Buidling codes and laws in TX

[philip964]

Lots of rules for commercial. Not much for residential unless your building in cities or towns or areas just outside of the limits of cites or small town (extraterritorial jurisdiction). Lots of rules close to the ocean. Probably lots of rules for septic systems, wells etc. Anywhere around Austin you could be in trouble, cause you have environmental issues such as salamanders, karst studies, bird studies etc.

But compared to the rest of the country, its pretty laid back.

[Topbuilder]

If you're serious - think about financing. For me, building in this manner took a lot more resources - barn in cash, RV in cash, then still have enough cash to finance 20% of construction. Go to any suburban neighborhood and they'll get you in with 5% down on good credit... And if you're building custom, you typically finance the construction, then have to close again and finance the home in ready-to-occupy condition.

Doing it again, unless the timing forced me to need a place immediately, It'd be better to build that barn with one bedroom - assuming you're in a municipality that has very few permits. Besides, you need a place to throw the in-laws...

I have not neen involved in one for a while, the "one time close" may be worth looking into. I was the builder on several that seemed to work out well for the buyer. Gives you the option to convert to perm loan months after move in giving you the advantage (or disadvantage?) of only making payments on the interest. Gives you a chance to recover from the expense of the project. It is expensive to start from scratch. Some counties make it miserable... I like the county my inlaws moved to. They went to apply for a septic permit and the officials told him "go ahead" No fee, no permit.
Don't forget the land can be used as your "20%' down in most situations. If you have a large property they may want to only tie a smaller portion to the final loan. Go figure? I had 20 acres, paid for. They would only let me use 5 acres in the loan tied to the house.