5 years is being VERY optimistic about a DIY build pay as you go with a single income and no contractor involvement. 3 kids will suck up every spare nickel, not the build. You might be done by the time you are empty nesters. And that is if your local building office is DIY friendly enough to allow a building permit to be open that long.

You'd be better off living where you are now and then using that land for a retirement home.

All depends. We are DIY a lot of our build. 2700sqft 3b 2.5bath over full unfinished basement, and have about 160000 in it so far, not including land. Should pass final o in a week or two. We have one bath to finish. And exterior work to complete. We are nearing the 1yr mark on when the framing started and 1.5 y from starting the driveway. 1200' gravel drive added some cost. My suggestion before doing anything. Find plans and price EVERYTHING out. Fees, framing etc. get quotes on the big parts. It might be worth having someone frame and dry in for you to sub contract out parts or DIY. Might not be worth your time to frame or roof etc. Do multipule quotes on everything to make sure you don't lowball anything that would make you go over later. Having kids makes it exceptionally hard. We function most days like a one parent household. I go back and paint or my dh goes back to put porches on etc. We have done the electrical, plumbing, siding, painting, stairs, flooring, refinished cabinets to repurpose, are building the counters, decks. We subcontracted out basement and concrete work, framing, roofing, drywall, hvac.
Hope this helps. All areas are different. Code will play a big part of what you can do yourself.
Jen

I can assure you of two things: you will never be finished and a 5 person family will be miserable in a trailer. Stay where you are and save your money so you can build with less stress and discomfort.

$50,000 will be gone before you get the frame up.

Even DIY, 50K won't get you very far. Just clearing your lot and having your foundation poured will eat that up. Not sure where you are located, but have you priced the cost of having those trees taken down and sent to a sawmill to be cut into lumber? Sawmills don't work for free so framing will not be free wood.

Will you and husband continue to work while you build? Meaning your DIY will be on nights and weekends?

Does your lot already have utilities on it? Do you have electricity, gas, running water, sewerage for the trailer?

It can be done, but will be a lot of work. In the end it will probably cost more and take longer then you anticipate.

DIY for the inside is (relatively) easy and low cost. Except for the electrical. I don't know how codes are where you are, but we used an experienced, licensed electrician, and he still had problems meeting *every* electrical code requirement. Anyhow, you won't be able to DIY some stuff, like septic and the well (if you need a well?). Dh and I served as our own GCs, and did some of the interior finishes. It was a massive job.

You sound excited, which is great. But maybe you're a bit naive about the work and cost of what you are talking about - ?

Could you stay in your house while you build? You could put the money you'd save on a mobile home toward hiring the professionals you'll really need to get the house done.

It depends on your zoning. We lived in a mobile home for one year when our house was being built. That was as long as the county allowed.

Momma,
Look into modular homes, not mobile homes.
They are priced real good, and you could put 50K down, leaving a smaller mortgage payment that you could probably afford and stay home.
They are every where now, and gorgeous, and built better than a regular stick built home.
Check them out online.
Go see them make them, if you live in driving distance of one.
Don't knock it til you see them.
That's what I would do.

Were getting away for the op's original question but to say modular homes are "built better than a regular stick built home" is not a fair statement at all. While I will agree they are build indoors under optimum working conditions to flat out state they are built better is wrong.

This post was edited by millworkman on Sun, Apr 27, 14 at 8:30

Do your research...lots of it! Talk to bankers and planning and zoning or whatever applies in your county. (in most places it depends on the county) Most will discourage you but it CAN be done.
Your pay as you go Idea may be best
Dh and his late wife did this BUT.... he was retired, had extensive experience and they did pay as you go. NOt easy but doable
good luck

When our house was finished we had to remove the mobile home or get fined $100.00 a day. We had two office trailers that I was going to use for my nursery business and the county said I couldn't have them there. This was in a very rural area.

Thanks everyone. I've learned alot from your responses. I'm looking at modular homes online right now- I didn't know about these.

Unfortunately my current mortgage is too large that I can't quit working and stay in this house. My husband is self employed and his income varies widely month to month which makes planning hard.

And just to clarify- I wasn't actually referring to using the trees on the lot for the lumber. We actually have a ton of 2x6's (tons!!!) from a (business) project my husband had that fell through.

It's so hard to juggle it when it comes to timing and money for such a big task. It's daunting! I don't know how to make it all work!

sounds like a lot has to happen...
sell the house you are in..find plans/builder
dirtwork etc.

IMO it would be an amazing man who could
watch kids, work from home & oversee build.

in my area people pay less than 10K for a mobile
home..live in it while building..then sell.

hope it all works out.
Best of luck.

I wouldn't say it's impossible, but a lot of things would have to fall perfectly in place. I had some friends who tried to do this. It took so much longer than planned that they essentially raised their family in the mobile home, then ended up with a really nice house that's much bigger than they need that was finished about the time the kids finished high school.

My brother in law sells modular homes. Do not buy one with the intent on living in one long term. They DO NOT appreciate in value.

My neighbours did this; took about 5 years start to finish (from the time they bought the trailer to the time they sold it). It apparently took some convincing of the county because they were restricted to one house on the piece of land...so having the mobile home AND the new house was against zoning bylaws. Thankfully the county agreed if the mobile home was gone when the moved into the new house. There was about a month in which they camped out in the yard because the mobile home was sold and gone but the house hadn't passed final inspection. All that being said, it worked, they have a gorgeous house and no debts.

That being said, they had TONS of family to help them with the build, and she was a stay at home mom (they have 5 kids!), and dad was a trucker who would be home for stretches at a time.

Personally, I built my place in a year working only evenings and weekends plus my holiday time, without an entire crew of workers. $50k wouldn't have gotten it to lock-in stage, but it would have covered my excavation, foundation and at least 1/2 of framing (except I dug my own basement and poured my own foundation....so we're talking material costs).

Where there's a will, there's a way right??

I had planned to put a mobile home on our property to live in while building. I had called the electric company, and to get the utilities ran to a new hone construction was 5K, but to run it for a mobile home was going to be 15K. (Since it is not a permanent residence). To move a single wide trailer was going to be 3-5K, to move a double wide trailer was going to be about 10K. Then you have well/septic (probably at least 15K for both)
I stay home with my 3. We chose to rent a small house in the town by our land. Over 3 years, this will likely cost less than the setup and depreciation fees of the mobile home. Maybe you could work for 2 years, build a smaller home that works well for you family/lifestyle with as much cash as possible. Pay off any debt and spend as little as you can. Living in a rental home with 3 little ones is hard enough. A single wide would've been nearly impossible! Good lluck with your adventure!

I had planned to put a mobile home on our property to live in while building. I had called the electric company, and to get the utilities ran to a new hone construction was 5K, but to run it for a mobile home was going to be 15K. (Since it is not a permanent residence). To move a single wide trailer was going to be 3-5K, to move a double wide trailer was going to be about 10K. Then you have well/septic (probably at least 15K for both)
I stay home with my 3. We chose to rent a small house in the town by our land. Over 3 years, this will likely cost less than the setup and depreciation fees of the mobile home. Maybe you could work for 2 years, build a smaller home that works well for you family/lifestyle with as much cash as possible. Pay off any debt and spend as little as you can. Living in a rental home with 3 little ones is hard enough. A single wide would've been nearly impossible! Good lluck with your adventure!