We are doing a build near Lake Ray Roberts for a samll mother in law suite, around 650 sq ft and breaking ground in about a month. Are there any builders out there, that can still pull off what I'm seeing online as the average cost, at $115 per sq ft? We are not looking for fancy, just something basic.

Something that small will be tough to build that cheap. The smaller the building the more condensed the cost. Idk if someone could build an average size home with builder grade finishes for 115. That small I highly doubt.

if you build it all yourself it could be done for that price, but if you are going to be paying someone to build it all then I don't see anyone coming in close to that.

If you can find someone to do a small project and paying someone else you're probably in the $180 sq/ft range.

It makes me sad when I think about the house I had built for $100/ft in 2013 or 14 that I had to sell due to life changes. Person that bought It from me sold It last month in about 3 days for $150k more than I built It for.

Yea, that suxs but you can't dwell on the past, time keeps on marching

Have you considered a shed to small house conversion? Not sure it would be allowed where you live, but it might be a less expensive option if you can do some of the finish work yourself.

Saw these at the DSC. If I was a single man I’d get something like this.

https://kendallcabin.com/dscpricing/

Another idea would be a park model rv.

https://www.rvuniverse.com/listing/for-sale/209213737/2022-fairmont-homes-1900011-park-models

not bad

Build in some of the less expensive things that can be up graded later.

Examples here would be great?

Reading comprehension would be great.


"We are not looking for fancy, just something basic."

Use nothing less than 36 inch doors. If a walker or wheelchair ever becomes a necessary item, the 24 inch doors are totally useless, the 30 inch doors not much better. Next, plenty of handicap bars in the bathroom. An all wet bathroom with wheelchair or walker accessible shower with a built in seat. Basically a bathroom that water can get anywhere and everywhere and not mess anything up.

I know, I just busted the hell out of the $115 a square foot build.

There is non profit in Abilene called "Houses for Healing". They built a few small apartment type houses for people needing outpatient medical care. Their design is professional, but also pretty frugal. You might go through their website and Facebook pages for design ideas. These were basically built using volunteer labor.
https://housesforhealing.com/
https://wyliemethodist.com/houses-for-healing/
https://business.facebook.com/housesforhealing/

They don’t exist but it’s a free post

Lmao

Yup, gonna have to DIY it to get that price.

And I mean, be the "builder". Get the subs lined up, call them in order, do what parts you can, yourself. An example would be the framing. If time is on your side, framing up one that small wouldn't be that difficult. Call a roofer. Fair chance his guys would do that little thing, on their own, in their off time. "You gottie catch?"

Window install, they charge a fortune for. 30 windows in my house, 15 of those arw 3/0 6/0. Two of us installed them in a day.

Get the foam installer to come shoot it when he is in the area anyway.
Wire it yourself
Get the sheet rock guy to come work on it when he is in the area anyway.

^Examples

Phone calls, emails and text messages get a house built.

How about getting one of those Tuff Sheds or something similar and finishing out the interior?

Why not buy a single wide?

We put a “wet” bathroom in last year and it was well worth it. No step-up into the shower and completely new tile throughput. I was really disappointed to find out that I could have had heated flooring put in very inexpensive. I wasn’t aware of it until some of the tile had been installed. I won’t ever build another home without heated floors.
I don’t know how one of the tile installer knew, but he said that Florida had the highest per capita heated floors. Once it’s done, you have the choice to turn it on or off. And the temperature can be regulated

Check out Smith Buildings in Greenville, TX. You could probably come close to 75k with one of their Shell tiny houses. If you bid out the Plumbing, HVAC, Electric to at least 3 contractors. And do as much of the finish out work as you can on your own and then use a handy man type to do the rest.

I have been kicking around a tiny house next year when all the kids grow up. Smiths seems to be have the best up front prices that I have found.

I am selling a 16x50 tiny house right now, two bedroom one bath. Add in the classifieds

Thanks for the feedback

Shell home can be done around here on pier and beam for $45sqft. If you are handy and don't go crazy on finishes you might be able to keep it below $115. Size matters and the smaller you go the more per sqft.