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| I think you may be overestimating the remodel cost, as if you are handy enough to be your own general contractor (bad idea by the way), you should be able to handle the rewiring and some of the remodeling. We did a major addition and remodel, doing some of the work ourselves and it wasn't that much.
Secondly, I think you are underestimating the cost of the new house. What you save by being your own general, you will lose by being your own general. You will also likely lose 6 months of rent on the old house as it will take at least that much longer. You also have money borrowed on both houses for quite a while. I used to do some construction financing at a bank and we eventually got to the point that unless you had extensive experience in the biz, we would not finance any project with the owner being general. They always ran way over budget and schedule.
Also, I think if you are building your "dream" house where you will live the rest of your life, you will do a lot of small upgrades that will add costs and you will be closer to 300K+. Don't forget little things like all those loads of rock until the driveway gets built up, landscaping, outside concrete work, etc. Don't forget $10K for well and septic.
$1400 rent is quite a bit for a house that hasn't been upgraded since the 40's, but maybe your area will support it. You might have to put some money in that house too and carefully choose your renter (perhaps accepting less rent) to keep the house up to your standards. You will continue to have to maintain that house cutting into your $1400 rent. You also have taxes and insurance on it.
All that being said, if you can afford it and want it, build the new house. Just be realistic with your numbers. Spend lots of time deciding what you want and then have 2-3 reputable builders give you a turnkey quote. | |
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remodel old farm house or build new?
