LESLIE: Nick in Texas is looking to put a shed on his property. How can we help you with that?
NICK: Just had a quick question about whether it’s going to be more worthwhile for me to buy a prefab metal shed and – which is going to cost about $8,000 to $10,000 – or if I build my own shed, which will be about half that, but to see which ones will be worthwhile in the future when I sell my house, in 10 to 15 years.
TOM: That’s one big shed. How big are we talking about here?
NICK: It’s a 25×35-foot.
LESLIE: Wow.
TOM: Oh, it’s a big building. It’s not really a shed.
NICK: It is a big building.
TOM: Yeah, I’m thinking shed like you’re going to fit your lawnmower in there and that’s it, you know?
LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Yeah.
NICK: No, no. It’s a pretty sizable structure, so …
TOM: Well, you know, the metal buildings that are available today are pretty cool because they go together very, very quickly and I think that they’re accepted as a normal construction technology and could be compared fairly to a wood-frame building. They’re both going to start with a foundation; so whether you use a metal building or a wood building, I think you’re going to get a resell value out of both.
NICK: Well, I’ve started – we already have the slab down …
TOM: Right.
NICK: … and we – there was already a place there – and I’ve just looked into the pricing. I’ve already built one shed with my father on his land and that went up rather quickly and is very stable. But I’m trying to decide if I – is it worthwhile to spend $10,000 to $12,000 for a metal building (audio gap) finished or do I spend $5,000 or $6,000 and will I get any better return – well, do you think I’d actually get an extra $10,000 when I sell my house?
TOM: No.
NICK: No?
TOM: No, I don’t. I don’t. I don’t think you’ll get – if you’re telling me you can build a wood shed, the wood building, for half the price of the metal building, I don’t think you’re going to get the difference when it comes time to sell.
NICK: OK. So, as far as …
TOM: So maybe that answers your question. Now, you know, if you want to build a building that’s going to be very sturdy and last for a long time and can go up very quickly, you can’t beat the metal building. But if you’re asking me about return on investment, I don’t think it’s going to make a big difference.
NICK: OK. So I mean – anyway, with the wood, do you think we’d get any part of that back when we sell the property?
TOM: Oh, sure.
NICK: OK.
TOM: If you have an additional building on the house, you’re going to get a good return on investment but whether it’s metal or whether it’s wood is not going to make a difference.
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