Here's my situation...my wife and I need to make some room for my father-in-law to move in with us as he is unable to maintain a place of his own. Our initial intent was to do an addition that would serve him AND me by expanding the garage and adding a sort of master suite above the garage that my wife and I could utilize later. Now, here's where it gets tricky. In the process of laying out the desired addition and getting it priced up, two of the builders we're working with have suggested that for about 1/3 more than what the addition alone would cost we could knock down our existing home and build a completely new one to our liking. The main reasoning is that integrating an addition into the existing house on our lot would be a challenge. A fresh start would be much easier logistically. Our initial reaction was that this was an insane proposition. But then I started thinking about all of the elements of our 30+ year old home that we would like to change. Start adding up the costs of kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, HVAC, etc. and the fresh start looks more and more appealing. Add to all of this that our property is worth about 3 times what we paid for it 7 years ago. Are we nuts to even contemplate this? The easy answer is to pull up stakes and move, but we love our lot and love our location. Anyone else been through something similar?

 

From a strictly fiscal perspective I think you have to ask yourself which 'home' would be worth more money and how much that offsets the difference in cost. Given that most homes I've seen aren't as well layed out as they could be, particularly those which have been added on to, my bet is that the value of a new house would probably be a good bit more than your old house even with an addition and your proposed upgrades.

Of course, I don't know if your old home has historic value etc so there are some wild cards here. But those possiblities aside, when speaking strictly in terms of money, and when asking myself which would likely give you a greater profit (based on what you said) if you had to sell it in ten years or so it sounds like the new house probably wipes up the floor with the old one. And since the amount invested in either appears likely to be pretty close after you finish all of your planned upgrades on the old house anyway I'm finding it difficult to come up with a truly good reason not to simply knock it down and start over.

Good luck with your decision either way.

 

I also agree tare it down and redo. I am sure it will end up costing more than your getting quoted right now. How many sq feet is your house now and how many would it be after rebuild? Post a few pics of your lot if you don't mind. Best of luck with what ever you end up doing.

 

design and build the new structure with future changes in mind for when the time comes that father in law departs this earth ( perhaps his living quarters remodled into the dream garage you want.. )

 

If you're planning on staying there long term, then yeah, build the one you want. The longer you stay, the more value you re-capture. Make real sure you're getting ALL costs to do it before making your decision. Is the builder quoting the tear-down, disposal, permits etc. in his price? Also, I've heard of alot of people who have the local fire department burn the old house down for training. That could help. You also have to have a place to stay while the new one is being built. Most importantly, build a nice garage for your baby! Good luck.

 

As much as you like the location and lot, if you think this would be a lifetime home, I'd say go for broke, rebuild and get it the way you want it.

I looked into doing a teardown on a house I had a couple years ago, and am now wishing I had. Of course I've since sold the place, but it would've been worth so much more with a newer, bigger house on the same lot.

Good luck either way.

 

If you have somewhere to live during demo and reconstruction-go for it!

 

if you can afford it...why not? probably lower payments then the add on
with a new motgage too.

 

Wow, I guess I'm NOT crazy! To hit a few points mentioned above...it's a typical 1970's 2 story colonial a little over 30 years old. It has zero historical value and is in need of some updates. I work in commercial construction so I'll be reviewing the contract with a fine toothed comb for certain. The prices we've been quoted thus far are for a turnkey soup to nuts house with septic and 80' of driveway. There are a few modifications we'd likely make to the builder's stock plan, but I'm getting that quoted up front and so far it's looking very reasonable. One of the changes is a 4 car garage baby! My next step is to get the house appraised as it stands, an appraisal on the improved house and finally an appraisal if we do a new house on the lot. If I can do the teardown/rebuild for less than the appraised value I think we'll go for it. The lot alone is worth more than double what we paid for the place so I don't think we can go wrong. The only wildcard is my tax assessment. Our current assessment is horribly outdated. I need to find out if they will reassess if we build a brand new home. I guess we'll see where this goes!

 

look into this! it can save some serious cash. i know someone who did this for a teardown of a house they bought, and it basically made the demo free. the Fire Dept burned down the house, then knocked down what was left standing, and had it all ready and waiting in a dumpster for pick-up. talk about a deal!

 

The thought had definitely crossed my mind. We're in a somewhat small town with an all volunteer fire department. They're all pyros at heart so I know they'd love to do it! The initial quotes are in the $15k range for demo and hauling. In all honesty, if I can't burn it I'll likely rent an excavator for a week and take it down myself. I'd be looking at about 1/2 dozen 4 yard dumpsters at about $300 each so I can't go wrong. The plus side is that I would get great satisfaction doing it!

 

4 car garage?! Do it now!

 

I told my wife we should knock down the house, build a 12 car garage and buy some cots! All I need is a toilet, a fridge and a maybe a microwave.

My ultimate goal is to put in an 8 car in place of our old barn. The 4 car is just to get me by for a while.

 

Sounds sweets Rob.....

....just make sure you make a video of them BURNING IT DOWN!!!!