Today, according to data from the National Association of Realtors, the median price for an existing home — and this is one that's already standing, not awaiting new construction — is $387,600 as of November 2024 ! Financing on that amount of money assuming you could get a loan for just 5.27%, that lasts for thirty years becomes a Monthly payment $1,826+ or $412.38+ dollars per week with a Total interest paid $327,490+ and a Total cost of loan $657,490+, with a Payoff date not until Jan 2056. SO, DOUBLE THE ORIGINAL HOUSE PRICE! Add taxes, insurance and upkeep and that doubles again.
That doesn't sound like a deal we want for ourselves. NO!
ARTICLE 1
We get so many phone calls weekly, from really nice people that have no money and have lost their family home due to foreclosure or property tax sale. While we could go into strategies to recover these private properties, in a private paid for consultation, we want our friends and clients to have a home tonight. We are not lawyers for hire so this is not legal advice, but it is what we have seen, and we can as others speak about what we have some knowledge of
With that said let us provide a plan that we previously charged $125.00 for and provide this for free. Free advice is worth what you paid for it, so do your own due diligence and make adult decisions for yourself, while not allowing us to lead you, but just to tell you what has worked for other, herein.
1) Build or go buy a little shed building that looks good to you, from a local sales lot. While we would not buy one, as we are builders of code compliant structures, because of present conditions, perhaps you may need other things we could not supply at this time, so is this is an option to consider - maybe. Make sure this building you buy, has an all-metal roof! This is so you have the option of collecting clean water from it or put a tarp over a shingle roof, is another option.
Do Not Use Any Other Roofing Material Than Metal or A Masonry Product if possible. Yes, cement also works on the roof as it's masonry. Build or have gutters installed front and back to help you collect that water to a central point becoming your cistern (storage). Build on site yourself or have the building you bought, delivered to your land and store things in it for your construction project is what we have seen others do. Generally, those sheds are between $250 to $500 down and then, so much per month, from one of those shed/building pirate companies, (they are everywhere!) but they finance them. So, sign your name to protect yourself is what we would do.
Example:
"Without Recourse,
JOHN DOE, Principal
John Doe, Agent"
Alot of people call and ask some of the same questions such as:
Example Question:
Why can't we just put a tiny home as they're so cute, (often called a Manufactured Home but is it?), on our own land or an RV on our own land, and then just live in it?
Our Answer:
We are not ever suggesting anyone break the codes or statutes, of their community, as there are standards that must be met, for a "Home" to be moved to any codified lands. No codes ( which is where we would go) that's different, but codes are going to be pressed by the local govt. if they have them, it's how they justify their salary's Storage Buildings shall always be just that, and not a home in codified areas, Whereas Manufactured homes, built to the HUD standards required are inspected during their build out, come with manufactures plates and numbers to verify it, so no one at a code office, worries when they see the Manufactures plate.
Often Asked Question #2:
Where can I buy a HUD plate to put on my Tiny Home?
Answer: We don't know.
Here's A further description of the HUD process:
To be code compliant and permittable, a real manufactured home, must have a "HUD certification label" (or HUD tag), which certifies it meets the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) construction and safety standards (the HUD Code), as required by federal law. Storage building and some other structures sometimes called "Tiny Homes", normally don't have that so it can't be legally lived in. You can store things - Perhaps, in a shed, but not live in them - legally.
This HUD label is a metal plate attached to each transportable section, of the mobile home and it serves as the manufacturer's certification of compliance.
What the HUD Label Indicates
Compliance with Standards: The HUD tag signifies that the home was built according to the federal HUD Code,
which covers critical aspects of construction, including body and frame requirements, structural integrity,
electrical and plumbing systems, thermal protection, and fire safety.
Production Oversight:
Homes are inspected at various stages of production by HUD-approved agencies, and the
manufacturer must have a quality control program to ensure adherence to the standards.
Key Information
Location of the Label: The red HUD certification label is typically found on the back of each transportable
section of the home.
Data Plate:
The home also has a data plate, located inside the home, which contains the same information about the home's compliance.
Applicable to Homes Built After 1976:
This HUD certification applies to all manufactured homes built in the U.S.
after June 15, 1976. Homes built before this date are considered mobile homes and are not subject to the HUD Code.
Why It Matters for Permitting
Permit Requirements: For installation and permitting, your local authority will require proof of this HUD certification to ensure the home meets safety and construction regulations.
Verification:
The HUD tag serves as the official record that the home meets federal standards, making it eligible for
installation and permitting.
2) Go buy a building permit to build for yourself, an all-masonry Georgia Adobe* house and a permit for the "storage shed" too. For the house construction, just say it's going to be a square box design, you the owner will be the builder of a one room open plan and has a bathroom. If you were to build greater than that, they normally won't even notice. Draw that square box on a sheet of paper to provide, for your permit. The minimum square footage required, is the exact size you will buy a permit for. We think all sign their names to protect themselves - again.
3) Build or buy a pre-assembled power pole with a meter base 100-200 Amp size and have someone put it and a lightning rod too, in the ground beside the pole near that building you bought. This will be your little storage buildings power. It will be called the construction site power also to run saws, but when the house is completed, you could leave that connected and separately metered. Building your own power system, solar, generator w/battery system to be independent, is what we would do, but maybe your goals are different than ours?
4) DIY or have someone wire & plumb any building you bought or built is what a lot of people do and hook up the power to it by extension cords - of course.
5) DIY or have someone hook up the water to all your buildings, from the public supply or in our opinion, install a rainwater cistern system (more on this from www.drinkingrain.com, and from us through consultation at 250 per hour), but the use free rainwater is what we would do, on a storage shed, and we might hook up a 12/24- or 120-volt pump and this will supply any needs, after construction work on your new home is done, like a shower and maybe a toilet on the construction site, which is required (unless you add a port-a-potty) and kitchen sink is nice to have daily, with some water too, so you can make lunch for yourself when building, is a need too. Triple filter and UV stabilize any drinking-rainwater is what we do. Note: a 12 x 40 building roof, could collect about 480 gallons of rainwater per hour of rainfall. If you are using 275 Gal. IBC food grade clean storage tanks, then you need perhaps 1.745 tanks per hour, to collect that rainwater, so get all you will need for storage, for that construction site. So, we would at the least, buy 2 tanks and connect them together. Pump out of 1 and the other will feed it too. If you are building a Georgia Adobe* this has tanks planned into its construction, that are larger just for this need.
6) Insulate, sheetrock, panel or plaster over a stable wall surface with a stabilized earth mix (70% sand ,20% clay , 10% Portland Cement), to make it water resistant and with lime one can make the walls white too, over any inside wall, is what we might do, (trialed over a stable surface with wire mesh or building lath to hold the earthen plaster). The interior walls built before Winter and by storing things there quietly, as if it's in your name, and you have a building permit, this is your "construction shed" & it's just for your storage, then no one can stop you.
7. NEXT: Build a Georgia Adobe Home* home. This being, an all-masonry structure, it will pass masonry building codes and can be built by most people themselves, that can at the least lift, a coffee can of weight at a time. You then have a home today and are building a paid for house, "legally they say", for tomorrow.
ARTICLE 2
What happened to building affordably a home in America? Well, a couple of things happened:
#1 You don't own your land.
Oh, I realize you thought you bought that land (inherited it were given it or whatever), but you didn't get the ownership of it, and according to government, no matter what, you bought real estate (commercial term) and that's different than land. Some counties/cities tax land too. But combined with the spelling and the use of all capitalization of your name denotes a commercial return to the tax department and commercial can be taxed, not private. DO YOU GET BILLED YEARLY FOR THAT LAND AS A TAX AND DO THEY THREATEN YOU, TO TAKE YOUR PROPERTY AND SELL IT IF YOU DON'T PAY THE "GOVT" . Then you don't own it! They do and you pay rent. You may be listed as a tenant not the owner on the deed? We get noted perhaps as (married couples may see on their Deed): "Joint Tenants in Common", then you're a Tenant, not an owner !
#2 Permission Required.
So, since you don't have superior title to the land (That's Called a Land Patent - see the articles on joewoodall.com 2023 Archives for more on this), the state has the superior title.
Don't think that's true, consider this then, you first have to ask for the government to grant their permission, for you to break the law and build a home on what you call "Your Property", that's is to be used for "your safety and refuge and common shelter, from danger and weather", which by the way is still a basic human right, but no, you have to 1st ask permission to break the law and build something. Right.
#3 Further Permission Required
When asking for that permission be sure and bring with you permission from the Health department for a perk test of the lands drainage and a septic tank permit, a water well permit, so you can have drinking water or perhaps if the govt. already has public water on (or near) the public road, where you desire to build upon, you will be forced to gain govt. permission, from the water and sewer authority to connect a new house (with some cost sometimes required) if it's approved by the building inspection & permitting and planning departments too.
#4 Who You May Hire Required
Then if they say, it's okay to build on that "real estate", they will want a "stamp certified plan by a state licensed professional", is normally required for the government to review before permitting "your construction" on "your land". Price for that: somewhere between $500-$1000 for their review cost.
#5 Changes To Your Plan
They will then review your plan, whenever they get around to it, and they will also red line all they don't like (claiming code restrictions (International Building Codes I.B.C. or their "Local Codes") and you must have those pages then redrawn, by the same "licensed professional" at your additional cost (and perhaps at some additional plan review cost too, depending upon "their policies"). Around here that's about $1,200 average per page from a structural engineer. Remember policies are not laws! Laws are what Congress makes and gets signed by the President. All else, is codes, statutes, or policies which are not laws. Sometime go read Marbury v Madison from the year 1803 and you can thank us later for that reference.
#6 Don't forget the Economy!
Yep, the cost has risen daily and that may not change its path. How do you afford it all, you must change the way you're doing it. One definition of someone that's crazy is, "someone that's doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the result to change". Changing the materials and process, is sometimes a very good idea. It might not be to codes and statutes, but even the International Building Codes can be forgone if you the owner sign-off on that, so perhaps a change in materials to Earth and recycled materials is better. It sure is cheaper and when done right, it out-lasts conventional materials too.
In this "plan review" process they will also detail, what you may build with and perhaps the size of each part, what the style of the home may be, the location upon the now titled "real estate" that you may build at, the buildings actual size, its heated square feet, the color of the buildings and those materials too, so your taxes will be high enough, to "keep up their collective govt. incomes, at a steady acceptable level, while providing for the public needs", (and to also keep the lower level county or cities political subdivisions overlord's happy too?). Then, if you are approved to build, per those approved plans, an actual start date and a must finish by date, is assigned, with a likely destruction of the building required, if it's not finished by that finish date and then you must start all over again. Sounds lovely, right?
Thus, from where your water supply is to be from, what your sewage disposal method must be and to the actual materials you must use to build the structure with, to the size approved, additional utilities approved providers ( contractors with a license to work there) with applications made, and all from the plans & the materials they approve and in the size and style the govt. approves , then a government approved general contractor and his licensed subcontractors can start the work, if you can find anyone affordable, to do all that's required, per the plan. You now can start your government approved home. Now you know why everyone has a mortgage.
Oh, I almost forgot, that mortgage you think you owe is actually an over collateralization of a "Signature Loan" you made to yourself, not that a bank loan made to you, as they are not allowed to loan their own or their clients funds. Oh, and the loan was paid off the day they collected the funds for it. Ask us why that is if you dare? Yes, that comes in a consultation at a fee.
Did your name spelling change, to an ALL-CAPS NAME, when you got your deed back from the government and your lawyers? Is that you, or is that ALL CAPS NAME, "a proprietorship", as you don't actually spell your name, in all blocked capitalized letters - do you? Well, not since the first grade.
This capitalized spelling is a commercial spelling, and it puts you under their jurisdiction, by what is called the law of agency. The law of agency is a common commercial law, that deals with the fiduciary relationship, where one party, known as the Principal, authorizes another party, called the Agent, to act on their behalf. This relationship allows the Agent to create legal relations with third parties, binding the Principal to those agreements as long as the agent acts within the scope of their authority. This is why you are taxed on "Private Property" that they now call "Personal Property", as a "Person" as in law they can do business with the government, but not the people. I know, you don't believe that is true, so go do your own research and learn about what's law, what's just a statute or code (not law) and learn your constitutional rights, of "Private Property", then give us your opinions.
There are other things that can hurt your legal position of ownership, and we can help you learn how that is drawn against you and what you can do yourself to correct it, or achieve a correction but, if you go the normal way, [as above], then this all basically means that, you aren't getting something in your name, just due to the spelling and certainly not under those above conditions, plus the costs paid, then taxes on Private Property made into Personal Property, (Also Called Debt Peonage) as you could be $10 grand deep just buying building permits and making improvements, that satisfies the local government, and all before you start building a home, if you go about this process the wrong way.
Oh, don't forget, that's before the actual construction starts, even before the now called: "Real Estate", and as they say, it was purchased even if you got it as a gift, they force your Lawyer (who swore an oath to the courts interest and not to their client's interest, when they became a "ABA (TM) association member"), to list at the least: "ONE DOLLAR AND OTHER VALUABLE CONSIDERATIONS" on the government records, no matter if it's free to you or no matter if it's called (quit claim deed, title, warranty, or security deed etc.), which is not anything, but color of title, then you will have your actual "real estate's" development costs, (the grading etc. which All Must Be Permitted first Too!) . We prefer: BY GOLD, BY HAND, FOR AN UNDISCLOSED SUM, AS THE BETTER WORDS TO USE.
So Again, IT'S Not Really Yours, until it is!
What can be done?
It's up to you actually, and several steps can help you and we detail this throughout this entire website in part and don't forget building the right home in the right place, is the major concern you should start all this at. And Off-grid, must be designed to be Off-grid if its going to work!
And as you need this to last, so the right stuff needs to be used to build with - Properly and yes Affordably - Right?
A.) Study this website, it's free and an opinion, not some lawyer's warranted contractual agreement, but a good, qualified opinion, of some of those doing all this and having done it, for 54+ years. Pay attention to the joewoodalldotcom2023 archive page (notes at the top of that page on "Land Patents by our former friend: the late Great Ron Gibson").
B) Gain your superior title (Land Patent) before you build anything (at least get it in your name to start), as then no one, nor ANY creature of the state or "government", has any Jurisdiction over you and your homestead and land. There's a process for this and it's not easy - nor cheap sometimes, but it's well worth the cost and trouble!
C.) Also, Consider the location you choose to build at "carefully", before acquiring and spending any money on that spot to build upon. Some states cost less to live and build in. Which means, it might not be not be next to Mom's house, or even in the same neighborhood you thought you must live in, but Freedom too, comes at a cost.
D) Then, with the right location to start with, you can choose the materials you build with, such things as free materials (and yes, Adobe & Rammed Earth come to our mind first ) and at the least, you're not totally forced to donate to those big box store's cash registers, with their very high materials cost, for their manufactured & code approved materials as Rammed Earth and Adobe are almost free at a 70% Sand, 20% Clay, 10% Portland Cement Mix..
UP NEXT
AND BUILDING WITH AS CLOSE TO FREE MATERIALS AS IS POSSIBLE.
Click the blue link, which opens in a new page !
Affordable Housing
YOU NEED A HOME TODAY, SO YOUR CHOICE IS TO BUY SOMETHING
OR QUICKLY BUILD A CABIN