We're considering doing it again :-)

We built the house we have now because we couldn't find a 5 bedroom house in the area of town we wanted to be in. There were very few available and the ones that were available had kitchens the size of postage stamps. (Who would build a 5 bedroom house with a kitchen so small you couldn't even cool a batch of cookies?)

We're considering building again because we want what we want. All houses, even ones we build, are compromises. But we have some specific wants and our choice is likely to come down to "build what we want" or "buy what we can find and then remodel". Another issue is that we would expect to be in our next home 15-20 years--it'll be our last house. If you build new, there's not a lot of repair/infrastructure work that needs to get done. We won't have constant "today it's the dishwasher--ooops now it's the furnance, oh, the windows really need to be replaced".

We think that building would leave us with a house we would love with low uninteresting upkeep (landscape and decorating are interesting upkeep).

Having said that, I think some people have stronger emotions about their houses than others. For example, I *really* care about layout, and kitchens, and storage. I don't really care much at all about the outside architecture beyond "look nice". Someone else might care about their views, and not much else. Some people are really invested in the exterior of a home, but are pretty flexible with the interior layout. Some people don't cook. Some do.

Some don't entertain. Some do. Some want a TV over their fireplace, some don't own a TV.

My point is that there isn't anything that's for everyone. Building is the right thing for some people because it lets them have what they want--and they want it badly enough to pay the cost for it and the stress/joy of making it happen.

Hope this answers your question!

Bethohio3: best of luck to your new build if you do decide to bite the bullet. Perhaps it will be easier second time around? I don't have what it takes to handle the stress related to building. Heck, I can't even handle a minor reno!

Don't forget the third option: Buy an existing home and remodel.

Mrspete: that's the option I am considering.... I have to make peace with low ceilings (under 8ft around here) and potential money pit down the line... Especially the big ticket items like roof, furnace, central ac, etc.

st561--I definitely think it will be easier the second time around. I now know what to do about many of the things we agonized over the first time.

I will also hire an interior design consultant very early in the process. I'll stress less knowing I have someone making sure I don't pick out things we like that don't go together. We hired one for this build a bit later than I wish we had, but she made sure we didn't make any major mistakes with our finishes--and it wasn't very expensive all told, as she billed by the hour.

We are building our last hurrah house. We got tired of condo living and want a house, so for the past 2 years we had looked for a house in FL that would work for us. I love older (1920's) homes but all the older homes in our area either had things like stairs, and narrow doors and hallways or had been completely gutted of anything that gave them their charm. So we decided to design and build a craftsman style house, similar to the look I love.

Our house will have wide enough hallways and doors, have a curbless shower, be easy to get into and out of the house if either of us ever have issues, have an elevator to get upstairs if we can't walk stairs, etc. It will also have what we need and nothing we don't need. So it will have 3 bedrooms, (our master, a guest bedroom/exercise room and my studio) and an office. It will not have a separate dining room because we'll never use it. It will have a right sized eat in kitchen and a large living room that opens to the lanai.

And like bethohio3 said, everything will be new so it will hopefully be 10-15 years before we have to worry about replacing things, and who knows where we'll be then.

Like others, we were unable to find what we wanted in the area we had targeted. We love old houses, but in our rural area of SC, the few old homes are cheaply built, and generally in poor repair. I do my own work, and I've reached the age where totally rebuilding a house just seems like too much work. Newer houses around here are either in subdivisions, or prohibitively expensive. We bought land first, continued to save, and then finally built our house.

As a result of all of this (after a lot of hard work and financial sacrifice), we have a very energy efficient home, designed and oriented to fit our lifestyle and unique piece of property. We have 7 acres of land, and NO mortgage. It's really a revelation to live in a new, well insulated house for the first time in my 60+ years.

One way or the other, real estate and construction has been my life for nearly a half century. As long as one foot's outta my last resting place, ain't no stoppin' now!

Our first house was the quintessential 'starter home'. Built is 1894. 4 rooms with a stone foundation and basement. We spent several years renting and after buying it. Then, we had a brand new home built. Went through all the design choices and wound up remodeling in the 7 years we owned it.

We are now in our 'Retire/Expire' home. Having tried older houses and building a new one, we decided(as did our budget) on a repossession(purchased in 2008). I can do(and did) all the necessary work, so remodeling was the least expensive way to get instant equity and save money. Had we paid to have all the work done, I doubt we would have the equity we have now, and may well have been upside down.

It is not perfect, but the other two were not perfect either.

Making the decision to buy new(move in ready), build(to your plans), or buy/remodel depends on location, budget, and time.

Time is the least for the move in ready and the most for the build(unless you have extensive and major remodeling). Cost depends on the final result---major remodeling can often cost more than building new and take as long or longer.

Our choice meant we got cost and location. The time has yet to be determined, as I am still doing/redoing areas.

We want to create a new house from scratch because we're weird. :-)

We're a homeschooling family of seven, open to more children, looking at caring for at least one set of aging parents, and requiring fewer but larger rooms (only one living area, one eating area, large bedrooms for sharing, etc.)... Not a lot out there to accommodate us.

Architectural integrity isn't popular here, unfortunately, and I hesitate to pay tons of money for something that I only find 25-75% attractive, and likely in an HOA that restricts me from making the necessary corrections.

So, if I want a cute *and* functional house, on a lot large enough for possibly 2-4 ADUs, I have to start from the beginning. Which I'm actually looking forward to!

We are just starting the process of building now. We are both retired with no local family. We looked around for several years but none of the existing homes had the feel we wanted until we saw a modern home at the Parade of Homes. That sold us that we had to build to get the very open floorplan with 10/11 foot ceilings. Like cpartist, the home will have 3' doors, wide but short halls, curbless showers, no-step entry, two master suites and other features to make the home more livable when/if something happens to either of us. That is something you cannot find in an older home unless you go through an extensive remodel that neither of us are up to.

Finding a buildable lot was the difficult part as we wanted to be close in and virtually all of the lots were on slopes. We wanted a regular size lot (10,000 SF) to minimize yard work and luckily found one in a nice existing neighborhood. The only issue (not a problem to me) is that our modern design home will "look" different than the 20 year old existing homes.

IMO, most people who build homes have time on their hands, and some vanity (not to be critical). My mother in-law has built 3 homes in the last 40 years. She's absorbed with the process, while she largely ignores her children.

To have more than 10 feet of land on each side of our home and to avoid HOA/CDD fee's.

We were not able to find a non HOA property to remodel in our desired location.

We looked at existing homes for a year before deciding to build. I would have preferred to find an existing home but finding a house that matched our wants on the type of land we wanted in our smaller town proved difficult.

Having survived my parents custom building two houses, I'd be hard pressed to do so. And that was in the early 1950's!

I know so many people with new houses who are finding that maintenance has come far faster and at a far greater cost than expected. "Builder grade" is often very poor quality. Add to that that today's lumber is garbage, and workmen's skills are often poor. In a perfect world, I'd choose a house built in the 20's or 30's and update where necessary. Even my 1948 house is far better built than most today.

That's why I built my own house; I know that it's solid and everything is done properly. It's gotten to the point that I can spot code violations while driving past new construction around here. If I hired a GC to build my house, I'm sure I would have been a major pain to him.

A lot of these new homes, I call 'sheet rock mansions'. It's all 'modular' - buy some window units / door units / click lock flooring / no character.

What she said. :-) Lot and location were also first on our priority list. We love both at our current home. After remodeling a house that really didn't work for the last 15 years, we are ready for a break! I'm excited to move into something that in theory will need nothing done for at least a few years.

I fell in love with land I bought back in 1998. It is close to friends, and is rural, and I always wanted to farm, even if somewhat scaled back. And so, I am building. I had to scrap the first plans because they were way too pricey, but this seems to be doing well right now -- some overflow but that was budgeted in, because things will always cost more. I especially want a functional kitchen which I really lack right now. Also handicap access, or the ease of adding in ramps to the outside if handicap access does become essential.

Where I am building, offerings are either: really old, lack space for farming, have no potential handicap amenities, or have severely dysfunctional kitchens. Or, all four.

We wanted more quiet and privacy. We also wanted "a small, one-level house with a few big rooms". One realtor said we wanted "a sweet house", too -- one with character.

We found the suburb we wanted. We found area within that suburb that we liked. We looked at existing homes, off and on, for two years. Nothing. Most of the single level homes were not as nice as the ranch we already owned. All of the homes with big rooms were also 6000 sq ft -- and usually two levels, or more!

We bought a ranch, thinking we'd remodel it. We discovered we'd be ahead to tear down and build one all-new home over replacing this and that and having a patchwork house. We moved in in 2001 and are only now needing to replace 'the usual suspects' -- water heater, appliances, etc. Our only regret is not doing it *sooner*.