Comment by bell-cot
2 hours ago
I'm thinking that very few folks, these days, have the mindset & skill set & finances & timeframe to build their own houses.
And it wouldn't be just the currently-active NIMBY's who fought tooth and nail against any "simple changes" that might halve the average cost of a house overnight.
A house doesn't have to be fancy. Live in a tent on a grassy lot? Why not?
But you can't, because the lot is unaffordable
Last I checked 5 or so years ago a lot big enough to drop a yurt on in San Francisco was only like 100k. Legally unbuildable, but perfectly usable and sanitary with an incinerator toilet, solar, and hauled water. Maybe 200k all in, in roughly the most expensive place in the US.
If it's legally unbuildable, does that mean you're spending 100k just to get yourself imprisoned for having an illegal structure?
2 replies →
I was working 60 hours a week, plus raising small children, plus had zero construction experience, plus buying literal pieces of lumber and block paycheck to paycheck as money allowed. If you start at 18 and finish in 20 years, you are still ahead of age of median new home buyer by 2 years.
Some people have valid excuses, but most do not.