# Building my own house for under 20k



## Mustang88 (Nov 10, 2016)

Hey everyone this is my first post on this forum. A little bit of background on the property is that it is 10 acres in southern Kansas that I bought on a land contract and I'm planning to build a house with cash only. My goal is to have it dried in for under $20,000 and have it code approved. This house will be in the county and the codes are minimal but there still there.

As of right now I have a well without the pump on it that's never been used and I have a lagoon that's never been used there's never been anyone living on this property. I also have electric at the edge of the property aand i will need to have it ran about 300 feet to my proposed building site. I would like to run solar someday but i fugure it would be cheaper and easier to hook up to electric right now.

This will be the first time I've ever built a house! I do have some extended family that I worked for growing up doing roofing, and concrete work. They have constructed houses before so i think they could give me a hand if i needed. But I would like to do everything i can by myself.

You may be wondering How i can afford to pay for the house in cash? The job i have allows me all of the reliable overtime i want and i can earn about 3000 a month extra whenever i need it. Im planning on paying as i go and having it finished by next winter. I want to pour the foundation in March-April to keep me on that schedule. 

I have been looking at numerous house plans and I want it to be at around 600 to 700 square feet. I want it to be very simple to build with prebuilt trusses and preferably one floor on a slab foundation. I need to have two bedrooms. And I will be putting a wood burning stove in. For air conditioning I will probably just use a window unit since it is such a small space. I will also have a propane furnace for when i am not home. My end goals for the house is to pay off the land within 2 years and have no other bills or utilities by going to solar power. 


I am still deciding on the final house plans but this is what ive come up with. If you know of any other plans that fits my needs PLEASE share them! I hope i havent overloaded you guys with too much information. If there is anything else you want to know feel free to ask! I will try to add the photos after this post.


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## Mustang88 (Nov 10, 2016)

Pictures of the proposed house. In The last picture i am standing on the building site looking towards the road. The metal post is the well.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Welcome aboard! Looking forward to seeing your progress as your dream comes true. 
Maybe consider getting a split air heat pump for heat and AC. Not super expensive nowadays, and very efficient. 

I'm building a similar sized home myself (shed style)..and my paperwork is probably more extensive than what you'll have to go through (I filed a couple weeks ago). 

Curious, if your in Tornado alley...consider putting in a storm shelter? 
Could double as a root cellar. 

Getting under 20k to lockup is going to be a challenge...I'm trying to get under 30k to lockup, but I'm using ICFs, which are a bit more than stick framing. 

All the best!


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Problem with a land contract is if something happens you can't pay off the land, you built somebody else a house.  You would likely (not legal advice, check it out in your State) have zero equity in the property until the last payment is made.

If that is the case, I move a trailer on the property, which would remain yours as personal property, not real estate, and concentrate on paying off the land. Once paid off, put your building plan in motion.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

TnAndy said:


> Problem with a land contract is if something happens you can't pay off the land, you built somebody else a house.  You would likely (not legal advice, check it out in your State) have zero equity in the property until the last payment is made.
> 
> If that is the case, I move a trailer on the property, which would remain yours as personal property, not real estate, and concentrate on paying off the land. Once paid off, put your building plan in motion.


Missed that....what is a land contract? Is that like a private sales contract?
Never heard of such a thing up here.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Two ways to finance real estate:

1. Most common is you buy a property, they give you the deed to the place, and you sign a note for the amount borrowed. You also sign a 'deed of trust', recorded at the court house along with the deed, which means if you end up not paying the note, they can foreclose on the property. BUT in this case, they have to sell the property at auction, and say you paid 20 years of a 30 year mortgage, had much of it paid down, plus you improved the place with a house/barn/etc, then the property would bring (usually) more than the amount still owed....your equity. YOU get the amount over what is still owed on the note.

This is how all banks lend money on property, but since it involved more legal process (the deeds, etc), and IF the borrower defaults, there are generally laws that lay out the process of repo'ing the property, the borrower has a reasonable amount of protection.

2. Contract for deed, or "land contract". 

Often individuals who sell a property like to use this method if they finance it....more simple for them, and WAY more protection for them. You miss one payment, and the 'contract' (depending on how written) could be over....since you never really owned it (more like 'rent to own'), the owner has you removed from the property...(like a renter in default of his rent)..AND ANY IMPROVEMENTS you made along the way.....again, depending on the contract, and State laws, you might well end up with nothing after years and years of payment, and building a house/etc. You don't get a deed to the property until the very last payment is made.
The seller can, and often does, set all kinds of restrictions on what you can do with the property while you are making payments. No timber cutting, for example, or where and how you can build things....that type of thing....because legally, it's still his property. You can't refinance it down the road without his permission.

Land contracts can, and do, work out well all the time. You'll find a dozen folks on here that have done it well, or are doing it now. But if you plan to make a sizable investment in the property, like a house, be aware of the pitfalls as well. You could lose your job, or have health problems, or who knows down the road.

Sellers often use this method because the buyer has bad, or no, credit, or the buyer has very little to put as a down payment, and the seller believes the buyer may not follow thru with the contract....and this is much easier for them to 'repo' if need be. There is just a lot less legal protection for the buyer.


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

TnAndy said:


> Two ways to finance real estate:
> 
> 1. Most common is you buy a property, they give you the deed to the place, and you sign a note for the amount borrowed. You also sign a 'deed of trust', recorded at the court house along with the deed, which means if you end up not paying the note, they can foreclose on the property. BUT in this case, they have to sell the property at auction, and say you paid 20 years of a 30 year mortgage, had much of it paid down, plus you improved the place with a house/barn/etc, then the property would bring (usually) more than the amount still owed....your equity. YOU get the amount over what is still owed on the note.
> 
> ...


Depends on the contract. I bought my apartment building on a contract for deed. After I had it for a few years I had a record of the rent it brought in and my payment history. Then I got a regular mortgage from a bank and paid off the contract for deed early.


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## Mustang88 (Nov 10, 2016)

Melli- I will definitely look into a heatpump for heating and cooling! Thanks for the suggestion.

On the land contact- I was very hesitant to do a land contract until i made sure there was everything i needed in it. I owe around 30,000 on the land and i want to get it paid off as soon as possible. I made sure there was no early pay off penalties or other hidden fees and there are no restrictions on what i can build. Most of my neighbors also bought on a land contract and it seemed to work out for them just fine. If the unthinkable happened and i lost my job i have a nice fifth wheel i can park there and i know i can always make the small minimum land payment.

Mobile home- I came very close to buying a mobile home and sitting it out there while i paid off the property. However i could not find anything in decent shape for under 10,000 plus having it hauled out there would be around 1000. I figure if i can spend twice that and have a dried in house that i will keep why shouldnt i just go for it!

I appreciate all of the advice and suggestions!


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

Nice straightforward house plan. It should be an easy build. The only thing I would do differently is add 4 feet to the depth -- 2' in the LR / K area and 2' in the bedrooms. It wouldn't add much to the overall cost, but would allow a shallow closet in the smaller bedroom and more in the large. I know guys probably don't need as much closet space as us gals, but without a pantry or utility closet, where does the broom, mop, vacuum, etc. go? Just a thought.


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## ForestToFarm (Feb 28, 2016)

I have a plan for a 1500 square foot house. It has far more windows and doors than yours and has 2x6 walls. Not counting foundation we are only looking at about $23,000. That includes roofing, windows, doors (interior and exterior) interior molding, hardi board lap siding, 30 year good quality roofing shingles, all the plywood, and all the nails/hardware and we will have trusses for the roof and TJI floor joists. Also a 6x30 foot front porch with 4 nice columns. 

I think $20,000 is way high for a 24x24 house rough in. Are you including the foundation in your cost? 

As far as your plan goes I lived in an almost identical floor plan for quite a few years. It was more like around 860 square foot though. It was sufficient to me. However your plan does not show a laundry room. Adding laundry units is gonna eat some space somewhere. 

As far as heat goes a heat pump is good if your winters are moderate. If you have temps lasting long periods below 30 degrees the heat pump can not produce at those lower temps so the electric backup strips kick in running the power bill up unless of course you have the gas backup type heat pump. A house that small would work well with the new highly efficient mini split units. One in the living area and one in each bedroom would do the trick. Very easy to install as well. No duct to get smelly over the years either.

ETA: Our local code requires you to have at least two exterior doors in case of fire.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I agree with the land contract. Use your cash to pay for the land, then get a mortgage to build the house with. This is for your protection. It would also be good for your credit. If you get a mortgage make sure you are not penalized for paying it off early.

If you are going to have a slab foundation anyway, you might as well have in-floor radiant heat. My husband and I also built our house ourselves, with help. We contracted for the cement pour and rough carpentry. We were able to put in the radiant heat ourselves. The companies that sell the stuff have step by step plans on how to DIY. You clear the area, have sand put down, put the rebar on, tie the tubes to the rebar, and have a cement guy pour the concrete. If you have a closed system you will have the best heat. If you have an open system you will still have the best heat, but be able to run cold water during the summer and have &#8220;air conditioning&#8221; instead of heat.

As to your plan, I would turn one bedroom into a dining area and staircase. Turn the kitchen around and move the bathroom to the back. Also, see if you can make the bathroom a little larger- more floorspace. Your current set up makes cleaning the bathtub harder. 

Make the roof pitch a little higher and have your bedroom in the attic space. Window at each end (maybe door and balcony at one end for the view and fire escape). Solar tube windows in the roof. You can then use the lower wall area for your closets and storage. You pretty much have no storage in your current plan.

Best of luck with your building. We could not have afforded this house if we had not built it ourselves.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

ForestToFarm said:


> As far as heat goes a heat pump is good if your winters are moderate. If you have temps lasting long periods below 30 degrees the heat pump can not produce at those lower temps so the electric backup strips kick in running the power bill up unless of course you have the gas backup type heat pump. A house that small would work well with the new highly efficient mini split units. One in the living area and one in each bedroom would do the trick. Very easy to install as well. No duct to get smelly over the years either.
> .................


The newer ones work down to 0F without much fuss...the older ones were not so good (useless) at low temps. There is talk of allowing split air heat pumps as the sole source of heat north of the border for most locations, except the arctic, and central continental areas (which are pretty much arctic in the winter anyways...lol). I would think in Kansas one doesn't get many 0F days? Of course, one has to some research on the the units to ensure they are efficient down to 0F. 
All new homes in my hood are going split air...we still have to put in electric baseboard heat, only because the regs are behind the times. Having one unit for heat and AC just seems logical. The best thing I like about split air (beyond the uber efficiency) is the unit doesn't suck in outside air, nor expels inside air. One can control house ventilation. 
And to be honest, I am not keen on oil/gas as a heat source...something about flammability...lol. Yeah, I know they have a pretty good track record and all....
JMHO - for a small space, I think split air with a couple electric baseboards as backup is the way to go. Plus, the unit is outside, no interior space is taken up with a furnace/ducting.


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## 1948CaseVAI (May 12, 2014)

I live in Wichita and I would not live anywhere south of here without some kind of tornado shelter! You could do like they do here in the city and have one room poured as a tornado shelter. For example, with a little moving around the dimensions in your plan you could put a central "closet" of 4 x 4 or so and have it poured with reinforced concrete and use a heavy steel door - just like the safe rooms in the new schools. Or you could dig and bury a pre-cast one and also use it as a root cellar, but in southern Kansas you will be bothered constantly by critters, including snakes, living in your shelter if you do that.

Either way, it is far too common to see those tornadoes scooting by here to not have something to go to.


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## Shin (Mar 25, 2014)

Very nice to read of a fellow attempting something like this. Quite a feat! Deo gratias.

I agree with the concern about the contract, make sure a late payment or two doesn't lose you everything. 

What are you planning to do for laundry? I'd want a laundry room/area, a decent sized or walk in closet so I could easily get at my clothing without it all being stuffed together. Combining the two could even be a convenience for hanging the clothes up again, washer and dryer with a long metal bar for hanging clothes opposite.

And yes.. if I lived out there, I'd want a storm shelter.. I've briefly been out in the midwest.. and I'd take hurricanes over tornadoes anyday, at least there's plenty of warning. I can sleep through a lot, till it was too late.


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## Tammy1 (Aug 31, 2011)

I'm also building a house. Sounds like the same time frame as you. I think I've attached my floor plan for you to look at. It started as a Menards garage apartment and I've adjusted things from there to what I think I'll need.

Someone mentioned a storm shelter. FEMA now has "safe room" plans that you can look at to adapt your building. I plan on making under the stairs the safe room. We've had two tornado's within 5 miles in the last 10 years.

My land has some unique features so a basement is not possible. I have to raise the building site by two feet due to the septic system.

I really want a slab but people keep telling me to use a crawl space instead. I'd love to hear anyone's opinion on which is better. I live in Iowa and have been told the cost will be the same.

Mustang88, I'll PM you, I'd love to have someone to throw ideals around with. Some of the detail is mind numbing!

I'm using contractors to shell in my building and I swear they start with the most expense thing and look at you like your strange because you want to keep it simple.

I wonder home many people wake up one morning in the big fancy house and wonder whose house it is because it looks nothing like their dream.


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## Ryss (Nov 29, 2011)

Hi Tammy !
I'm curious what the dimensions of your building are?
Ryss


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## Ryss (Nov 29, 2011)

I too am in the planning stage of our build. 
We're looking at a 20x30 plan with a loft.


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## Tammy1 (Aug 31, 2011)

The plan is 26 x 32. I was hoping for 24 x 32 but the stairs are causing a number of problems.

I'm still thinking about moving the laundry to the first floor so I can go back to 24 x 32. Seems like a huge expense just so you can do laundry upstairs.


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## Mustang88 (Nov 10, 2016)

Hey everyone sorry for the late reply. I've worked 33 hours out of 48 in the last 2 days so I've been with extremly busy working overtime. I have decided to repair a piece of barbed wire fence line, put up some new fence, and put a gate at the front of the property before the winter really sets in and the ground freezes. 

I think i missed a question from Foresttofarm about the foundation being included in the $20,000. It is included and budgeted between $4,000 and $5,000.

I am planning on building a storm shelter when i get moved out there but for now if i get stuck out there in bad weather my neighbors offerd me theres. When i do put one in i would like to have it double as a root cellar my question is how deep does it have to be I know my neighbors had a hard time when they put in their basement because of all of the rock after about 4 to 5 feet down and so there whole house is sticking a extra few feet out of the ground. Since a root cellar/storm shelter would be a lot smaller than a basement if I had to, how hard would it to be to rock hammer the stone out? 

Laundry- I am planning on putting the laundry where the furnace is on the floor layout as a stackable washer and dryer unit.

I had also thought about doing a loft but I think that prebuilt trusses would be a lot easier for me to install and I wouldn't have to put in all of the floor joists for the second floor and for me it seems that it will be cheaper to go with just the one floor design. Ive always heard its cheaper to build up then out but I don't think it applies to how small my house will be.

It's nice to hear of people doing the same thing as me! Now I know that I'm not alone! lol. If anyone has more information on pouring your own slab foundations i would be VERY Thankfull! Thanks for all of the support!


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## tomjiggy (Jan 23, 2012)

I subscribe to [email protected] He can give you details on building cob homes to code from the ground up, and it can be very cheap. He teaches cob construction, and there might be a community in your region that can help(if you are interested).


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Mustang88 said:


> ...............
> 
> I had also thought about doing a loft but I think that prebuilt trusses would be a lot easier for me to install and I wouldn't have to put in all of the floor joists for the second floor and for me it seems that it will be cheaper to go with just the one floor design. Ive always heard its cheaper to build up then out but I don't think it applies to how small my house will be.
> 
> It's nice to hear of people doing the same thing as me! Now I know that I'm not alone! lol. If anyone has more information on pouring your own slab foundations i would be VERY Thankfull! Thanks for all of the support!


Actually, you can get trusses with a gap for a room down the road...worth considering, as the cost is similar, and down the road, you can finish it and figure out stairs. A neighbor of mine just ordered ones with that feature. 

Slab foundations are fairly straightforward...lots of youtube vids on doing them. Basically, there are two types, a mono slab or footings/knee wall with interior slab. Depends on soil type and what is allowed (frost depth requirements in your hood?). Did the plans come with foundation specs/details? 
Prepping is crucial...remove overburden (organics), till you hit firm earth, then add crush if on clay/silt soil. Compact well. Frame up border...etc etc. 
Usually, a good mono slab is thicker at edges to support walls. Also, laying EPS foam underneath slab is a good idea if you get cold winters. Reinforce slab with rebar and/or mesh (vapor barrier under the works). With a house slab, best to get a crew in to help with the pour. I do shed slabs solo, but a house slab is too big for one person. A slab is one of the easier things to frame up, as there isn't a lot of weight on edges...still, they should be well staked to keep straight. 
A lot of folks in my hood do the form work, then get a pro concrete crew in for the pour...get them to double check your form work before the concrete truck arrives. They will usually tell you if it is up to snuff. 

I would consider hiring a skid steer or excavator to do the prep. An easy days work, especially if they have laser leveling gear on their equipment. Heck, they can dig you a bunker while they are at it. I'm not in tornado alley, but I hear one can buy a precast bunker and just drop it in hole. Best.


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