Building A Waterfront Home VERSUS Buying An Existing Home
When considering living on the water and owning a home you have two options. To build a home might sound like the way to go and it certainly is for some. To buy an existing home has clear advantages as well.
Here are some things to consider:
The cost of building a home involves buying the lot first. Without a doubt the cost when you are done with a new home will be significantly larger than with an existing home. Any thoughts that the cost might be the same or just a little more are not realistic regardless of any costs advertised by builders that might make you think differently.
There are fees called Impact Fees that the county charges for water, electric and sewer hook-up that will be factored in. Permitting is another cost. The other costs that you would expect for design and engineering of course are in there to. You will need a landscape package, perhaps a dock and/or a boat lift. If you don’t have a seawall than you may need apply for a permit to remove mangroves and go through the mangrove mitigation process.
These are just a few considerations that have cost and there are others including a new additional cost (see the paragraph below) to be expected however a good builder will smooth out all these details for you. I don’t want to sound negative on building because it’s a great option and many of my customers do, but an existing home is always going to be significantly less money. The builders I most often work with have packages that are all inclusive of all the potential fees that I mentioned which eliminates any worry on your part on things being done properly and to code.
As of January 1, 2018, there is a new mandate forcing you to build the home above the currently prescribed elevation level by 1 foot. So, if your flood zone is identified at 11 feet than the builder will need to build to at least 12 feet. In reality, there is another factor for the builder which involves the shower pan, forcing the minimal building height to 12 foot 4 inches.
This is new situation adds costs in other directions. This forces the number of courses of stemwall to increase. This also adds an additional step or two in the garage, possibly a handrail out front, a landscaping package in the back around the lanai to offset the need for a fence in addition to the lanai screen. These are some variables to the new mandate of building higher and don’t apply to every house built.
Advantages to buying an existing home:
- Some of the best lots have already been built on. Your potential for getting a lot with a huge view, larger water frontage or quicker access to the harbor is very good.
- Reduced price, existing seawall, boat lift and docks are certainly a plus.
- Possibly insurance advantages on older homes.
- The obvious, no headaches with the building process and you get the home right away.
The disadvantages of buying an existing home:
- May require updating to meet your tastes. Its common to see homes with updated kitchens but with original bathrooms. IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO KNOW!! The cost of remodeling in this area is a lot less than in other areas such as the northeast U.S. 100% of the time my customers over estimate the cost of repairs and remodels by 50-100% over what the reality is. For instance, the cost of granite here is very inexpensive but not so everywhere else. Labor costs are less here as well. I will help guide you on costs in the process of finding you a nice existing home.
- Floor plan might not be perfect. Of course, sometimes that can be changed. Most often houses here are Truss Built which allows creativity in changing floor plans. Even if the floor plan is not perfect, it might be worth accepting the 90% of the home that is great and accepting the 10% that is not perfect. The cost of buying existing will likely same you $75,000 to $500,000 or more.
