That depends on the area and the costs. In some areas of the country teardowns are still going on, although not at the frantic pace they once were. One of the reasons that the teardown craze has stopped or cooled down is the tightening of mortgage money. Many investors who were in the process of a teardown and rebuild when the seller’s market changed to a buyer’s market were left with a building that was no longer worth more than just the costs of the teardown and rebuild. In many cases when the consumer signed contracts with the builder that specified the sales price during the seller’s market but did not take possession until the buyer’s market, that new home was worth less than that sales price.
Before you consider a teardown and rebuild, look at what is now required by the town you are building in. After reviewing the fees, fines, rules, and other costly requirements, you may find that the added costs for a teardown are much more than you had anticipated. You can probably find another home in the same community that can become your dream home with a simple renovation for a lot less money.
If you still want to do a teardown and rebuild, do your homework to find the very best professional builder and contractor to do the job. Do not assume that just because a builder has put up many lovely homes in an area that he or she is the best. During the height of the teardown and rebuild craze, top-name builders were using less than top-name workers just to complete all the jobs on time. Once you hire a builder, become an involved owner. Visit the site often. Come to the site at different times of the day and on weekends.
Finally, if you are doing a teardown and rebuild, make a special effort to speak to your about-to-be new neighbors. Do not expect to be welcomed with open arms. They are putting up with your construction site on a daily basis. Neighbors can tell you a lot about how your builders are doing. I watched as workers tore up and put back down the front yard of a neighbor ten separate times in order to give the younger workers experience on the construction equipment. I would have enjoyed telling the new owner about that and the other problems the workers were causing, but the new owners never came to the job site until construction was complete and they moved in.
