Buy vs Build Crested Butte Home Considerations

I get the opportunity to work with many clients who struggle with the same question: should we buy an existing Crested Butte home, remodel one, or build from the ground up?

There are pros and cons to each option. There is no right or wrong answer. The best choice depends on your timeline, budget, appetite for complexity, and what you really want your Crested Butte lifestyle to look like.

My brother and I first came to Crested Butte in 1999 for a four-day ski weekend and to look at land to build a home. We looked at a number of lots in Mt. Crested Butte, but then toured an existing home in the same general location. We returned to Dallas and told our wives we had submitted an offer on a home. We ended up owning that home together for about six years.

Francene and I have also owned homesites that we never built on, including a ski-in/ski-out lot in Prospect when that development first came on the market. We later purchased another second home in Mt. Crested Butte in 2008, then moved to Crested Butte full-time in 2009.

I will attempt to provide some perspective below that may help you with your decision… and happy to discuss with you. 

Our Remodel Project

Our home was built in 2006. Not long after we purchased the home we decided to finish-out the space above a garage, added a full bathroom, and then added a third garage. Recently we completed a major remodel of our home. That experience gave me even more appreciation for what my clients go through to remodel or build a new home. Even with a great team, good planning, and excitement about the end result, remodels and new construction usually take longer and cost more than expected.

 

Francene and I completed the major remodel of our home in 2024 – we were out of our home for about 20 months and lived in a very small 719 square foot 2 bedroom condo in Mt. Crested Butte. We moved out in April of 2022 and moved back in December of 2023 – but there were still 4 trucks in our driveway until March 2024… We had a great team working on the project. We are very happy – but like everyone wed wished it would have taken less time, and without escalating costs…

We touched nearly every room in our home and added about 1,000 square feet of living area – new bedroom with en-suite bathroom, new laundry room, new work-out room. We gutted the kitchen and dining room area with 10×10 bump-out in kitchen and below, we reconfigured the living area with new fireplace. We also gutted the main level bathroom, and the master bathroom moved the laundry chute 3 feet (this was not simple) and added new view windows and deck in the master bedroom. We also built my new office in the bonus room area off the master bedroom, which is a great addition. 

We had a number of change orders that added to both cost and time. We replaced 90% of the windows in our home – and the new windows had a lead time of 29 weeks, so when we added 2 additional windows in the middle of the project this was one domino that pushed out our completion date. We had carpenter ants that destroyed one of the support beams holding up our home – so we decided to expand the deck and we replaced all the vertical and horizontal beams – and over-engineered the new footers and beams to ensure it was rock solid.

We had a great team – Sunlit Architecture, Craft Mountain Homes, Mike Arbaney – Engineer, Emily Pannier – Interior Design. 

See photo below – our Kitchen / Dining Room area taken down to the studs – notice space for new view windows, and new I-Beam in ceiling with was installed to be able to remove a vertical support beam that was in the middle of the kitchen. 

Buy an Existing Crested Butte Home

If you buy an existing home you can typically expect to put your head on a pillow in about 45 days – and start enjoying Crested Butte with your family, friends and clients… 

Buying an existing home is certainly the most common choice because of the convenience factor.  In most cases luxury homes in the Crested Butte market are second homes, and are sold fully furnished. This is a huge advantage for many families who don’t want to wait to start creating their lifetime of Crested Butte memories.

Peace of mind is also a big factor when buying an existing home – knowing the total cost of the home is key. Also having a complete inspection done, and knowing there are not major issues with the home. It can also be helpful for buyers to understand the annual operating costs and carrying costs of owning the home. 

Most buyers may decide to do cosmetic work – painting, change light fixtures, faucets, add hardwood floors in areas, update flat surfaces in kitchen and bathrooms, replace some existing furniture – these things are easy to change out in the off-season…

Crested Butte has a number of micro geographic areas, and homes that come in all shapes and sizes.  In addition some homes in downtown Crested Butte may be over 130 years old – and have been updated or remodeled multiple times. Mt. Crested Butte and Skyland and other outlying areas saw most development start in the 1980’s – and many of these “older” homes have also have been updated. 

Update / Remodel of Your Crested Butte Home

You may find a home in the perfect location – but the home layout or finish-out is not what you expected. This is not unusual – and any existing home that is in a great location with spectacular views can be turned into your dream home with some imagination, time and money.

Some will consider updating areas of the home – kitchens and bathrooms are the most common areas of a home that buyers want to modify.  This can be a great option – you can start using your home immediately, and plan for modifications during the off-season.

“The cost to purchase an existing Crested Butte home and update it, may be well below the cost of buying a lot and building a new home” 

Kitchen: A kitchen remodel in Crested Butte with new appliances, new floors, new cabinets, new quartzite countertops, new backsplash, new electrical and lighting can easily exceed $150,000.

Full Bathroom: Most full bathrooms with a stand-alone soaking tub, steam shower, heated floor, new shower, new toilet, new cabinets, new lighting, new tile can easily exceed $85,000.

Can you get it done for less? – maybe. Design, materials, fixtures, permitting, and labor all add up. 

Building Your Dream Home

It is pretty cool to search for that perfect mountain homesite where you will build the dream home you have always envisioned.

I have had the opportunity to work with many clients who have told me – this is the reason I worked my tail off for the past 30 years… I enjoy getting to take clients to explore the various options in the Crested Butte area in the summer or winter. Winter may require a snowshoe trek in order to get to the center of a homesite covered in 4 feet of snow… or to see that same homesite covered in wildflowers in the summer, or the golden colors as the aspen leaves change in the fall… 

You may have already decided that you want to build your next home here in the Crested Butte area? I can help you.

We can find your dream location – there are quite a variety of options in the Crested Butte area. There are still vacant lots in downtown Crested Butte, and ski-in/ski-out lots in Mt. Crested Butte, and spacious 35 acre homesites with awesome views in some outlying areas within 10 miles of downtown Crested Butte. You may be considering a homesite bordering national forest, or with private fly fishing access… these are all great options (and also have their pros and cons).

I typically suggest a buyer talk with an architect early on to get an idea of the costs to design and build their dream home. It is not uncommon to spend $1,200+ per sq. ft. (and up) to build a custom luxury home in the Crested Butte area.

This depends a lot on the type of home you want to build, the size the materials, the extras… There are many homesites that have awesome unobstructed views – and are on a sloped terrain or steep hillside – the foundation, retaining walls, concrete, flagstone, landscaping, driveway and engineering to build the home will be much higher than a flat building envelope. 

As a result of Covid and the ability to work remotely – the need for an office or multiple office spaces in your home become more important. We have had our daughters working remotely from our home – and we are incorporating this into new small workspace areas in the home so there are quiet places for Zoom calls and enough space for a desk or workspace to spread out…

There’s a long list of desirable features. Check out some of the most desirable features for homes in Crested Butte here. 

This can be an exciting time building your home in Crested Butte, but it can take up to 3 years total from start to finish, and can get pretty expensive. Especially if you prefer to customize all of the details. If you’re not worried about money, then the world’s your oyster. But if you have a budget, it’s important to know what the “must-haves” are for your new home. That way you can cut costs in other areas.

Building a second home in Crested Butte from Texas or anywhere far away can be a challenge. You will also need to be patient and trust your local architect and builder.

Regardless whether you remodel and existing home – or build a new home in Crested Butte you will work with very skilled architects, interior designers, general contractors and sub contractors. It will be awesome when it is done – but it may take longer to complete – and likely cost more than you expect.

Thanks for reading Build vs Buy Crested Butte Home Considerations

Let’s start figuring out if buying or building is best for you – so you can begin your journey to build a lifetime of memories in Crested Butte!

 

 

 

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