the interior was completely, finally, done. That was a lot of work, with just the two of us doing it. The result is beautiful and 100% paid for, though. Now that I'm done with it, I'm actually good at things like tiling and plastering (faux plaster) walls, which I'd never done before.

The thing I hate most? Drywall. Lifting those sheets. Sanding those sheets.

My shower:

 

[Mahonri]

I've heard that chances of divorce go up when couples build a home. Can't be true.