Where is feasible to build your own home in the US?

February 22, 2016 6:33 PM

Daydreaming a bit - if we wanted to buy one of those "kits" and build a home, where in the US is it possible? Land not too expensive, hookups to services, not super remote, attainable permits, etc?
posted by tealcake to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

This is something people do all the time. I don't think you need to think about any particular place. I wouldn't aim to build in a major city (or any place that single family homes are not encouraged) or elsewhere that the land is very expensive, but otherwise, much of the population of the US lives where there are hookups to services, it isn't super remote, and you can get building permits. Where do you want to live? Look there.
posted by ssg at 7:11 PM on February 22, 2016 [3 favorites]

Yeah, this is more a 'where isn't it feasible?' question. That probably applies to big cities and built-up coastal suburbs on one side, and back o'beyond on the other. Thinking of the bit of the Southeast where I am now, the unincorporated county bits around small cities have lots of, um, lots that either are ready to build on or would only need minimal clearing, and tend to have a very light regulatory touch.
posted by holgate at 7:22 PM on February 22, 2016

Mmm, I find this a bit trickier actually than all that. It's the services part. It's hard to find land that isn't small or attached to gross suburban sprawl that has hookup.

So the tradeoff you make is "well I have to live near tract houses on a small lot" versus "I can live somewhere amazing but... I have to dig a well." Which... isn't that bad honestly! (Except then if you want water for more than an acre in many places you have to pay for water rights, etc.)

All this varies a GREAT deal across the country. So you should work by weather and nearby desired amenities, then work towards localities that favor you.

If I were going to do it myself, I'd do it somewhere in Washington or Oregon, but that's for a weird balancing act of reasons (not too far from large airports/cities, but rural, and quiet, and at a high elevation, and etc etc). That being said some of it is a bit too cold for me....
posted by RJ Reynolds at 7:33 PM on February 22, 2016

I suppose it's a question of which hookups you consider essential: will a well and septic be sufficient if it's not too difficult to get electricity and some kind of internet service? Are you fine with being in a volunteer fire district and taking your trash to the county landfill? And, to put it somewhat bluntly, are you okay living among rednecks?
posted by holgate at 7:48 PM on February 22, 2016 [4 favorites]

Just about any jurisdiction will allow owner builder projects. I've done two myself.
posted by humboldt32 at 8:27 PM on February 22, 2016

This is definitely possible in Oklahoma; see homesites for sale.
posted by neushoorn at 12:48 AM on February 23, 2016

Indiana specifically has a "log cabin" law that exempts owner-built homes from virtually all building codes. Including fire code. (They were just ruled to be subject to septic/sewer inspections & enforcement after a bad one was making neighbors sick.) A lot of these are off-grid Amish homesteads in Indiana, but there are plenty of small-town self-builders making use of the law who hook up to regular city services. (The utilities can require you to meet their standards to hook you up.) You may or may not be able to get insurance, and you probably can't get a mortgage if you're not meeting codes. You also may have resale problems. (I fell down this google-hole reading about lawsuits, obviously.)

There's no reason you couldn't do this where I live - Peoria - except that meeting building codes and passing inspections is a pain in the ass. If you have the skill/patience to build properly, and the willingness to deal with the city bureaucracy, they don't really care if you're your own builder, just that you pull permits and pass inspections.

Land is hella cheap in many small Midwestern cities. An older streetcar neighborhood would have an interesting diversity of houses (no Leavittown boxes of ticky-tacky in endless matching rows) and, in most small post-industrial cities, you're likely to be able to buy an empty lot where a blighted house was pulled down but the profit value of a new build isn't there on such a narrow lot in a run-down neighborhood.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:57 AM on February 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Regulations vary from location to location. I'm currently fixing up an unlivable antique house in Georgia. As the homeowner I am allowed to do everything: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, whatever. In other states I might need licensed tradespeople to do each of those jobs, or licensed folks for some of them, even if I were building from an all-inclusive kit.

As others have said you can build a house in most places. So what you need to do now is figure out where you would like to live, check out land affordability, check out job prospects, and check out the rules and restrictions on building your own home.
posted by mareli at 5:20 AM on February 23, 2016

As others have said, it's *possible* pretty much everywhere. I agree with Eyebrows McGee that it would probably be easiest in a smaller Midwestern city. But then, I grew up in a small Midwestern city. I can picture quite clearly how it would work; I have less imagination when it comes to other regions.
posted by kevinbelt at 5:24 AM on February 23, 2016

Financing this will be hard. Plan to pay cash.
posted by littlewater at 6:37 AM on February 23, 2016

This is happening all over North Carolina right now. There are communities that are largely rural, that allow you to purchase and build on land. Plots have services available on them. Some require you to use a plan (though modified) from a pool of homebuilders in order to maintain a neighborhood aesthetic. When you think about it, that's probably "OK" for long term value.
posted by teabag at 7:21 AM on February 23, 2016

I think northern Arizona would be perfect for this. Payson, Christopher Creek, anywhere along the Mogollon Rim, really. Even Camp Verde, Cottonwood areas would be great!
posted by TurquoiseZebra at 10:36 AM on February 23, 2016