Prices for building codes/inspections?

[Aerco]

Not to be discouraging, but I'm new here and just stumbled across this forum and found this thread:

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10521.0

Ten years and $58,000 before they could even start building. California.  That is utterly insane. All designed to keep out the riff-raff like working people, I guess. 

As much as I love California, building here seems out of the question, for the average person, unless you're willing to go the bleakest parts of the high desert.  Somebody I know lives in West Virginia and all he had to pay was $25 for septic permit.

[Don_P]

Holler if you need any cheese with that 
When we moved here I think the permit was $20.40 and then the county health dept was about the same. My personal feeling is that building is the most financially tight time in most people's lives. We also know that home ownership is a positive in any community. How to fund the building department and how to charge fees for construction is up to the local community. We can as a community pinch pennies and close the door behind us or we can help get that young couple settled down and working on the house and out in the yard instead of disenchanted, renting and cooking meth.

[midrover170]

Don't build near a resort town 

I once worked in planning and zoning near Aspen and commonly saw house permits around the $100k mark.

[Dave Sparks]

Not to be discouraging, but I'm new here and just stumbled across this forum and found this thread:

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10521.0

Ten years and $58,000 before they could even start building. California.  That is utterly insane. All designed to keep out the riff-raff like working people, I guess. 

As much as I love California, building here seems out of the question, for the average person, unless you're willing to go the bleakest parts of the high desert.  Somebody I know lives in West Virginia and all he had to pay was $25 for septic permit.

They built in a big town, it was an historic district. Not a realistic scenario for someone on a budget!! They did a nice job!

I mainly work with people building offgrid homes. Some in California and some all over the world. None of the folks in California (mostly in the Sierra Foothills) and very rural took longer than 3 years to get a certificate of occupancy. Most spent alot less, alot!

[Aerco]

The Sierra foothills are high on my list of desirable places.  I would certainly consider an off-grid set-up, since getting power to anywhere except a couple of feet from the nearest pole will cost you easily as much as a halfway decent solar/wind/whatever set-up.

I'll keep looking, but getting first hand information about affordable places to build is like a tedious business. My absolute limit is $5000 of extortion fees, any more and I'll just go to Texas.

[Dave Sparks]

There is a reason that it is cheaper in Texas.  I am not trying to bad mouth the place as I like it and have clients there. Everyone has their reasons and mine are I need a place that has good rainfall, good firewood, and good sunshine/weather most of the year. We had 9 days last year that our battery did not fully charge. We had 3 days we had to use a four wheel drive. I like that!

[flyingvan]

For both my builds in San Diego County, I paid less than $9,000 each for fees.  If you get the 'green building' stamp, they knock 10% off the plan check fees, 10% off the permit fees, and expedite your plans for free.  There were a few options for getting the green building stamp but the avenue I went with was coming in well below the title 24 energy calculation btu consumption allowables.  It meant framing with 2x6's and using the high r-value insulation, radiant barriers, high efficiency appliances, and window area less than 10% floor area.  There were probably other factors that escape me now

  http://www.sandiegocounty.gov/pds/greenbuildings.html

Looks like they've reduced the incentives some since I built, but still worthwhile