My New House & Workshop

[Curious Hound]

In NH we have to go down 4' to get below frost but I'd hate to give up all the space if I didn't need a basement. My water softener and radon bubbler, furnace, water heater, and electrical panel all live there and access to them is easy. So you guys take up living space with all that stuff on top of giving up storage space? How big are houses in your area? Mine would be considered on the small side at 1232 sq ft but we can use it all and the basement effectively adds another 1232.

My house is about 1400 sqft. I would love to have a basement. Being built on a slab, everything runs through the attic - water, HVAC, gas line for the fireplace, compressed air to the garage, and wiring. My water heater, air compressor and breaker panel are in a utility room on the opposite end from the garage. Would have loved a different house. But budget was tight and I was in a hurry to get moved away from the wife when we separated. This works.

 

[Jim Oaks]

It has something to do with the ground here. You find a lot of houses with foundation issues. You rarely find pier and beam foundations. Personally, I'd rather have a modular sitting on a foundation. I don't think they have the dramatic foundation issues of slab homes. Unfortunately, the properties that I've found require a site built home.

 

[Ramcharger90]

No basement in tornado alley? Sounds counter productive.... then again if the house gets blown away its easier to just reuse the slab.

 

[Jim Oaks]

No, but you can go to Home Depot and buy a steel tornado shelter.

Some people in Texas and Oklahoma have a safe room in their house which us essentially a room with concrete walls, a concrete roof, and a steel door.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I don’t know much about them but I know a couple people that have them and they like them.

When the time comes I want to go to a steel roof on my house. Same goes for siding.

 

[19Walt93]

My house is about 1400 sqft. I would love to have a basement. Being built on a slab, everything runs through the attic - water, HVAC, gas line for the fireplace, compressed air to the garage, and wiring. My water heater, air compressor and breaker panel are in a utility room on the opposite end from the garage. Would have loved a different house. But budget was tight and I was in a hurry to get moved away from the wife when we separated. This works.

If you lived where winter temps drop below zero you wouldn't want water in the attic, assuming your attics are unheated and ventilated to prevent moisture like ours. It was pretty mild last winter, I don't think we even hit 20 below. 30-35 below used to happen regularly and I've seen 40 a few times. Once it's cold enough for nose hairs to freeze and the snow squeaks when you walk the temperature is just a number.

 

[19Walt93]

It has something to do with the ground here. You find a lot of houses with foundation issues. You rarely find pier and beam foundations. Personally, I'd rather have a modular sitting on a foundation. I don't think they have the dramatic foundation issues of slab homes. Unfortunately, the properties that I've found require a site built home.

I'm not sure what pier and beam is, my foundation is 8" thick poured concrete, why wouldn't that work there?

 

[G8orFord]

Not sure about Texas, but the reason basements are rare in Florida is the water table. Very hard to keep them dry. Modern materials and techniques can probably mitigate a lot of it, but old habits die hard.

 

[Jim Oaks]

The property I'm looking at is .29 acres with a 40x40 garage, cement floor, and electric. Apparently the property once had a house on it, but it burned down.

The realtor thinks I need a land loan. Shorter term and higher rate than a mortgage loan. Those are usually for undeveloped land. But the building is the reason I want the property. Payment on a land loan might stress me while I'm still paying rent.

Realtor thinks I should go to a local community bank that he knows. I had already contacted someone local with Assurance Financial, a nationwide company. I'm trying to figure out who to go see in the morning.

There's no more beer in my fridge.

Maybe I can tell them I'm going to live in it.

 

[RobbieD]

Jim, it'd be a good idea to look into the local zoning ordinances before buying any property. Rural is usually wide open as far as rules, but property in more developed areas will usually have more rules on its use, some of which may not agree with your plans. Sadly, owning property doesn't always mean that the owner can do what they want to with it. Hopefully, where you're at is not as crazy as it is in some parts of the country.

 

[Jim Oaks]

The realtor is suppose to call the city tomorrow and see if there's any building restrictions.

 

[Snoranger]

The property I'm looking at is .29 acres with a 40x40 garage, cement floor, and electric. Apparently the property once had a house on it, but it burned down.

The realtor thinks I need a land loan. Shorter term and higher rate than a mortgage loan. Those are usually for undeveloped land. But the building is the reason I want the property. Payment on a land loan might stress me while I'm still paying rent.

Realtor thinks I should go to a local community bank that he knows. I had already contacted someone local with Assurance Financial, a nationwide company. I'm trying to figure out who to go see in the morning.

There's no more beer in my fridge.

Maybe I can tell them I'm going to live in it.

Would you be able to move your trailer there so you can live on the property while you’re building a house?

 

[Jim Oaks]

I could, but I wouldn't have water or a sewer hookup. Plus the electric needs reconnected. I wish the original builder would have installed a bathroom.

 

[19Walt93]

The property I'm looking at is .29 acres with a 40x40 garage, cement floor, and electric. Apparently the property once had a house on it, but it burned down.

The realtor thinks I need a land loan. Shorter term and higher rate than a mortgage loan. Those are usually for undeveloped land. But the building is the reason I want the property. Payment on a land loan might stress me while I'm still paying rent.

Realtor thinks I should go to a local community bank that he knows. I had already contacted someone local with Assurance Financial, a nationwide company. I'm trying to figure out who to go see in the morning.

There's no more beer in my fridge.

Maybe I can tell them I'm going to live in it.

Did you mean 2.9 acres? If it's .29 with a 40x40 garage you won't be able to build much of a house.

 

[Jim Oaks]

.29 acres is correct. Just over a 1/4 acre. Building sits on the corner of it. I only want a small 2-bedroom.