Most people are usually pretty decided on this subject. Either you are fine moving in to an unfinished house or you just aren’t. And that is totally okay! Everyone is different and every situation is different.
Farmer and I moved into a very unfinished house because we were fine with it, but mostly because it allowed us to build our house with cash and then finish it slowly. This saved us gobs of money that would have accrued in interest had we taken out a loan.
I get asked about moving into an unfinished house ALL the time. People want to know how awful it is, or why we would do such a thing.
For us, it’s really no big deal. The pro’s in our case far outweighed the con’s. It’s hardly something we fret over, except those rare occasions when I want to take a break from all of our ongoing projects.
I hear the same arguments and comments over and over again. So today I wanted to address all of those myths head on.
Myth #1: It doesn’t really save money, the finishes don’t cost that much anyway.
Let me answer this one with some real life numbers.
Before we started building, we got an estimate from a few different general contractors. The cost to hire one of them to build our house would have been about $500,000.
Acting as our own general contractors, shopping hard, and doing some of the work ourselves, we brought that number down to $300,000.
We still have finish work to do, and when we are all finished we will be over budget a bit. But the main reason for that is because we are finishing it at our own pace and we have decided to upgrade on some of the things in this last hour … just because we can. So let’s say our final number is around $320,000.
Farmer and I moved into our unfinished house, with only the basic necessities, for just under $225,000. Here is what it looked like when we were moving in:
That’s nearly $100,000 that we didn’t have to come up with before we could build. And like I said before, it allowed us to build without a loan which saved soooo much more in interest.
Myth #2: Living in an unfinished house would be a nightmare
I am always so surprised when I hear this one. Maybe surprised is the wrong word … confused is more accurate.
Living in an unfinished house isn’t even a big deal. Things don’t look that great at the moment, but we have two working bathrooms, a semi temporary kitchen, and plenty of space. We are warm. We have a roof over our heads. We have beds to sleep in.
Does it matter all that much that we don’t have trim around our doors and windows? Is it really a big deal that we have painted subfloors instead of hardwood floors? Do I need all four of my bathrooms finished right now? Nope!
Maybe I am just blinded by the fact that I am so happy to finally be in MY OWN house and not renting from someone that none of those things matter to me.
It’s not a nightmare … it just doesn’t look as pretty as a finished house would. But it will someday!
Myth #3: Moving in unfinished isn’t allowed
The first thing that must be said is that every location is a little different. Your local planning and building department will have their own rules.
However, in most cases those rules are not nearly as strict as you think. In many cases, it’s actually the bank that has stricter requirements then the city or county.
As long as your home is deemed safe to live in, most places will allow you to move in unfinished. Especially is you are an owner builder, these guidelines are a little more relaxed. They understand that in many cases it is more convenient for you to be living in your house and working to finish it.
You need your electrical finished up so nobody gets zapped or starts a fire. You need a working bathroom and kitchen. You need smoke alarms. You need railings. You need doors on all your bedrooms. Beyond safety, most building departments won’t make you put up all of your trim, install all of your carpet, or have your built in shelves finished up.
Give them a quick call, explain that you are an owner builder and you want to move in and then finish it, and I bet you can work something out.
Myth #4: The house will NEVER get finished
I believe this one depends on your personality and also how important it is to you to get it finished up.
It is true that if you have no plan for a timeline and you have to reason or push to finish your house, it will take you a VERY long time.
I have heard from plenty of owner builders who feel like ten years down the road they still have trim that never got installed or closets that didn’t get finished.
It all depends on you. If you are intentional about it, you will get finished. If you don’t care, then you may not.
Myth #5: It’s dangerous for kids
Oh man, this one makes me frustrated. I have 5 little kids. Our baby was born after we moved into this house. My kids ages 1-10 have lived for the past 3 years in a construction zone.
Actually, now that I really think about it, my kids have never NOT lived in a construction zone. We were doing work on our rental homes as well since they were quite a bit older and needed some fixing up.
We don’t leave all of our power tools out on the floor for the littles to play with. We clean up our nails and screws when we aren’t working on a project.
If we do need to have all of our stuff out among the kids, we simply talk about some rules and watch them carefully.
We also spend time teaching our young kids how to use tools properly, with close supervision. If there is an appropriate kid job then you can bet they are right there working with us.
In my opinion, kids being around tools, is no different then teaching them to look both ways for cars, or not to stand on the edge of the canal full of water. Spend the time to teach them and they will be just as safe as any other life activity.
We didn’t move into some horror house with exposed wires poking two feet out into the room, nails protruding out of the floor, jagged tile piled up in a corner, and who knows what else people conjure up in their minds. We moved into an unfinished house. That’s it … it’s just not finished.
Did you move into an unfinished house or are you considering it? What myths have you heard? Leave a comment if you have one to add to the list.
~Farmer’s Wife
P.S. Living in an unfinished house is not all rainbows and unicorns… I wrote a list of the things I hate about living in an unfinished house and the things I love. If you are considering moving into your house and finishing it slowly, checking out that article would be a great idea. CLICK HERE to read it.
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GM says
Lending Institutions, HOA, and sometimes civil codes preclude moving into an unfinished home, as you noted. Mostly its the lending groups that fear having to deal with foreclosure entanglements when a structure is occupied. You cannot even use a VA Loan for a owner builder situation. So much red tape at that point in many states. Our HOA is strict as are the lending folks in our area because of the red tape concerns. Our HOA limits the building process to one year from the starting point, that’s not much time left to occupy and finish a home considering the time it takes to lay a foundation, frame in up to the point where you could move in even if that were possible.
Some great news! I found a company in San Antonio that does owner builder loans and handles the refi loan! You do need a builder of record, however. Look up www. up mgmortgage.com if you are in Texas. Builder of records are not uncommon to find here.
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Awesome thanks for the info! And good luck with your strict HOA.
Kimberly Zimmer says
Just around the corner from you in Wenatchee, WA. We did the same thing and moved in to finish. Biggest thing was getting the occupancy permit! We had an inspection and they gave us a punch list to complete then able to move in.
I will be doing this same thing again. Just downsizing the house for retirement further north.
There are so many benefits of owner builder. Biggest is to see the hard work completed, lessons learned, all the interest saved, and money saved.
farmerswife@therealfarmhouse.com says
Hey neighbor! I love to hear from people close by! So is your first house finishing completely? And when will you be starting your next one?