Hello,

My wife and I are thinking about building a home on a lot that we own for $100K or less. We want a whole bunch of stuff and do not might building out as much as possible to save money. I am looking for ideas to save as much moola as possible, while still having the home we want. Some of the features for the home are as follows: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 car carport with roughly 2000 square feet for living and 1000 for a workshop, studio, and darkroom. We want to include as many green features in the home as possible. I gues I am looking for advice, since we want alot but have the idea that we might be idiots for thinking that doing all that we want for $100K or less might be idiotic. Any comments or snark is welcome. Oh, and we live in Houston Texas and our lot has no restrictions and no zoning.

Thanks to all that respond,
Your average idiot.

OK average,
You are looking for 3000 sf of living space for 100k. That's $33 per sf. That has not happened in a long time in my market. I can build a nice warehouse for that money, but the difference between a barn and a home is in the details. The finishes and features in a home make a huge difference in the finished costs. If you are OK living in a barn, you can do it. The rest is simply how much are you willing to live without.
Wes.

http://www.buildingscience.com/resources/articles/2005-06_small_house.pdf
here is how to build for $50 sq ft.

You are going to be pushing the envelope on 100k but it can be done (you might have to consider the shop in a second phase). First consider using 4 x 8 panels unless you have access to some equipment. Try to find someone local with a trailer that can get the panels and let you peel them from the stack as you need them. This will save you on shipping and unloading costs. Next go for a square house to minimize your walls. Plan to stick frame the garage or build a carport and enclose later. I would seriously look at pueblo style homes if you can because you can do a SIP roof with little effort. Make sure you provide a pitch of at least 0.25"/ft to ensure the roof will drain. You can stucco it yourself but that might be an area you want to sub out. Contractor line on the stuff inside will still get you a decent finish. You can tile the floors yourself. Good luck. I might be willing to come down and help out getting started if you know anyone in the area with rice fields. I haven't had an opportunity to goose hunt in TX and would love to justify an opportunity to your neck of the woods from west of Austin.