i am wondering if it is possible to build a small house as cheap as 15000 if we did most of the physical work ourselves....

I am building a house right now, the foundation alone is about 15k, it's going to be 15k in materials just to frame it, and I'm only doing a 1500 sf raised ranch.

You can save a TON of money by DIY, but you still need to pay for materials.

With my doing the contracting, and doing most of the work myself with friends and relatives, it's still costing us around 145k

Right now, I have spent more then 15k, and I have a well, that's it! The well was 7k, the site engineering was 3k, the perk test, with town fees, engineer, and excavator was 2k, and I've spent thousands clearing.

The permits alone will cost 3k - 5k depending on where you are.

If you are serious about building a home, we went to National City Mortgage and got a construction to permanent loan. The entire loan is for $230,000 that included land, construction, closing costs, and some extra money set aside to make the first years payments during construction. But when we are done, the house has been appraised for $340,000.

It's definetly the way to go.

Just the earthwork and foundation will cost that much. After the foundation is poured you can build a simple house pretty cheap. Look in the classifieds for used cabinets, plumbing fixtures, doors and windows and save yourself a lot of money.Once the shell is built and basic plumbing and electrical work is done you can finish the rest of the interior as you earn the money.

I am building a 26x36 garage and I may end up around $15000. The only thing I have not done myself was the engineered trusses. For a house and I don't no the size your probably looking at least four times the cost.