# Help me win a bet with Mike!



## mrcheap (Apr 4, 2009)

Hi all,

Mike disagreed with my post today (on Four Pillars), and we've now got a bet going (with the high stakes of a beer that I intend to win). I'm trying to get as many people as possible to today's post, particularly people who have
built their own house with:

a) not putting a lot of their own money into it (e.g. they got a
construction loan and did a joint partnership)
b) have limited construction experience when they FIRST START
(obviously going through the process of building a house will give
them a lot of experience)
& c) were able to do this part-time (they weren't building the house
as their full-time job)

You can see the post at:
http://www.four-pillars.ca/2010/01/19/a-low-capital-high-labour-real-estate-strategy/

If you have done something like this, please comment! If you know
someone who has done something like this, please forward this to them!
If you can publicize this in any way (tweet, blog post, forum post,
whatever), please do! 

I have until 10 am tomorrow to get someone.

Thanks,

Mr. Cheap


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## Dr_V (Oct 27, 2009)

mrcheap said:


> built their own house with:
> 
> a) not putting a lot of their own money into it
> b) have limited construction experience when they FIRST START
> & c) were able to do this part-time


I thought about this, and it struck me that (probably) many Habitat for Humanity beneficiaries would satisfy these requirements.

In my experience, the recipients of a HfH home don't put much of their own money into it (because they don't have much to begin with), they usually have limited construction experience, and they're often helping only part-time because they're busy with other things. (Oftentimes, they're working full-time jobs to feed their families.)


K.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

My ex built a house in Wasaga from the ground up. His mother-in-law had the land by the river and they went up on the weekends and did it.

I was told the primary purpose of the project was to get away from the wives and.... have cases and cases of beer.

He was a carpenter so he had some know how but... he was not an electrician, heating expert or plumber. 

It's pretty nice too. 

My ex neighbour who is now in his 70's was telling me that this is how he built his first house and second house. He was a plumber. He bought the land and built the house after his job every evening. Then he moved his family into it.

Another friend of mine is building a cottage about 2 hours from here and get this there is no road access... so everything has to be carried and trekked in on an amphibian 6 wheeler. They go there almost every weekend in the summer. 

So I think you owe me all a beer 

Check this out too.....

http://www.houseofstraw.com/


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

Dr_V said:


> I thought about this, and it struck me that (probably) many Habitat for Humanity beneficiaries would satisfy these requirements.
> 
> In my experience, the recipients of a HfH home don't put much of their own money into it (because they don't have much to begin with), they usually have limited construction experience, and they're often helping only part-time because they're busy with other things. (Oftentimes, they're working full-time jobs to feed their families.)
> 
> ...


Very interesting. But I don't think most recipients of HfH homes do the majority of the labour themselves (which I assumed was part of the bet).

Also the profit factor for HfH homes is different. I don't know the details but I don't think they can move in for 3 months once the house is finished and then sell at a profit.


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

_"built their own house with:

a) not putting a lot of their own money into it (e.g. they got a
construction loan and did a joint partnership)
b) have limited construction experience when they FIRST START
(obviously going through the process of building a house will give
them a lot of experience)
& c) were able to do this part-time (they weren't building the house
as their full-time job)"_

This sounds like a future Mike Holmes episode, if you ask me. Pretty darn crazy. I just hope I never end up buying it from you.

My advice. Pay him the beer and be glad you got off that easy.


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## mrcheap (Apr 4, 2009)

Four Pillars said:


> Very interesting. But I don't think most recipients of HfH homes do the majority of the labour themselves (which I assumed was part of the bet).
> 
> Also the profit factor for HfH homes is different. I don't know the details but I don't think they can move in for 3 months once the house is finished and then sell at a profit.


Unfortunately I have to agree with Mike. While HfH are *close* to what we're talking about, I don't think they'd count. SOME people have moved into charity houses then promptly sold them (heck, some don't even move in), but it's a pretty scummy thing to do (and certainly not what I meant in this post - that'd be from my "How to Defraud Charities for Fun and Profit" post).

I think Berubeland experiences meet our requirements. Mike?

OptsyEagle: Next bet we do we'll make it a beer bash in Mike's back yard - loser buys the keg ;-).


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

mrcheap said:


> ...
> 
> I think Berubeland experiences meet our requirements. Mike?


I don't think so. His parents owned the land which makes it sort of a gift situation.


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## high octane (Jul 21, 2009)

Pretty sure this was common in rural NB where I grew up

My father built our house in his mid-20's while working for NBTel installing phone lines. He certainly didn't have that much capital but he did work in construction a few years before NBTel I think

But I remember lots of people in the area building their own homes like this. You usually have a hired hand or some family/neighbors to help


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Did you win the bet?


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## mrcheap (Apr 4, 2009)

Cal: I did!  Mike accepted Melanie's comment.

Thanks for your help everyone!


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