RETIREMENT & BUILDING A LODGE STYLE BARNDOMINIUM

[NIGHTHAWK]

My office/shop in our commercial building in the Bay Area is plugged and I really don’t want it to be my “Trophy Room”, even though it has become that by default.

I’m eligible, and in the position, to retire at 55 from my Union job in little over a year. I’ve been 100% debt free for many years, so I can afford to fund this project out of pocket and oversee construction myself. I’ve funded several capital improvements over the past two years on commercial property in CA & NV and I’m caught up. Outside of a few hunts these past 2 years, I’ve delayed gratification well enough, and to the point, where I’m really satisfied with the way things are financially and with the investments I’ve made. I live a pretty simple life really.

I’ll likely take my retirement in NV, where I have a place to build a guest house/lodge with a shop where I can display my current and future trophies.

This “concept” is what I’m looking at doing:

BM3935 Barndominium Shophouse

Barndominium kits and barndominium floor plans that are easy to build. This stunning black barndominium will be the envy of the neighborhood.

buildmax.com

Has anyone done/built anything similar?

The dimensions will likely change, i.e. the garage will likely get bigger/longer. I also need to have an architect render the inside with elevation views.

If I don’t do this, I’ll likely buy a ranch out of state where everything is already done and there is plenty of game on the property. I’ve been looking at 500 to 800 Acres…

Thanks in advance…

 

[WAB]

Looks fantastic, good luck with it!

 

[K-man]

Well Congrats on being able to do this project! Your plans look good. As a builder, I see countless people every month who "were" going to do a barndo project but the numbers just go astronomic. If you can get a real firm, detailed quote on all your costs, go for it. Most people go in with too many unknowns and blow the budget sky high. In our area, it is much less expensive and easier to build a home with a separate shop or trophy room next to it. Good luck with whatever you end up building.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

Well Congrats on being able to do this project! Your plans look good. As a builder, I see countless people every month who "were" going to do a barndo project but the numbers just go astronomic. If you can get a real firm, detailed quote on all your costs, go for it. Most people go in with too many unknowns and blow the budget sky high. In our area, it is much less expensive and easier to build a home with a separate shop or trophy room next to it. Good luck with whatever you end up building.

Thanks. Great points and suggestions. I have resources, but costs are still high in the Reno area… I’m capable of doing a lot myself and with subs. I’ll create a budget, along with a detailed schedule, and see where I can save some money. There is a decent 3 Bedroom 2 bath house on the same property that has a single car garage attached and a 2 car garage/shop detached right next to it. They need remodeling and upgrading.

 

[mdwest]

We’re considering something similar, although probably on a smaller scale…

We’re currently looking at properties in the 80-100 acre size range in a couple of different areas… now that all the kids are out of the house and geographically dispersed all over the country we don’t really have to worry about a lot of extra space as it’s doubtful we’ll have more than one or two back “home” for a visit at the same time… so we’re looking to downsize the house to something probably half the square footage we currently have… but then also have a fairly large out building where we could store all of our stuff (UTV, motorcycles, kayaks, boat, trailer, etc plus any equipment we’d need to maintain the property..)… I also plan to have a separate smaller out building (maybe 10x20?) that would be my “shop” where I’d keep all of my hobby tools for knife making, gunsmithing, etc etc where I could work comfortably…

 

[WAB]

Thanks. Great points and suggestions. I have resources, but costs are still high in the Reno area… I’m capable of doing a lot myself and with subs. I’ll create a budget, along with a detailed schedule, and see where I can save some money. There is a decent 3 Bedroom 2 bath house on the same property that has a single car garage attached and a 2 car garage/shop detached right next to it. They need remodeling and upgrading.

That would be a much less expensive approach.

 

[WAB]

We’re considering something similar, although probably on a smaller scale…

We’re currently looking at properties in the 80-100 acre size range in a couple of different areas… now that all the kids are out of the house and geographically dispersed all over the country we don’t really have to worry about a lot of extra space as it’s doubtful we’ll have more than one or two back “home” for a visit at the same time… so we’re looking to downsize the house to something probably half the square footage we currently have… but then also have a fairly large out building where we could store all of our stuff (UTV, motorcycles, kayaks, boat, trailer, etc plus any equipment we’d need to maintain the property..)… I also plan to have a separate smaller out building (maybe 10x20?) that would be my “shop” where I’d keep all of my hobby tools for knife making, gunsmithing, etc etc where I could work comfortably…

I was looking for a 40 to 80 acre place when we found our farm. Turns out those smaller plots command a premium as they are typically bought by city folks looking for a country place. Going up to a quarter section plus puts you in the farmland category, which, in our area, is less than 1/3 the cost per acre.

 

[mdwest]

160 acres would be a bit bigger than we’d want to manage… but if I could find the right place where most of that was wooded and not in need of maintenance, that could work… I’ll look into quarter section and larger and see how the price per acre shake out…thanks for the tip!

 

[WAB]

It is a lot of work. However, I have planted 40,000 longleaf pines and burn manage much of it. Cash renting non-wooded acres reduces workload as well. However, I do spend a lot of time on a tractor and a chainsaw. I kind of grew up that way, so it’s a bit cathartic for me after a high stress corporate career.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I’ve looked “on line” in Northern Ca (Coastal), NV at the foot of the Sierras and just North of Reno, Northern Washington, and Texas… I recently looked at Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri… because I know guys that have places there. It’s seems like most everywhere is still pretty high $$. I’ve got time if I were to go that route…

I’m obligated to keep a place in Northern California due to family and business commitments, but Ca has a lot of problems and there is a lot about it I don’t like…

 

[K-man]

I was looking for a 40 to 80 acre place when we found our farm. Turns out those smaller plots command a premium as they are typically bought by city folks looking for a country place. Going up to a quarter section plus puts you in the farmland category, which, in our area, is less than 1/3 the cost per acre.

Absolutely! The 60 acres next to my quarter section sold last year for 25% more than my 160. They then sold off 30 acres for more than they paid for the 60!! I'm just jealous I didn't have the opportunity....

 

[WAB]

160 acres would be a bit bigger than we’d want to manage… but if I could find the right place where most of that was wooded and not in need of maintenance, that could work… I’ll look into quarter section and larger and see how the price per acre shake out…thanks for the tip!

Get to know the farm credit folks in the area you are interested in. They sometimes have to take property in on foreclosure and they hate to hold property. They are also salt of the earth folks in the Ag Community so a relationship is likely to turn into a close friendship.

 

[ActionBob]

Back in Minnesota we looked at building a Barndo type trophy room. Tying it onto the garage with an overlook from the big spare room above the garage and a stair case going down a smaller Cabela's type mountain. Utility room under part of the mountain. We were going back and forth about a gun vault under there or up front. I had planned a 10' workbench, half for cleaning guns and half for reloading. A kitchenette and bar up front with additional trophy space above the bathroom and possible gun vault.

Also tried to design it for resale so it could be a large extra garage or work shop. It was pushing $500,000.00 and we opted not to spend that but rather move out of Minnesota. Especially as I work towards retirement and moving earnings to a state with no State Income tax was looking to add up.

BTW in Minnesota we own 160 acres with about 35 tillable, a pond, lots of woods and some willow swamps and prairie ground. Covered up in Turkey and whitetails with black bear, ruffled grouse, woodcock, pheasant, geese, various ducks including wood duck, swans, sand hill cranes, etc. We plan to sell the place and buy more land in Texas after we finish moving everything out. Especially the rhino

We have 55 acres in Texas with some of everything. But yeah, larger tracts are usually a better deal Although more total $$$.

 

[mdwest]

I recently looked at Northern Arkansas

If you like NW Arkansas, also look at E Oklahoma. The terrain is very similar, and land prices are a bit lower (Walmart, JB Hunt, Tyson, etc all having HQ’s in NW AR drive land values up in some places)…

We’re primarily looking in N and E TX, E OK, and NW AR.. but we’re headed to Idaho to chase elk in about a week and a half and plan on checking out options in CO, WY, and MT along the way… we’ve already got about 25 acres in Southern Colorado that we really love, but while it’s a wonderful place for our little getaway cabin in the woods, it’s not really what we’re looking for in a retirement residence (9200 ft elevation, 15 miles to the closest utility pole,1000+ feet down to get to water, etc etc)…

 

[K-man]

I just thought I would give this so you have a framework to compare against. Obviously some areas will have different percentages as foundation and systems will vary. Just use as a guideline. Hope it helps a little.

 

[K-man]

If you apply this chart to a barndominium the cost of the "shell" of the building will cover the site work, foundation, and exterior finishes, so about 30% to 33% is covered once you have the shell up. You are still framing a house inside of the shell, and that's where a lot of the extra costs add up. The one thing I see most people missing is fireproofing your garage space from your living space. An absolutely necessary step and required by code, but harder to do in a barndo than a garage. Sorry - no one actually asked my opinion. P. M. me if you want more

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

If you apply this chart to a barndominium the cost of the "shell" of the building will cover the site work, foundation, and exterior finishes, so about 30% to 33% is covered once you have the shell up. You are still framing a house inside of the shell, and that's where a lot of the extra costs add up. The one thing I see most people missing is fireproofing your garage space from your living space. An absolutely necessary step and required by code, but harder to do in a barndo than a garage. Sorry - no one actually asked my opinion. P. M. me if you want more

Very helpful and much appreciated. Experience speaks; I listen… I’m sure this will help others too!

 

[John the Electrician]

I’m not an expert by any stretch, I have however invested in residential and commercial real estate for almost 25 years now. Buy and flip, buy and rent, remodel and build new; my wife and I and investors have done a little bit of many real estate things.

The one thing that we always consider is the square footage of the project. I’m not speaking of just the foot print. Again, I don’t mean how big is the first floor and the basement.

Specifically how tall, how deep, how big is the roof, how much grass to plant and how long is the driveway that needs paving?

I love the way shed houses check so many boxes. I went down the rabbit hole designing one several years back. I realized just how big they are and how much square footage needs to be factored in.

It may be better in today’s market than it used to be; banks were not great about financing a non traditional build.

I don’t mean to be a wet blanket. I just feel that for all the upside, there are some things which need to be considered.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

160 acres would be a bit bigger than we’d want to manage… but if I could find the right place where most of that was wooded and not in need of maintenance, that could work… I’ll look into quarter section and larger and see how the price per acre shake out…thanks for the tip!

@mdwest
You could always but the 160 acres and use what you want and sell the rest off to fund your project.
At a higher price per acre to some city slicker looking for a bit of a hobby farm to play rancher in with his ten head of cattle.
Bob