It may surprise you to know that building it yourself isn't necessarily the best deal. Contractors who build houses can get work done with far fewer labor hours than people doing their own work. Additionally, contractors have their own tools so you don't have to buy or rent the tools. For some parts you need a specialized contractor who has some very expensive equipment like digging a basement or leveling ground.

If you have the skills and the tools and truly enjoy doing your own work, it is a good deal. But, if you don't know what you're doing, you will spend more money and risk doing things poorly and possibly injuring yourself.

How much you get for your money depends greatly on your location. Some parts of the world you will be lucky to find a place to pitch a tent for that kind of money while other places you can buy a large, well constructed home with a nice lot.

Have you ever built a home before? Do you know anything about codes, framing, foundations, plumbing, electrical, roofing, flashing. doors and windows, so on and so on.......I'm not saying it can't be done, but Linda is right, if you have no experience or the tools and equipment, then you're using part of the $100K that will not result in any tangible product. Seriously, I know contractors, and not specialty contractors, I'm talking carpenters, framers.........with over $100K invested in their tools and equipment alone.

Next you need to define " small pad away from the inner-city to enjoy my solitude in style". What's your level of "style"....... I have an artist friend who has a weekend get away place, that consist of three wooden platforms connected with walkways that has safari style tents on them.........why he calls it his weekend get away I don't know, because he and his family spend most of the week there and come back into the City on the weekends.........if you already have your property in the country, then yeah you could probably build or have built a small "weekend get away" type place...... it would be small with the bare essentials, but hey, it's for the weekend right?

I think you need to define your notions somewhat more before anybody can give you a yeah or nay answer.

Agreed with comments above. The main advantage of buying existing place is you know exactly what the costs are compared to building new. Also inner city homes may be out of reach with a floor $100, 000 in most major city centres.

Getting bare ground ready to build can be expensive. You might have $25,000 in bringing in utilities, sewer or septic, and a driveway to access the site. If you need to drill your own well, add another couple thousand. Buying an existing house, no matter how decrepit, is often a better deal. Of course, you could buy a ready-to-build lot in a development, but how much solitude can you enjoy in the middle of a housing tract?

Many years ago, my parents looked into building a home on some ground they owned which was across the street from the city limits of a very small town. Because it wasn't inside the municipal boundaries, they couldn't get the electricity extended across the road. Instead, it would have to be brought in from at least a half mile away at a significant cost. Plus, they would have had to drill a well, install septic and either buy a propane tank or run natural gas line. They ended up buying a house just inside the boundaries, then doing an extensive remodel and addition.