Homes are becoming costly nowadays, and it can be challenging to find one that can suit your budget. If you think about it, the median cost of $340,000 for homes this year isn’t cost efficient for the average household salary in the United States (around $68,000). If that household spends $10,000 (the average spending for a mortgage every year), it will take many years before they pay off that debt — and that’s on top of a 20% downpayment. In most situations, you’re better off building a low-end home at a budget price of around $180,000 to $298,000. Let’s take a look into how you can build your budget home today.

Permit

The first thing you should do is to get a building permit for your home. Building permits vary in price depending on which state you want to build your home in. Additionally, it’s not only a building permit you should be worried about. Other permits that are needed when building a house are electricity and water permits. If you want to add an extension, you will need a separate building permit for that. It’s good to have between $5,000 to $10,000 ready for this permit. That should cover the costs of getting the right permits for your home.

Material Cost

Material cost should be one of the first things that you should consider. It’s estimated that most of your budget will go into the materials needed for your home. When calculating the material cost for your home, you can do the $50 per square foot method. An average-sized home is around 2,530 square feet. The material cost for that should be $126,000 for the entire home. That’s just an example of how you can estimate your material cost for your home, and it depends entirely on the size of the land you have. If you think that greatly exceeds your budget, you can consider other materials for your home, such as recycled wood.

Pallets and Recycled Wood

Pallet walls have always been aesthetically pleasing to many visitors when done right. It’s also not that expensive and hard to do either! Pallets can cost between $5 to $120, depending on the kind of pallet you are purchasing. A couple of $5 pallets can actually do the job for this, as it’s not too run-down or damaged. Since you’re only going to need the individual pallets, you can discard ones that are damaged. Additionally, recycled wood can be used for your roof’s foundation or your terrace. They don’t cost a lot, and they are highly versatile.

A Sturdy Roof

The roof can cost a decent chunk of your material cost if you don’t know what you’re doing. Remember that you also have to look out for the maintenance costs of your roof, so you’ll have to choose the right one. In most instances, if you’re looking for a sturdy and affordable roof for your home, you can never go wrong with metallic roofing. This kind of roofing can easily weather off any storm that nature throws your way. It can also prove to be quite resilient if you maintain it often enough. There are many advantages to well-built metal roofing, and it will certainly help you save up on future costs. Your contractor might also know a pre-fabricated structure for your roof that they can easily install on top of your home. This can save up a lot of time and money.

Cement Flooring

Cement flooring is one of the most basic flooring out there and one of the cost efficient. It’s easy to build and can be built on a budget. It’s also customizable, which means that you can place tiles on top of them whenever you want. If you’re planning to save right now on flooring and spend more on it in the future, you can never go wrong on cement flooring.

Cement Blocks and Bricks for Walls

Huge cement blocks can add a layer of aesthetic to the exterior of your home. Given the right paint and proper installment, it should look better than any wall. The best part of it all is that it’s low cost. If you want to save up on the interior design of your kitchen, then consider installing a brick wall instead. Brick walls can give your home that rustic feel, and much like cement blocks, they are also pretty affordable. You can easily save up on the material cost of your walls by following these suggestions.

There are several easy and cost-saving ways to a home on a budget. Given the ridiculous price of homes today, you’re better off building a home like this for less than the average price of homes. You can then use the money you’ve saved to improve this home further and make it truly yours.