It only makes sense if the location is superiour in your opinion to the locations of equivalent new homes. (I've got in-laws in Worcester; and last I looked, there was very little in-fill in the rundown areas.)

Newton is not a good city for tear-downs unless you find a property in Newton Upper Falls, or near a major highway. I found one that was essentially uninhabitable (ceilings 6-10, sagging floors, illegal decks, collapsing 15 ft high retaining wall) in a bad neighborhood and they were asking $499,000 for it hoping a developer would buy it.

In Newton, the minimum size of lot (if it was created after 1953) in the most lenient Single Residence District is 7,000 s.f, so you would need to get some reliable zoning advice before you tore down a house because you might need a zoning variance just to build a house on it.
If you tear down more than 50% of a house, you would also have to meet the floor area ratio requirements as if it were new construction. Since you want to build a very small house that might not be a problem.

Most houses on small lots have existing non-conforming setbacks. If you keep the shell, you can renovate but you can't increase the non-conformance which means you can't build above it.

A reasonable house purchase would be $300 to 350,000 and new construction would be about the same with financing and professional fees. That's a lot of money for such a small house.

Thanks mightyanvil. I am new to the US so I am trying to figure out things.

My preference is a 3BR ranch with a big lawn, hence I am thinking of large lots like 6000 sq ft.

Like you said a tear down purchase + new constr. would cost
me $ 700,000. Won't a good ,ready 1500 sqft house on a large lot, in a good newton neighbourhood, cost about the same?

For $700,000 you would have a much better choice of locations and possibly a larger lot although the condition of 100 year old houses varies greatly. Run down properties are rarely located in good neighborhoods in Newton. But there are too many variables to make really useful generalizations.

You should start with a good real estate agent who deals with these questions every day. The market in Newton never has much of a slump. Although there is currently a "buyer's market" it means sellers aren't getting top dollar prices and buyers can demand more repairs after the inspection. The good properties still usually sell within days often with a bidding war so without an agent you are spinning your wheels.

Whoa! $700,000 would get you at least 10 acres and a mansion in KY. :)

Enjoy your build, you've come to the right place early in your decision making process. You will find lots of knowledgeable people in here more than willing to help.

"My preference is a 3BR ranch with a big lawn, hence I am thinking of large lots like 6000 sq ft."

Do you have your square footage right? A 6000 sf lot will not result in a large lawn.

sue 36. Well, I am new the US and to this whole house issue, maybe I calculated wrong.
What area lot would result in a good front lawn?
And does the size of the lot affect the cost of the house?
Thanks

I'm not local to the area, but if you can find a location you like I believe you will come out ahead to tear down and build new over "remodeling". We have been happy to have a 100% new, quiet, tight, well-built house instead of a partially new/partially old one for the same money. The all-new house is also worth more at re-sale. Neighbors who did big remodels are now unable to get their investment returned.

Dont forget the cost and labor of disposing of the old house your tearing down.

buddha: Everyone has a different idea of what a "big lawn" is. The only way to know is to actually see some houses (friends' homes; open houses for homes for sale; real estate ads if they give you square footage of lot and house).

I think we have a big lawn, front and back. Our lot is 30,000 square feet, minus 3000 square feet taken up by our ranch house (4184 after you count the garage and screen porch). So, what's left for lawn is 25,816 sq.ft.
We're in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA--population 4 million. This is an old subdivision developed around 1970. It was the only way to get what we consider a large lawn.

Also, consider the terrain(how much of the lot is actually usable for lawn?) You'll want to know the lot setbacks, so you can determine where on the lot you can build. And what minimum size house your jurisdiction requires you to build. Also, what is the maximum lot coverage you're allowed to build (if there is a max.)? Here, we can only cover 30% of our lot with structures (house, garage, garden shed, etc.)

A lot to consider, but people will help you. You'll need specific local information after you get some basic ideas here of what to look out for. My first stop was the local Zoning Office at City Hall and the city's website where they have all the local laws. Then I talked to the chief of Building Inspections to make sure there was nothing illegal about what I planned to do and that I knew all the rules. Lots more legwork and learning. After that, I was ready to hire an architect and builder.

We're tearing down the existing house and filling in the old swimming pool. All debris has to be removed. It's VERY IMPORTANT that you find out your state and any local laws concerning asbestos removal. In GA before you can do any remodeling or demolition you have to remove it and dispose of it in a specific way. Which means the entire house must be tested by a certified asbestos inspector. Cost us $1200. for the inspection. They found a very small amount of it in the duct tape on HVAC ductwork; removal by a certified asbestos abatement contractor(ours will be the inspector we used) will cost $2700. A state hazardous materials inspector must be present during the abatement, which is done prior to demolition.

The existing house is about 3000 sq. ft. Demolition estimate: $15,000. (Asbestos removal is a separate cost).

Good luck with your project!

"And does the size of the lot affect the cost of the house?"

Let's say you are building the same home on two different lots. One lot is one acre, the other is 10k (common size for a city lot in Mass.). It will cost more to build the house on the small lot (not including landscaping, driveway, etc.) than on the large lot because it is more difficult to maneuver on a small lot. The subs may have nowhere to park, there is little space to stack materials, issues with dumpsters and portapotties, etc. The builders won't SHOW you the upcharge, but it will be built into the square footage. Think of it as an inconvenience charge. Of course, with the larger lot you have more landscaping cost, and the cost of the larger lot.

You said you want a big yard, how big of a yard do you want? "Big" is a relative term. If the house will be 2 stories (let's assume a Colonial style rather than Cape style), then the 1500 sf house will take up 750 sf of the lot. You also need to subtract for landscaping around the house, sidewalks, driveway, garage, etc.

It would be unusual for someone to build a 1500 sf house on such an expensive lot in Mass. So much of the cost is in the land. If you build a small house then it may not appraise for the cost of the land, tear-down and new house (not to mention all the zoning restrictions described above). That is part of the reason people tend to build larger in expensive areas - it spreads the land cost out over more square footage.

Back to your original question: does a tear down (plus rebuild, of course) cost less than a new house. Tear down adds to the cost. So all other things being equal, it costs more for a teardown than it costs for a house built on empty land. That assumes there is any empty land in Newton, of course. Teardowns are usually done where the land is so valuable that the value of the old house itself is inconsequential due to the desirablity of the lot.

I've designed about 20 major renovations in Newton over the past 25 years.

Don't plan on tearing down a house until you get a survey from a surveyor and a zoning analysis from an architect reviewed by a local zoning lawyer well known to the zoning board. Developers moved through Newton in the 90's building surprisingly large one and two family houses and the political reaction was intense. The zoning laws have been revised to prevent the destruction of older housing stock and the building of new homes that would have maxed the old zoning envelope. Zoning variances are not easily obtained, floor area ratios and other zoning restrictions apply to more than 50% demolition, and "grandfathering" can be lost.

Be very careful; it's not an easy game to play.

As I posted on the storm thread, our GC, who's working on the inside of our house now, said the walls are flexing (2x6's), and the 8050 windows are flexing 3/8 inch in this wind.

That's interesting susanka, should we call someone?

Thanks everyone for all the useful information.
Lot of stuff to think about at this early stage of my house
buying/building decision making.

I was doing some research on Newton land and I have this query;
I was looking at Newton city property records webpage
and I noticed that some home owners also own pieces of very cheap land labeled UNDEVELOPABLE by the Newton city assessment dept.
(eg a 7000 sq ft lot had a market value of only $ 20k or so).
I sent an email to the Newton city assessment dept asking more about such land and they told me one could use a variance procedure to get a permit to build on UNDEVELOPABLE land but the
success will depend on local zoning requirements.

Mightyanvil,(or anyone else) you mentioned about zoning and variance,which are terms very new to me. In reality, what are the factors that determine success in such a variance procedure for UNDEVELOPABLE LAND?
It would be great if one bought a 7000sqft undevelopable lot for $ 20k , and succeeded in getting a permit to build on it.

In my opinion, it'll never happen. The only legal grounds for granting a variance is "hardship" and there is none that you could claim for an existing piece of land that you just bought with full knowledge of the zoning restrictions. Even if there were some technicality that would allow the appeal board to grant a variance, you would never get one without the active support of the abutters at a hearing.

The city property valuation has nothing to do with the market value of "undevelopable" land. A $20,000 valuation would have a yearly tax of $205 which is clearly meant to recognize the fact that it can't be built upon.

Get a good real estate agent and learn what the possibilities are instead of wasting time with unrealistic ones.

Thanks Mightyanvil.
Could you point me to a good agent? If it is forbidden
to name one on this forum please email me kinddoc1@aol.com