Living on property with family while building

[Steve_B]

Looking for insight into this as I have read a few posts where owner builders have done it....

First off a little insight... Our family is my wife and myself and 3 kids ages 15, 12, and 7 plus we have two dogs. We have always been a close family with spending time together and we all get along. We are currently renting a house for $1275 a month which is killing us in terms of NOT being able to save any money after paying all the bills.

We normally get a decent tax return, roughly $7,000 or so as my wife is legally blind and of course the kids as deductions

If we continue to live here and try and filter money to the build it is never going to be built!!! We would prolly just be using tax returns to fund it and it would take several years before we could ever move in and finish it.

My idea..... Buy the property with a portion of the tax return and with the rest, purchase a small rv/camper to park on the property and live in it as we build the house. IF we were to do this, it would free up $1275 a month plus the diference in utilities costs which could be another $200 to $300 a month.

I know many have done it on here, but I would like insight, thoughts, and ideas as to doing it with a family of 5

I could imagine it WILL BE cramped and WILL BE stressful at times for us.... but I can see the big picture in having the house built in 2 years or less and our lives being completely different with no overhead rental costs!

Could anyone offer advice if they have done it with family in hand, or just have done it in general? Was it worth it, or would you have just waited years longer for the build to be done? Did family and friends call you crazy and disown you?

Any insight is appreciated please!

Steve

[rick91351]

It would never work with just my wife and I.  Add the dogs and cat and kids and I would be sleeping in a hobo jungle looking for a south bound to Waxahachie.  Mind you never been there, don't know any body there, don't really care, just goin' there......   Good luck.  If you can make it work then God bless.....
Good Luck

[Barry Broome]

I have not had experience with this, but I'll throw in my thoughts... after all my thoughts are free and just like the government, I'm here to help you 

It would seem that we are a ways out from tax season, so I assume you have time to put together a decent plan? That's good because you'll need this time for planning. Lots and lots of planning. Keep in mind that in other countries they have even more children and live in such tight quarters... I think you can do it if you get the family on board. I imagine the real issues being how to best spend the money that you'll have.

Personally I don't like the idea of an RV for such a family. Would the money be better spent on a bunkhouse of sorts? You could just line the beds up in a row, have one shower/toilet, and have the living room and kitchen together... much like a studio. When the kids complain just whip them like my Father did me while telling me how bad the mental patients at the state school have it. I learned not to do much complaining about being poor.

I certainly believe that your family can come together and make it through such an ordeal. The real question is, can you honestly put that $1,200 a month towards building the home? Or will you slowly chop away at it by spending it on other things? Only you can answer that.

Good luck!

[Howie]

I am currently doing exactly what you want to do.
The wife MUST be on board.

The whole process can be overwhelming, but more so very rewarding.
If done systematically, you can be successful.

Where are you looking for land and how many acres?  Location, location, location!!

There are a few things that you'll want to look into before buying land:
Land prices, Taxes, zoning, building codes, building permits and costs.
Access to water or the need and costs to put in a well.
Access to electric and/or gas??  Propane costs for the RV?
Sewer access or Septic system installation with and without an Outhouse.
How and where would you do laundry, etc....
On and off site storage capabilities.

Your ability to transport materials, distance to building supplies, and fuel costs.
Your ability to build and how much time you can put into it is also a factor!!

There is much more involved but from firsthand experience, it can be done!!!

[Erin]

I agree with Howie; the wife HAS to be on board. (Or, in my case, the husband. )

This is what we've done (myself, my husband, and two kids (currently 11 and 13):

1.  Bought our land.  $16,000 for 40 acres with no zoning/permitting/etc..
2.  Dug/built our outhouse.
2.5.  Started the house's footers/foundation.
3.  Built a pole shed, and when it looked like we were going to have to move to our place sooner than expected, closed in one end of it and camped in it and a friend's 1978 16' camper for 5 months.
4.  Hauled in a $500 trailer house.  (At this point, there is still no well or septic.  We haul our water in a 1000 gallon tank mounted on a flat bed trailer.  We took out the commode and put in a sawdust composting toilet)
5.  Started building the house in earnest.

So far, from step 1 to step 5, it's been three years, but we didn't start getting regular cash infusions until just this spring, so I anticipate quicker progression.

[Steve_B]

I certainly believe that your family can come together and make it through such an ordeal. The real question is, can you honestly put that $1,200 a month towards building the home? Or will you slowly chop away at it by spending it on other things? Only you can answer that.

Good luck!

This being started with the tax return of 2013 which would be early february

I could honestly say that ALL extra monies would go into funding the build!

We are not much for eating out at all or spending money at the movies or such

[Steve_B]

I am currently doing exactly what you want to do.
The wife MUST be on board.

The whole process can be overwhelming, but more so very rewarding.
If done systematically, you can be successful.

Where are you looking for land and how many acres?  Location, location, location!!

There are a few things that you'll want to look into before buying land:
Land prices, Taxes, zoning, building codes, building permits and costs.
Access to water or the need and costs to put in a well.
Access to electric and/or gas??  Propane costs for the RV?
Sewer access or Septic system installation with and without an Outhouse.
How and where would you do laundry, etc....
On and off site storage capabilities.

Your ability to transport materials, distance to building supplies, and fuel costs.
Your ability to build and how much time you can put into it is also a factor!!

There is much more involved but from firsthand experience, it can be done!!!

Howie... can I ask how many kids you have and what are you living on while building?

There are many factors and I am a big planner.... i am sure I will not think of all of them, so here I ask

[Steve_B]

For anyone wondering.... it would be in central South Carolina

NO snow of freezing in the winters, but the summers are brutal!!!

[MushCreek]

Depending upon the personalities involved. it can be done. Plenty of people have done more with less. Only your family can be sure it is for them.

A couple observations:

It will take much longer to build than you think. I quit my job, and am building full-time (alone). I thought I would be much further along. Weather is a real factor (I'm in SC also). We had a week of triple digit temperatures this summer, followed by a solid week of rain. Remember, building a house is an outdoor activity.

It will cost more than you think. I try to add up every board, nail, and screw, but there's always things you didn't think of or plan on.

The first thing I did was build a shed to have a base of operations. With that many people, you won't have room for all of the tools and supplies. I then built my barn, which is where I am currently living while I build the house. It's really nice to have a big dry space to store materials and work on stuff on rainy days.

I think your best bang for the buck for an RV would be an older 5th wheel. Over a certain age, they are dirt cheap, and big ones are cheaper than small ones. Prices in FL are much cheaper in FL than SC, so you might want to watch Craigslist in FL and plan a road trip.

[JRR]

I think a more spacious used trailer home will actually cost less than most RV's ...and be far more practical.... and I have seen some folks just build-on them ... with varying results.  I am not personally in favor of a "build-on", but will admit ... some are pretty clever and attractive.  Depends on the setting.

[MushCreek]

A used mobile home can be had cheap, IF they are legal in your area. A lot of places don't allow moving them to another site if they are over X years old. Of course, some places don't allow camping on your own land in an RV, either.