$750,000 for a 6000sq/ft fixer upper Honey pack it up we are selling and moving to NJ.

 

Thanks guys.

The total space is about 7000, but we lose about 1000 due to two story ceilings. The basement is unfinished, and is about 1600 square feet, and the garage is about 900 sqare feet, so the main living area is about 3500 square feet. The master bedroom is 1350 square feet since we decided to build above the garage, so that entire space became the bedroom/bathroom/closet for us.

I think the value of the house in Fairbanks will be around $550,000-$650,000 new. Houses don't depreciate all that much here, so even if it was 20-30 years old, it would still be above 500K. We have much less than that into the house, and a good portion of that was out of our own pockets, so we have a good amount of equity in the place.

We wanted open, spacious rooms. My wife, kids and I have been living in apartments, condo's or with family since my wife and I got married 9 years ago, so we've done the tight living space deal. We drew up a dream home plan when we first got married as something to strive for, and over the years things fell in place to build it now rather than when we are older, so we are going to take advantage of it. It hasn't been easy though. Two weeks after my wife had an emergency C-section to deliver our second daughter in Fairbanks, we were back on a plane and she was walking to class in Las Vegas to finish her last semester (in lots of pain I might add). She graduated in May on a Saturday, and we were driving back to Fairbanks on Monday.

Since then, I've been working on the house everyday I'm off, and sometimes through the night. When I return to work, I get back on my normal 7 day a week, 12-18 hour a day work schedule for two to three weeks, then I take the next two to three weeks off and get back to working on the house. My wife has become the General Contractor for building the house, while taking care of the two kids and putting up with tight quarters with relatives. As soon as I get off that plane from work though, she puts it all back on me. I'm getting pretty worn out, but seeing it all come together and realizing we have just about reached our goals is keeping me going. I've taken about 8-10 days off this year for a quick caribou hunt and our annual dipnetting salmon trip.

I see why they call it sweat equity. I know it'll all be worth it when it's done but right now I'm definately ready to be done and moved in.

 

Well the house looks awesome so far, and congrats on building your dream home. I cant wait to see finished pictures.

 

Nice house, but not a location I'd want to live at though do to how cold that gets over there.

 

Your home looks like it will be beautiful. Looking forward to the finished pictures. 6,000 square feet is alot of house. Hope you are going to have a cleaning person to help out!!

 

1350SQ/FT MASTER BEDROOM!?!? My WHOLE house is 1490 sq/ft. You are are lucky guy, the joint looks awesome.

Like I said, that is no exageration. Ask any of the other NJ types that frequent the board. Location is a big part of it but a 6000 sq/ft home in NJ is not cheap.

Ironically enough, CA is the only place in the country I would chose NJ over. Anyplace that has more liberal freaks, not to mention being chock full of hippies, than NJ is out of the equation. I was watching a news show and everyone was up in arms over the illegal aliens. Seem that the liberal retards in CA think there is nothing wrong at all with illegal immigration. F them and anyone who supports that BS.

KC-10 FE out...

 

Our reassesment for property tax came in at $485,000 for a 2200 sq ft house on 1 acre. The lot alone was assesed at $200,000 which I think is absurd.

But the value doesn't really mean that much to me. This is my last house. I'm not moving. I like it here and the kids can fight over it when my wife and I are gone.

 

It used to be that the further south you traveled in NJ, the lower cost of the homes. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

 

Yeah, my best friend lives up there in the Freehold area. 8,200 sq. feet (Counting the fully finished basement), $1.2M.

A house that size here in Plano, TX would hit you from $500K - $2M, depending on the area in Plano. Gated/Golf course community = an extra $100 - 250K.

Southlake, TX = $1M - 3M, Highland Park: $4M - $6M (or more), Rowlett, TX: $375K - $1M, anywhere else would probably be cheaper.

A house that size in my home town in Louisiana. $180 - $300,000.00, with a damn-near non-existent property tax cost.

Ironically, my realtor said whatever we pay for our house here,to get a comparable house in LA, SFBA, areas of Cali, multiply the cost by 3. If that's true, Kobi would probably say a 6,000 square foot house in LA may cost you $6M...

I saw a house Tyra Banks had in Beverly Hills, LA- 1,800 sq. feet, $1.5M... That house is smaller than mine, and damn-near 10 times the cost... If Cali is like us, they don't count the garage/patio, etc.. in the sq. ft. count. Strictly living space.

 

Our appraisal based off the plans came in at $465,000 for the house and 60,000 for the 1.14 acre lot. They said it is usually appraised less based off the plans and we'll have it appraised again once the house is and we move onto a home loan. If we keep the basement unfinished and the assessors know that, then the assessment might only be on a 3500 square foot house, which is what we are hoping for since the property taxes are seriously high here. The appraisal usually comes out to quite a bit more than the assessment though.

I'm hoping for low numbers on the assessment so the property taxes won't kill us. There aren't many homes in the million dollar range in the entire state.

Anothe reason we built 6,000 feet is that it does get cold here. We spend quite a bit of time indoors in the winter, and having a larger house will keep the cabin fever to a minimum.

 

In accordance with NJ law, square footage must be heated with a finished floor & walls. So if you have a house with a non-finished basement, you can only count the upper floor against the square footage. You can list it as 1500sq/ft with a "Full un-finished basement".

KC-10 FE out...

 

Is it a concrete house?Does it have the plastic tabs(if it is!)Those are a bear when it's time to hang sheetrock.Good luck and have fun,looks like a wonderful place.

 

Yea, it's an all concrete house. We used about 210 cubic yards total for slabs, footers and walls. It has the black plastic tabs every 8", and it hasn't been too difficult attaching the drywall. We built my brothers house with the same stuff about 5 years ago, so I've got a little experience with it. The siding guys charged us a little more because they have to screw all the siding in, not nail it, but it's a little easier for them because they can see the strips while they are screwing the siding in. With the drywall, we plan to snap lines to find the strips. It takes an extra minute or so per sheet, but it's better than missing it and having to find it.

Thanks for the compliment.

 

definately snap lines!!