I have dreams of doing exactly the same thing, although we'd definitely be downsizing from our current home. Since both our home purchases have been existing homes, I'd be *very* interested in hearing more about your experiences in designing and building your own home, mefla.
Our entire plan was predicated on the idea that we could do a LOT better than your typical builder stamping out two-story homes on 1/4 acre lots. Our objectives were to get started with high energy efficiency, low maintenance and few stairs. (plus my lifelong goal of a big, giant garage for projects)
First we found and bought the land, a wooded acre in a subdivided set of lots that is oriented so that the back side and roof of the house is perfectly set for solar hot water and electric.
In that time, we also searched for 10 years to find a ranch floorplan we liked. (Ranch floorplans are important when you reach 50, since climbing steps becomes a great deal more risky.)
We eventually found a builder with a stock floorplan that looked VERY close to our ideal layout. We went to that builder and asked if they could make all exterior walls to 6" thick, add more insulation in the walls, add vinyl energy efficient windows, double the insulation in the attic and go another couple inches thicker in the floors.
In this plan, 75% of the windows are on the south side of the house, no windows on east or west and a big garage on the northeast corner. The 2200 square foot house is all-electric and our total energy bill averages about $140, with a wintertime peak around $240-$260 in really cold winters. (I'm still doing things to the house to improve energy efficiency, so I'm trying to drive the average down to $100 with peaks at-or-under $200.)
I know that the house we ended up with exceeds the US Energy Star standard, although I've never performed the "Blower Door Test" which certifies it to be Energy Star compliant. I see no point to that since my goal is to reach net-zero-energy performance. I'll prove the house's efficiency using my monthly electric bills.
For maintenance freedom, we went with all-brick exterior and aluminum eave inserts. So far, the only structural maintenance I've had to do is powerwash an eave over the garage with vinyl siding in it and exterior and seasonally spray for bugs. (We also pay a professional company for termite-proofing and inspections, but we have to do that by law in NC. We can decide to stop those treatments, but we would have big problems if we ever sold the house.
There's been a lot of debate on these forums about pre-paying mortgages vs. investing. There's even debate on whether or not it even makes sense to buy a house vs. simply renting and investing as much as possible. I get the math and I understand those numbers, no problem.
But when we planned and executed on this house, the intent was to start with a fairly average, normal-cost structure and use it as a platform to work toward a very-low-energy, very low cost lifestyle with the goal of reaching net-zero sometime before FIRE, by 2020.
Comparing this house to the last house (a 1400 square-foot two story in a subdivision), we have eliminated:
- $6/month streetlight fee
- $80/month water/sewer fees
- $20/month homeowner's dues
- exterior maintenance costs required both by deterioration and by HOA
We've also cut our energy bills by 30% in the new house vs. the old house. So I guess my whole point is that the new house had very specific goals attached to it that I conjured up because I'm an engineer and will always seek efficiency with improved quality of life.
You know what's been the most wonderful thing about this experience? My 30-year-old opinion is suddenly getting validated by my peers, family and co-workers, who are all looking for ranch floorplans with low-maintenance exteriors and energy efficiency.
I apologize if I've side-tracked this thread. I'd be glad to start another thread on "Energy- and Maintenance-efficient homes for people 50 and older", or something like that.