Light on the Building vs. Buying Question

Not a week passes without some one asking, ,,If I build can I do better than if I buy?" writes Hugh J. Smallen in the New York World. No answer that will apply in all cases can be given to this question. Whether it is better for a prospective home owner to build a home from his own plans or to buy a finished house cannot be determined without considerlng a number of factors. Much depends upon the person who intends to become a home owner.

From time immemorial there have been arg.uments pro and con on this subject. If we attempt to classify and parallel the important arguments for and against building and buying we shall have something to which the homeseeker may be guided.

T et it be clearly bofne in mind that the purpose is not to convince any one intending to get a home that it is bet_ ter to build than it is to buy, or vice versa. Nor should any of the conteritions cited be assumed to apply to all cases. With this in mind, we can proceed to compare the relative merits of building and buying.