I know, I know… It’s been forever.
I apologize for the lengthy intermission ya’ll. Life got busy, and when my writing schedule got away from me I did a poor job of coming back from it. A really poor job. But here I am, with plenty of new insights, knowledge and experiences to share!
Since my last blog post we’ve been officially approved for our construction loan and our new home already has a floor, 4 walls, a roof, sheetrock and insulation! It has been an intensely crazy ride since last September when all this really got rolling. The weather has held us up a bit as the drought decided to turn into a weekly monsoon the week the papers were signed, but still we found ourselves occupied trying to save money on this process.
Two words: construction auctions.
Yes, people, that’s right. They have auction houses that auction off everything home construction. I’m talking sub-flooring, ship-lap, tile, engineered hardwood, cabinets, siding, decking, trim, windows, EVERYTHING. Let me tell you, THIS is where it’s at.
We have spent several weekends driving to and from auctions in Baxter Springs, KS, Kansas City, MO and Stockton, MO and it has been 100% worth it. We’ve cut the cost of all the materials we purchased there by half if not more. So what have we purchased here? Tile, engineered hardwood, siding, decking and a sink.
As far as flooring goes, the tile we were able to get for $0.30/sq ft. If you know construction you know that a decent, mid-range price for tile is $3. Talk about a whopping savings! The starting bid for the engineered hardwood was $1/sq ft but another couple bid us up to $1.65 before bowing out.
Our outdoor materials we did not get quite that cheaply, but still a huge bargain for what they were. Certainteed fiber cement siding we got for $3.75/stick at the first auction and $4/stick at the second, which is about half the current market value at $8-$10/stick. Our Genova PVC decking we got for $2/linear foot, with $8/stick for trim. So I paid $24 for a 12 foot deck board instead of the retail price of $67.44, $8 for a piece of trim instead of $31.99 AND they threw in the starter and finisher pieces for free!
I really could have kicked myself on the decking, though. We were the only people who bid and I started at $2 thinking they were pricing it per stick, not linear foot. Ugh. Lesson learned. My suggestion? If no one else is bidding, ALWAYS start at $0.50 for a linear foot or a square foot. Heck, you could even try to start that low for a stick!
So, where did we find these auctions?
We found some by craigslist, some by Facebook, and some by newspaper (thank you Cedar County Republican). However, after we got to searching, we found auctionzip.com where several of those we found previously had detailed lists of stock and photos.
And just like that, I’m now addicted to that auction life.
You’re welcome my friends… and happy hunting!
