A mobile home will be cheaper. And probably have better resale than a shed.

I wouldn't consider a steel frame home a "shed". We have no intention of building a shed...

Zoning in most of the US prohibits this. Better start there.

Thank you for the advice - but zoning is not an issue.

The saying "you get what you pay for" comes to mind. The floor plans I saw are poor to unimpressive.

I don't mind metal buildings and I like steel framed homes... However, I feel these sites take advantage of consumer misinformation to trick people into thinking they are getting a bargain, rather than providing a real bargain.

You are getting the materials and an instruction manual to create an exterior shell for a home. It seems really cheap, but much of that is because the materials for an exterior shell are really cheap. You would be amazed how little the materials to get a house under roof actually costs, but a stack of materials is no more a house than a stack of paper is a novel.

These kits are supposed to be easier to DIY build, but really there is nothing that complicated about stick built homes, and these kits often require more heavy machinery than stick built homes. If you look at kits for stick built homes for those who are solid DIY'ers the stick built home kits are less money, more attractive and provide more things. For example, the 84 Lumber Cape May kit includes more stuff for less money and, in my opinion, is a decent looking home.

If you need an instruction manual just watch Larry Haun videos on Youtube (note: watching Larry and Joe swing hammers is a bit mesmerizing).

Are you planning to DIY the build?

Are you planning to build the entire home mortgage free?

There are a lot of kit companies out there, you may be able to find one closer to you that you could visit in person.

Look at the Deltec homes site, they have a lot of information on the true cost of building a diy type home from a kit. There are also a few bloggers that posted about their build and give the total cost. We tried this and it just did not work out for us, we could not find a builder in our area after we signed the contract,the references they gave us were old so make sure you do you research before you purchase.

John, I‘d be interested to know what you ended up going with. I’m looking to build a barn home as well and have been running into the same obstacles.

Those scam "home kits" that aren't complete at all are exactly the same as the idiotic trend to "tiny homes" that cost way more than an RV. Stick built homes are better and cheaper in all aspects. Just like an RV is better and cheaper in all aspects.

Have you seen Budgetcarkits? You can build your own auto.

At the end of the day if you like the out side of the the design you can make the inside what you want. Keep in mind that a full steel house is termite resistant, no wood dry rot and less prone to fire damage which will be less on insurance cost(Farmers insurance will code it right). With foam insulation very low energy cost. I am going to form a llc company with fed and state tax id. IE(cut the middle man out and taxes) I will build most of it or sub some out. I will be using budget they seem to have the best kits. I have been reviewing kits for six month now.

Stick houses cost more to maintain too.

Budget kits doesnt claim to be complete either just like wood kit houses you have to finish them out inside and do the slab,plumbing and electrical.

They are fast to build in my area of North Texas they are going up every where. A lot of the square box metal houses the wife likes a couple models that budget has.

I am going to form a llc company with fed and state tax id. IE(cut the middle man out and taxes) I will build most of it or sub some out.

It is always great to see self-righteousness and tax fraud so close together.

For some reason I can not "Like" Bry's comment, so this will act as my like for Bry's comment.

"was the pole i removed load bearing??" is getting some competition.

My wife and I purchased, with some help built, and have lived in our steel home from Budget home kits for five years. We were concerned as well with purchasing over the internet but the amount of home for the projected price was too difficult to pass over. We wanted a steel home for our last home for the obvious reasons and the diy added to the decision. Bottom line, we feel we got more than our money's worth and the relief of our expectations being met added to our overall satisfaction. Good folks to deal with as well. Came across this and wanted to weigh in.

Can someone post a picture of the house they've built using BudgetHomeKits.com

I'd also like to see photos of budgethomekits completed projects!

No one ends up using them after they do some critical thinking. And the actual cost accounting.

It's a very good company to do business with. I feel a lot of the bad feelings are from wood frame builders. Understandable but cheap shots. They do what they say. It did take some time to get up with a representative and they explained the amount of contacts they had and their priority was existing customers first. That resonated with me. You do have to supply your own concrete which they explained upfront. Surely no one expects them to bring concrete. Great house. Great deal.

The concrete foundation should be paid by property owner.

" The concrete foundation should be paid by property owner. "

Would that not be you? At the end of the day you pay for everything one way or another. If you thought they were bringing 70 bags of concrete, shame on you for not knowing what you purchased.

In the beginning, I had to consider 2 options. One is a financing option from traditional home builder, which I have done smoothly. The other option for Budget Homebuilder, I had to pay all upfront. Here is a risk if you spend all the money to buy the Budget Home Kits, and then there are some hidden costs to finish the the installation, even not just ones, I guess you are in trouble with financially. It is my experience and sincere advise.