A little help from my freinds

[Wade Joseph]

Its crunch time boys and girls. My house in La Crosse has sold! I have decided to go with a modular home but cannot find a place to put one. I am hoping one of you know of an acre or two that is priced under 30 grand that is buildable. I am also in need of someone who can do a well and septic and not charge me 25 grand. (What the modular dealer tells me it will cost). Basically, I have about 40 grand in the budget left for the lot, a slab, well and septic. My only pre-req is that its at least 10 miles from the Duluth Airport, but not more than 30.

Am I peeing into the wind here?

[Redlantern]

Wade, not sure if you are aware of this so I thought I'd point it out. Modular homes can't go on a slab. You're going to need some sort of basement or crawlspace. Also, did you plan in your budget for plumbing, heating and electrical connections? Not trying to be negative, just want you to be aware of some of these extra costs.

[upnorth]

http://www.daarmls.com/findhome/SearchResults.asp?CF=X&AMID=&CID=&PgSz=5&CurPage=1&ListingType=Lan&SID=226867&rqWtr=

The above link is to site that is listing land for sale in the Duluth area. I didn't filter out anything so you will have to do that yourself. But it is all under $30,000.

Happy shopping

[bwtrout]

Wade, be sure and check with the townships to see if they have seperate zoning from St. Louis county. I own a small lot in that area (Gnesen TWP) and they require 5ac to build.

[Wade Joseph]

Yes, you can put a mod on a slab, I have discussed it with three diff mfg's. But yes, it actually is a small crawl space, a slab with a block border basically. Wish we had a resident Realestate agent on here.

Thanks for the assist fellas

[backcast]

I hope this isn't out of line posting this, but I know a top notch realtor for Carlton County. Email me at: backcast at duluthmn (Contact US Regarding This Word)

[Finns]

There is a real estate agent on the site. coryntracy Check out the For Sale section (with real estate).

Finns.

[Surface Tension]

Your paying for floor joists, I-beams and a sub floor that are redundant(all extra costs) when setting a modular home on a slab and short block wall. What you'll have is a unheated crawl space, been there, no thanks. In the long run it would be in your best interest to forget the slab and short block wall and go with a full basement.

Depending on what Township your building in theres going to be a minimum lot size. 5 ac seems to be the average.

[SFBOY]

Agreed with ST. The basement is a bit of extra expense but worth it unless you are building on a swamp or next to a lake. The basement is the only place to locate your mechanical equipment, sump, etc. Why take up the living space with that stuff. I am not sure why you would have a slab under the house if there are blocks holding it above it. What would the purpose of the slab be then? Check out the corn burner option and have the installers work out the payback based on current $/therm for propane and inflation for the next 10 years versus the cost of corn required to heat your house. I can tell you that if the price of corn had gone up as much as oil, we would not be talking about farmers having hardships. My buddy is doing that for his new house and I forgot what he told me it would cost to heat a 2400 sf house but I think I was shocked by the low cost per year.

[End of the Line]

I have a real estate license, but not practicing. I agree with ST. Backcast, if your suggestion is who I think your thinking of that is a good agent. Wade, if you want another name or two you can look me up and I'll send you another name locally here.

[Wade Joseph]

From what I can find, I am beggining to think I will need to go with an existing place. My comfort range is 8-900 a month for a payment. I believe that puts me in about the 120k range. Doesn't look good for the home team at that price range. I guess I will be living in a shack out in the boonies.