Ways to save money building a small house, Tips, Advice?

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Budget. Know what you are spending before you spend it. And stick with it. The two biggest items you will spend money on are the land, which you have, and the framing. Therefore keep the plan simple. If you are using a builder, he may have work equity. But shop around. Many times, the allowance the builder gives for say painting yourself is far lower than the price to hire a subcontractor. But if you take on some of the work, make sure you can do it right and fast. Subcontractors will be depending on you. Shop for finish items, fixtures, flooring, cabinets, etc. Lumber yards have package deals. If you buy the framing, roofing, trim, and cabinets, you get a discount. If they don't say anything about it, you bring it up, never hurts to bargain. But don't skemp on the foundation, framing, mechanicals. If you know how to do it, great, but if in doubt, hire a professsional! Above all, like I said, Budget and stick to it....Show more

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There is a company locally called U-build It. I'm sure there are others in different regions. You go to them and they will help you line up all of the subs.

You can do the parts you want and sub out the rest. You don't have to pay a contractor/builder to do the job. That alone will save you about 15pct on the house.

We put cheaper carpet in the MBDRM but the rest is higher quality. We installed wood and tile flooring ourselves and we painted because those were the easiest large labor costs to replace.

We saved around $40k when building the house. It appraised at about $180k....Show more

Here is a couple of savings tips I have picked up: Best tip I ever received: Pay yourself first and spend less then u earn. ie - Take your savings out of your paycheck first! Don't wait to see whats left over at the end of the week, fortnight or month. -Buy groceries in bulk: Rice is cheap and is versitile. -Cook dishes in bulk and freeze when u can. -Keep a frozen pizza or similar on hand for the nights u don't feel like cooking so u don't opt for TAKEAWAY. -Buy shampoos and bodywashes etc in PUMP bottles. U wouldn't believe how long they last compared to traditional bottles. Even around kids. -Buy generic brands most of the time. Know when to spend a little more for quality. -Use vinegar and bi-carb for cleaning. -Grow ur own herbs or veges. Some are perfect in pots if u don't have much space. -If you do actually need something always buy it on sale. Check out your local store catalogues it will eventually go on sale somewhere. Never pay full price. Most stores (in Aust) also run long layby terms in the leadup to xmas. -Otherwise don't look at the catalogues. If you don't see it then u won't know you need it and u DON'T save money if u didn't need it in the first place....Show more

We saved a lot of money on our remodeling by shopping the close out sales at the home improvement stores. I found our light fixtures on a surplus rack at the back of the store, which were bargain price because the boxes had been opened. After checking carefully to make sure there were no missing parts, I bought all six of them.

We also took advantage of a special reimbursement program the water company offered to replace large water tanks with smaller ones in the bathrooms. We received the full refund allowed on both of our bathrooms. For the cabinets, I choose to get them refaced, rather total replacement, and then had the old interior painted. For new cabinets, shop the bargain outlet home improvement near you. I also found returned paint from a job overrun. I researched color combinations in the paint booklets, and designed the painting schemes around the colors of the returned paints. We saved at least half of the cost of new paint....Show more