Building an extension to a house (sales, how much, houses)

[pdxtech]

I was wondering if anyone has any pros or cons to share about
adding an additional room (or two) to a house by working with
a contractor. I was looking for information on:

- approximate price range/sq foot
(If I buy a home in a neighborhood of $150/sq foot homes, is it
fair to assume that the maximum expense will be $150/sq foot?
I am not counting the "land component" of the price, so
this should be a very conservative estimate.
- pros and cons of working with contractors
for example, do they finish on time, are they remotely close to
the estimates they provide, quality of construction materials,
where to check up on someone before signing up.
- approvals (permits and HOAs)

If I really like a neighborhood, but cannot find a home or price I like,
this seems like a good choice, but having never done this before,
I would love to hear from someone that has.

[Trainwreck20]

I have not done that (the expansion thing) but my parents have and several friends over the years. My number one suggestion is sort of a no-brainer, BUT - do not go with the lowest bid. Find a good contractor (by personal recommendation is usually best) and ask for references and CALL them to see how they liked the work.

Also, depending on what you are doing, it is sure nice to have all this done BEFORE you move in...it goes faster and is a lot less miserable. The dust, noise, temperature issues, etc. are a pain to deal with and can be really bad depending on how much area is affected and exactly where.

As for cost, I am not sure on specifics, but as you point out, you already own the land. In the pricier neighborhoods, the cost of the land is a significant portion of the house value, so you should get a lower $/sq ft cost than the house is valued at. Of course, an expensive contractor in a low price neighborhood may cost more, but I think that would be a relatively unique situation.

[johnrex62]

Sorry, can't give you an estimate of max $ per sf based on neighborhood sales prices. They are not comparable. The sales price is a retail price of a complete home. Addon construction $ per sf will depend dramatically on what you are adding on and how you do it. Adding a bedroom will be much cheaper than adding on a bathroom or a kitchen. You can easily see the variables involved in determing the price of the added space when you consider the different components, and quality of the components desired, of different spaces and how you intend to use them. Depending upon the specific roof and floorplan, the same room addition can have drastically different costs based on how much modification must be done to the existing structures to integrate them and make them look good.

I don't think you will get a reasonable estimate in this general a discussion. You will have to bite the bullet and get actual estimates to get in the ballpark.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by pdxtech

I was wondering if anyone has any pros or cons to share about
adding an additional room (or two) to a house by working with
a contractor. I was looking for information on:

- approximate price range/sq foot
(If I buy a home in a neighborhood of $150/sq foot homes, is it
fair to assume that the maximum expense will be $150/sq foot?
I am not counting the "land component" of the price, so
this should be a very conservative estimate.
- pros and cons of working with contractors
for example, do they finish on time, are they remotely close to
the estimates they provide, quality of construction materials,
where to check up on someone before signing up.
- approvals (permits and HOAs)

If I really like a neighborhood, but cannot find a home or price I like,
this seems like a good choice, but having never done this before,
I would love to hear from someone that has.

I could be totally wrong here, but I think you can build at a reasonable level of quality for about $100/sq ft (granite, wood/tile floors etc). At $200/sq ft you are in the extremely nice amenities range.

When we priced "dry in" i.e. enough to keep the rain out, the dry in cost was about 30/sq ft.

If you look at lower end houses, they often sell new for 80/sq ft. The land is almost worth zero so that pretty much sets the floor for construction in my view.

An addition should be less expensive than a remodel, but there is some demo that has to be done and they have to integrate with the existing structure which will cost a little more.

In an area of 200/sq ft sales price I think additions are a no brainer.

(This advice is worth what you paid for it).

[Phisch]

Also, with additions don't they base your taxes on the size of the house?