| My ~150k is for a starter home. That is what a ranch 3 bedroom, 2 bath with kitchen/dining and living room, no basement goes for in my area, based on 1990's code. Current code is more stringent. I know that people used to add on, that is however going to be more costly in the long term. Think about heating and A/C system, rather than buy the system once and keep it for 15 years as you expand you need to keep redoing duct work and adding capacity. You will end up with insulation and vapor barriers between two interior walls. Plumbing and electrical will become interesting as well. I grew up in the kinds of homes you are describing, I like them but the building style does have challenges. I also like the idea of people putting down roots, however this in turn limits people's opportunities. This also limits the type of housing, what would be required in order to build a duplex or townhouse? A condo/apartment building? Part of the current green movement talks about getting rid of suburbia and condensing into more urban areas. This would be a direct opposition to that as you would need to buy a lot size that guarantees that you can grow. |