What is the best option for building our next resilient home?

J
John Bae
Updated: Aug. 4, 2020

We are currently living within the GTA area but looking to buy a land (within the next couple of years) about 2 hours away from the central Toronto area and build a new home. It will be a small 2-bedroom bungalow or rancher (just under 1400 sqft) that we would keep, essentially forever.

We are both few years away from retirement. Once we build the house, we plan to travel for about 4 to 5 months of the year (mostly winter and few months in summer) mostly in USA & Canada. As we become older, we plan to live in the house for longer durations.

Given this, what would be a sensible approach in building this house? Of course, we are interested in health/comfort, lower energy cost and longevity during the ownership of the house. Basement space is a nice to have but not a must if that significantly helps reduce build cost.

I have read many of the articles posted on this site but starting a such process still appears to be rather daunting. Assuming the land does not have any city hookup infrastructure, is it realistic for us to build a fully liveable "passive" house for under $350-$400kCA (land excluded in this price)?

Thank you.

Responses (3)

Casey Bobbitt
Casey Bobbitt 2 years ago