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drewrbakerHNSource author
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House will be 3200sqft, very nice with a pool but lots of value engineering (thanks to my dad)

… House will be 3200sqft, very nice with a pool but lots of value engineering (thanks to my dad). Construction budget is $2m. Will be getting a construction loan. Requires monthly income of $35k combined. Lucky I’m doing this with my twin brother, so we might just be able to afford it, but currently can not due to interest rate rises since we started. Swinging big. Bank appraised finished project at $3.5m. My take away from the whole process is that LA infrastructure is terrible, and the city has effectively made it impossible for new construction by family’s. LA DWP single handedly cost us a year in permitting and its incentives are just so not aligned with home owners. My dream is we can go solar and batteries and tell them to get lost. I now have a real respect for what Starlink is doing. Down with the entrenched utilities!!! You have to be rich to build a house in LA. Renovation is the only real option for individuals. Which just drives up house prices. New houses built is the only way out I think, and the government seems to only be making it harder.

Original discussionU.S. Home Prices Are the Most Unaffordable They've Been in Nearly 100 Years234 source comments · at import
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HT
htagHN

> If homes are to be affordable that means more need to be built. Try pricing what it would take to buy a plot of land and build a home on it. In some places there are very expensive local regulations that must be satisfied. However, just the base value of some land with utility access, physical materials, and labor to assemble the home is "unaffordable." If the difference between the cost to produce a home and the sale value of the home was larger than there would be more home builders. If reducing the cost of housing is important to you than you should focus on ways to reduce the cost of producing homes.

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BR
brabelHN

> move 3 power poles > House will be 3200sqft > Construction budget is $2m > impossible for new construction by family’s Sorry, but this looks like one of the most incredibly out-of-touch rich people comments I've ever read. You're building a freaking castle in the middle of the city, moving roads around, and then you go on to say "families" can't build?? Maybe you're right and even building a modest home in the suburbs is harder than it should, but your project is definitely not proof of that.

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EL
elihuHN

I've looked into building in Portland OR. I don't think we're quite as bad as what you describe (except for the bureaucracy which is spot on), but I came to the conclusion that there'd be about $100k in fees. Just the fees to be allowed to hook up to the city sewer I think came out around $30k if I understand them correctly. (It's possible I'm missing something. I'm not an expert.) For some people that's probably a bargain, but if you're not wealthy it's a lot of money just for /permission/ to do something.

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HT
htagHN

A lot of what you are describing is regional issues for costal cities. My specific comment was pointing that {Base land + Materials + Labor} is very expensive, and while addressing these fees and red tape might be important, it's not the whole cake. I was also targeting a more modest experience. In Texas it might be $40k land (varies by size and location), $250k for construction ($115/sqft * 2250 sqft), and maybe $50k for utilities/landscaping/driveway/permits etc (varies by taste and location). So $350k for a house in a state with a $70k median household income. With a 20% downpayment and a 6.5% interest rate this median family for a median house would spend 1 year salary on the downpayment and over a third of their gross income on the mortgage. If they had a typical amount of debt from cars, credit cards, or student loans their DTI would be too high to qualify. EDIT: To my original po…

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PR
ProllyInfamousHN

I have built a personal house with two brothers — one my own Twin — and wow ya'll are in for an undertaking. I've built, all-together, about similar budget (for two houses with brothers) and I don't even think I have enough energy to build my own house, now. But gonna try, on some land in a county with minimal regulations. House Twin and I built was in a Historic District, which was the biggest nightmare of the entire construction. We literally did the rebar and formwork and roof and plumbing and electrical. And they made us re-do windows and other such bullshit to "be in conformity with the neighborhood, but without giving the impression of being historic itself." JFC, make up your minds [worse than any HOA nightmare].

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