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MN | We faced same question about ten years ago. We decided to the match remodel job.... and built a new house instead. We did not have anything invested in the old house as we knew from day one that we would not have any hope for the house - about 100 years old and not really that well taken care of (think dairy barn enamel paint in the kitchen, ugly carpet), cut up design, small rooms, rock basement (we did jack up the house ourselves and put a new block in to hold up the corner of the kitchen) all the while squirreling money away for a new house and putting up with the old house. We had our house built by a local company that builds inside and moves (I think the moving bill was about $4500-but would have been 6000 except for a strange circumstance that cropped up with a bidding war). We built a basic house - 1600 square feet, 2 bath, 3 bedrooom, basic roofline (we'll have to reshingle this year already because of faulty shingles - have to get the paperwork filed). We went with the geothermal heat pump and has paid for itself several times over. You don't have to spend a fortune for a new house. Make it like you want, doesn't have to compete with the neighbors. Ours is warm (major requirement - old house had to put foam over the windows to keep the wind out in the winter...) We did salvage out everything we could out of the old house and had someone else take anything they wanted too. We donated the old one to the fire department for practice. The property tax is interesting - you will pay more tax on new, but the gov is hungry for tax $$ anyway. We did use vinyl siding, but would do something different about that. If I didn't tell you the house was moved in, you wouldn't know it - 2x6 construction, drywall, had cabinets installed by local cabinet builder - we acted as the general contractor and lined up all our own basement, plumbing, electrical, heating, septic, waterlines etc. | |
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Building house or remodel questions?
