I think he made some good points in this post below. And these are among the reasons why I am very ok with what I paid to have someone do all the work on my house for me. (Aside from the fact that it would be way cooler to be able to say I built it myself!)
My house works out to costing around $342 per square foot. That's really high compared to a big house which one site told me was an average of $88.95 per square foot for an average 2400 square foot home here in WY, but fine with me. That price includes everything except for small furnishing and some furniture. Much of the furniture is built in, as are all the appliances. I still have all the appliances a big house would have, many of them are just smaller. If you're into backpacking, you will know that making things smaller is not usually cheaper, but much more expensive. It makes sense to me that the same it true for appliances.
Mine is also built and insulated with the area I live in mind. In the northwest corner of WY, it's cold and very snowy for much of the year. As of today, the mountain around here have already received 52 inches of snow this year and it's been below zero for most of the last week. If you live somewhere totally different, the money spent on insulation, roof strength that will hold up a lot of snow, etc may be a total waste. It's not for me.
Time is not free for me either. As I said, I think it would be really cool to say I built it myself. I think I could learn how. But I don't know how to build a house right now. I need a house right now (See this post for more of that story). I don't have a place to build it or the tools requires. And it's easier for me to work and earn the money to pay someone else right now. If I had more free time (or wanted to spend less of my free time backpacking/skiing/fishing) and less money, I'd try to build it myself. Not that I have tons of money, I just think for me in my particular situation, my time/money is better spent this way. This is certainly not true for everyone, and other in my same situation might choose to do the opposite for their own reasons too. But these are some of the reasons I don't think my house was overpriced. You're welcome to think I'm wrong of course, but you don't have to buy one if that's your opinion.
In my case, it also lets me continue to live and work in the Jackson, WY area which is where I want to be and have a good job. Small condos with no land sell for over $400,000 here. (The one I was renting for the last 3 year did just that making me homeless and leading to my buying a tiny house) The average rental here right now with multiple room mates, seems to be about $1000 per bedroom. So having my own space, not to mention owning it and being able to take it with me if I move, is a huge deal. At those rental rates, in seven years I would have paid enough to buy my tiny house anyway. And I've already lived in the area for that long so now I'm kinda wishing I'd done this 7 years ago. So, for me, the price seems like a good deal.
And did I mention that instead of having a standard house built for the average person, I get one totally customized for me? Including custom cabinetry etc? I think I got a very good deal for $342 per square foot. Does that mean I think your house is junk if you built it yourself for less than $1000 total? Nope. I just think it wouldn't accomplish what I want in a house. I paid almost $400 for a 1 pound 9 oz tent which I've now used for several years for two people and plan to continue to use for many more. The light weight is great with the many miles it's covered especially since my best friend has a shoulder injury that limits the weight he can carry when we backpack. That tent does what I want, so it's a great deal for me. You and many others probably don't want my tent, but I hope your house fits you and your needs as well as my tent, and I hope my house, will fit mine.
In my case, it also lets me continue to live and work in the Jackson, WY area which is where I want to be and have a good job. Small condos with no land sell for over $400,000 here. (The one I was renting for the last 3 year did just that making me homeless and leading to my buying a tiny house) The average rental here right now with multiple room mates, seems to be about $1000 per bedroom. So having my own space, not to mention owning it and being able to take it with me if I move, is a huge deal. At those rental rates, in seven years I would have paid enough to buy my tiny house anyway. And I've already lived in the area for that long so now I'm kinda wishing I'd done this 7 years ago. So, for me, the price seems like a good deal.
And did I mention that instead of having a standard house built for the average person, I get one totally customized for me? Including custom cabinetry etc? I think I got a very good deal for $342 per square foot. Does that mean I think your house is junk if you built it yourself for less than $1000 total? Nope. I just think it wouldn't accomplish what I want in a house. I paid almost $400 for a 1 pound 9 oz tent which I've now used for several years for two people and plan to continue to use for many more. The light weight is great with the many miles it's covered especially since my best friend has a shoulder injury that limits the weight he can carry when we backpack. That tent does what I want, so it's a great deal for me. You and many others probably don't want my tent, but I hope your house fits you and your needs as well as my tent, and I hope my house, will fit mine.
